Integrating Pomak students in Thrace through STEM environmental education
This project targets educators and students from the Pomak community, an isolated popoulation which resides in the villages of the broader area of Thrace, and from the city of Xanthi, in Greece. Through running STEM workshops with a focus on the environment, the objective was to empower students and local teachers and equip them with knowledge and skills whilst using science as a neutral language to bridge cultural and socio-economical differences.
Regional
Greece
Thrace
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): SciCo - Science Communication Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Theo Last name of representative: Anagnostopoulos Gender: Male Nationality: Greece Function: General Manager Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 210 Kifisias Avenue Town: Chalandri Postal code: 15231 Country: Greece Direct Tel:+30 21 0677 5892 E-mail:theo@scico.gr Website:https://scico.gr/en/
Pomaks are a unique ethnic minority group, who have experienced geographical and cultural isolation over the past decades. Thirty-five thousand Pomaks reside in villages of Thrace in Greece, a location amongst the Rhodope Mountains amidst a unique natural environment with wetlands, ornithological wealth and rich biodiversity. In addition, the broader area of Thrace constitutes a rich source of “clean” energy and has immense wind potential, due to its mountainous morphology and continuous sunlight with the necessary space for solar plants.
This project aims to use the unique role that science education plays in reducing Pomak isolation. To achieve this, we used our organisation's expertise in the field of science education to deliver out-of-school STEM workshops on environmental education principles to students 10-16 years old, though a train-the-trainer approach.
Our goal was to raise awareness on climate change, the increasing need for “clean” energy in the present and future and its link to the specific area and ecosystem. We provided students with authentic environmental opportunities to create solutions with direct, scalable results and simultaneously establish a creative collaboration between Pomak and non-Pomak students, minimising the former’s isolation.
This approach established a safe and inclusive space for education, cultural and environmental engagement, whilst building and enhancing students’ skills and minimising the social reluctance young Pomaks experience. It resulted in the increase of interest of the participants (young Pomaks and children of the wider area of Xanthi) in Science and Technology, but also equipped them with skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving and team cooperation, which will potentially make them autonomous and entrepreneurial as well as active and responsible. In the long term we expect them to become active members of society and therefore ambassadors of the necessary changes for a prosperous future.
STEM education
underprivileged communities
student and teacher empowerment
environmental education
inclusive education
The villages of Thrace, where the Pomaks reside, is a location amongst the Greek Rhodope Mountains-a unique natural environment with wetlands, ornithological wealth and rich biodiversity. The broader area of Thrace constitutes a rich source of “clean” energy and has immense wind potential, due to its mountainous morphology and continuous sunlight, with space for solar plants. Τhe area is also known for its rivers which despite being a landmark and a space for gathering and sport, are often treated as a garbage dump by the inhabitants.
A top priority of this project was to integrate environmental education into STEM education in order to stimulate the academic and social growth of young people, and promote awareness regarding climate change and conservation of the natural environment. Through the development of env/tal STEM projects, the learning community (students and teachers) dived into real environmental issues (wind&solar energy potential, hydropower, water pollution, waste etc) with the help of educational technological tools (eg. programming, 3D printing, Arduinos, sensors, solar panels, hydrogen-powered toy cars, scientific measurement kits, etc), citizen science and project based learning methods.
Students identified local environmental issues and were asked to develop projects that would help towards a solution, through science and technology (eg. smart green school, smart greenhouse which saves energy, etc), which they then presented to the local community and were judged by a scientific panel. The programme also included the participation in a citizen science project (Drinkable Rivers), during which students took scientific measurements from the local river Kosynthos to detect potential levels of pollution, whilst collecting and analysing the waste found on the banks into sources and categories, using basic statistics.
The project is unique as it offered a hands-on, 360-view of environmental issues whilst developing knowledge, skills and attitudes.
The programme was designed in a way that fosters the natural environmental abundance of the area and focuses on the potential of citizens and locals contributing to a greener, cleaner, more sustainable future, as individuals but also at a community level. Educators and students were engaged in educational projects which focused on the environment and the use of science and technology to tackle local issues (e.g. utilising renewable energy sources which are ample in the area), thus creating a deeper connection and understanding of their area and the environmental uniqueness.
At the same time, students from the minority villages which are typically isolated both geographically and culturally, were mixed and collaborated with students from the city of Xanthi, through the neutral language of science and the engagement in common projects. The emotional and cultural benefits were eminent from either side, as they built relationships and friendships and learned about each other's culture, habits, interests and life.
As the workshops gradually united the two student groups via exposing them to knowledge and science realities, they understood that they are actually together against the environmental challenges that the future holds. This common experience "trip" through the designed program, carefully tried to pill off any bias and prejudice that could burden the students from both groups.
The engagement of the local research center also contributed to the bridging of academia with the students and the local community, as researchers showcased their cutting edge technologies in mapping the town and using 3D reconstruction of social heritage.
Finally, the celebration and award ceremony at the end of the project, brought together parents, educators, researchers and organisations in order to celebrate the learning and skills that were fostered, the values that were cultivated and the knowledge that was gained.
In North Eastern Greece there is an isolated area where the population of the Pomaks live. The Pomak population is of Slavic origin and is an officially recognised ethnic minority in Greece, as dictated by the Treaty of Lausanne. More specifically, approximately 50,000 Pomaks reside in remote villages of Thrace in Greece, a unique geographical location amongst the Rhodope Mountains. This has created a natural isolation of Pomaks for decades, linked to social and economic inequalities resulting from different religion, native language, culture and customs. It is worth noting that until 1995 they could only live in this particular area. For political reasons a road block and police would prohibit them from moving freely in the rest of Greece. So isolation has been a great issue in their history.
Life in the villages can be harsh and school kids face several difficulties: from walking long distances to their schools every day, to helping out their parents with their farming jobs or understanding and convincing them that finishing their high school education is important. As a result, teenage boys, instead of finishing school, quite frequently leave to take on manual labor jobs in Western Europe, such as shipyards and heavy industry. On the other hand, many girls, until very recently, were rushed into an early marriage.
Through using the unique role science plays as a neutral space/language in bridging cultural differences, this project uses out-of-school STEM education as a tool to enhance the resilience of local communities and bridge cultural gaps. Students from the minority villages came together with students from the town of Xanthi, collaborated with eachother, worked on common local environmental issues to create projects that offer potential solutions and formed relationships and friendships. The project was offered for free to all the participants through an open call and was complemented by free transportation to limit geographical barriers.
The proposed project promotes the notion of Open Schooling that facilitates the transformation of schools to innovative ecosystems, acting as shared sites of science learning, for which leaders, teachers, learners and the local community share responsibility and contribute to the development of responsible citizenship. The latter is especially important for a cultural and linguistic minority such as the Pomaks of Thrace. Parents and the broad community were involved in the showcase of the final projects and how these could contribute to solving local challenges. Teachers involved in the project are active teachers, who in turn will use their knowledge and skills acquired by the programme to transfer to their students in other classes they teach and in the years to come. In the long term we expect them to become active members of society and therefore ambassadors of the necessary changes for a prosperous future (new innovative environmental technologies and RES, and correct utilization and sustainable management of natural resources).
On a separate note, the project also involved a citizen science project, during which students and educators took scientific notes and measurements from the local river Kosynthos, to evaluate the cleanliness of the water and how "drinkable" it is and then shared the results through the European platform on river water measurements called "Drinkable Rivers", thus making them available to the broader community.
Finally, the local society as a whole has benefitted from the project, through breaking socio-economic and geographical barriers, overcoming stereotypes and forming relationships.
This project was initially submitted to and funded by the National Geographic Society, through the annual call for explorers. This platform has given our organisation the opportunity to showcase our work but also network and share a lot of expertise with other explorers and organisations across the globe.
Furthermore, the project was submitted to the "Green Fund" in Greece, a national fund which aims to drive innovation and development whilst promoting sustainability. Through this application, the project received funding in order to create a documentary on the approach and the implementation of the programme itself. The documentary is now in the phase of the director's cut and will be screened both in the areas of the project (Xanthi, Thrace villages) and Athens. The documentary will also be submitted to national and international film festivals and contests.
During the project implementation, in order to showcase the area's research and innovation but also bridge academia and research with schools and students, we collaborated with the local Research Centre "Athena", which is part of a national research network and showcases cutting edge technologies.
The project was also awarded by the Hellenic Initiative Venture Impact Awards, an annual awards program providing direct support to Greek early stage, proven startups.
Finally, the project was used as a case study on inclusion and access to science in the latest Berlin Science Week in November 2022, in a discussion panel organised by the Bayer Foundation.
The main focus of the initiative was STEM education, so a vast part of the curriculum covered Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics. Educators (mainly physics and informatics secondary teachers) and students engaged in the basic science principles, such as electricity, energy, chemical analysis, conductivity, pH and acidity and then put their knowledge into practice using technological tools (3D printers, Arduinos, sensors, etc). In parallel, the initiative deep dived into energy issues, energy consumption, ,traditional energy sources as opposed to renewable energy sources and explored the benefits of green energy sources that are available in the area, such as wind, sun and geothermal energy, through interactive, hands-on activities.
Specifically for the citizen science project run at the local river in order to perform scientific measurements on water pollution, the project collaborated with the organisation "Drinkable rivers" and built on their expertise in the field, used the kit they provided and the platform for sharing results with other countries and communities.
Given the local research Athena is specialised in 3D printing and the 3D reconstruction of social heritage, students and educators visited the research center as part of the programme and were introduced to the cutting edge technology and its applications by the local researchers on site. It should be noted that the key researcher involved in the project was from the Pomak community, thus showcasing the potential for a tertial and/or academic career for everyone.
The project's innovation lies in its concept to use science and technology as a neutral language which bridges cultural and socio-economical gaps but also in its methodology, which is analysed in the previous section (train-the-trainer approach and creating mixed cultural groups) and its content which is based on a newly developed STEM curriculum for students aged 10-15, with a focus on sustainability and the environment.
The program, in general, promotes the right of social inclusion for everyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, economic status, or geographical location. The objective is to increase the participants’ interest in science as well as to equip them with knowledge and skills that will not only act as a basis for their following years in education but will make them autonomous, thinking, collaborative, active and responsible citizens.
Furthermore, the project promotes the notion of Open Schooling that facilitates the transformation of schools to innovative ecosystems, acting as shared sites of science learning, for which leaders, teachers, learners and the local community share responsibility and contribute to the development of responsible citizenship. The latter is especially important for a cultural and linguistic minority such as the Pomaks of Thrace. Increasing students’ interest towards
science and improving pivotal skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and team collaboration is be a fundamental addition to the special basis upon which schools in Pomak minorities operate.
STEM education can be used as a neutral language in order to break down many different barriers: geographical, cultural, social, economical gender related stereotypes, etc. Since the curriculum is designed and tested for this age group, it can then be reapplied in many different contexts, within Greece and beyond. SciCo has a broad network of schools and educational institutions and has already visited more than 180 different areas, whereas in the past year, we have also run STEM workshops in Albania.
With minimal or no tweaks, the project can be deployed amongst other underprivileged populations, such as refugees, geographically isolated population in the Greek islands or in remote villages, Roma communities, etc but can also be duplicated in other languages, in order to tackle low-income or other disadvantaged populations in need in Africa or across the globe. This approach would involve translating the curriculum, training the local educators and setting up the necessary toolkits.
A second approach SciCo is looking into is the reapplication of the project to a younger age and more specifically to young children (4-8 years old). This is especially viable, as the national curriculum in Greece and internationally for the target age-group is flexible and allows a lot of freedom for the students' first steps in learning. On the other hand, children at this age are natural inquirers and are in the process of forming their values and attitudes. At the same time, there is a lot of academic research on the value of STEM education for pre-schoolers and young students, where the focus of learning is on inquiry (asking questions) and playing. It is significant how literature is increasingly supporting the importance of earlier exposure to STEM. “Children are natural scientists and researchers as they are constantly inquiring about the world. This approach would require a re-design of the curriculum and the necessary STEM tool kit.
The primary tool of the project was the conduction of 10 educative and participatory workshops/labs for students, conducted by local educators (train-the-trainer approach). This required a 2-day intensive training for educators, equipment for the workshops (STEM kits, RES prototype elements, Arduinos, 3Dprinter, scientific water measurement kits,etc.)and supporting interactive teaching material.
All material was grounded and adapted to the local aspects and needs and studied the potential benefits and downsides of existing solutions (eg.wind and solar farms, hydropower plants,etc) in order to ensure a more in-depth understanding of the technologies and solutions but also to be able to make informed choices and decisions for a better future, as students, teachers, individuals,citizens.
The students were recruited through an open call to the local communities and the groups formed brought together children from minority’s mountain villages (Pomaks)and children from the city(Xanthi). The curriculum included basic information on the science and technology behind Renewable Energy Sources, hands-on STEM projects, a citizen science project with water measurements at the local river and the identification of local environmental issues by the actual students, who were then required to work on potential solutions with the help of science and technology.
The programme ended with a contest, during which the groups of students presented their projects and the top 3 projects were awarded in an open ceremony.
The above methodology is grounded in innovative pedagogical&educational methods (STEM, project based learning, inquiry based learning, design thinking, etc) and is applied to the environmental challenge. Through the programme, both educators and students in the area acquire scientific and technological knowledge, whilst building skills (eg.problem solving, collaboration, creativity),a positive attitude towards the environment and bridging cultures erasing discrimination.
The two main areas this project focused on was sustainability and STEM education.
On the one hand, STEM education has a proven track record in student engagement, scientific literacy and high academic achievement and has therefore held a place in national and international educational policies. In addition, it is often regarded by educators as an optimal vehicle to integrate academic disciplines, stimulate the academic and social growth of young people, and promote for the natural environment. Whilst equipping students with knowledge and skills, STEM education is also inclusive, in line with the SDG#4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
On the other hand, during the project, students were asked to identify local challenges which were related to the environment and work on potential solution, offered by science and technology. For example, the winning projects included a smart greenhouse which utilised renewable energy sources, sensors and automations in order to ensure the optimal cultivation conditions with the minimal energy consumption, an approach that could be applied in farming in the area but also across the globe. A second environmental issue tackled, was that of waste and water pollution, through the analysis of waste gathered by the students and the identification of various categories and sources, but also through the scientific measurements at the local river (pH, levels of e-Coli, levels of phosphates, chloride, nitrates, ammonia, etc). The above themes are linked to the SDGs 7, 13 and 14 related to sustainability, energy consumption, climate change and aquatic life.
At the same time, the project builds on the cultural knowledge and cultural inheritance of the local area, whilst respecting it, sustaining it and “bringing” it to the modern era.
The project was completed in June 2022 and 71 students participated and completed the programme, under the guidance of 4 local educators, researchers for the local research centre "Athena" and SciCo's team of educators and project managers. The students who took part in the programme responded extremely well to the curriculum and the workshops and were 100% engaged throughout its duration. It should be noted that they would "forget" to have a break during the 3-hour workshops and would run into the classroom upon arrival. One student stated on camera "I didn't have many friends - now I gained many friends. I had my own team - we worked together. It was very good and changed my life. I learned a lot of things", whereas another stated "I really liked the project. Actually, I didn't like it - I loved it!". On the other hand, teachers evaluated the programme extremely positively and are seeking future opportunities to further build on it and continue the momentum created.
Currently the team is finalising the documentary. With the screening of the film, publicity and public information actions will be carried out both for the documentary and for the entire Program as well. A communication strategy will be implemented to multiply the impact of the project, and the film will be sent to local and international film festivals to be part of their program. Also, the educational program and the film will be properly communicated at the next Athens Science Festival (2023) – the largest science, tech & innovation festival in the country where its thousands of visitors will get to know the Program and be able to watch the film.
The team's next steps are to seek funding in order to a) continue to run the project with more students from the area b) reapply it to a younger age group (kindergarten-primary school students) in the area and c) reapply it in other underprivileged regions inside Greece and beyond.
