In Venice, the first kindergarten for conscious children

The first kindergarten for conscious children gets underway in Venice, more precisely on Torcello island.
The initiative was promoted by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in partnership
with Prada Group and it aims to promote education for the preservation of sea and its resources. This project involves pre-school children in Venice.
Groups of 120 pupils, aged between 3 and 5 years from six pre-schools based in Venice, will take part in the project from 2nd February to the end of June. Teachers and pupils will go to Torcello island, Vignole island and Venice Lido and they will learn and understand the lagoon ecosystem for developing the basis of a strong environmental conscience.
The main goal is to make children aware of these important issues such as sustainability and Ocean
Literacy. The last one, actually, explains how the ocean can affect our daily life and how we can affect the
ocean with behaviours, which can be more or less virtuous .
The lessons will be outdoor and far away from the classrooms and they will cover the relationship between plants, animals and the natural elements of the lagoon, their characteristics, similarities, and their differences. Children will explore the beaches, learn through drawing activities, collaborative games, and small science experiments, to recognise and value the lagoon habitat. This will help them to become, one day, “civil ambassadors” and “spokespeople” for this heritage.
During the presentation of the project at Ca’ Corner della Regina, the Venice venue of Fondazione Prada,
Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, said: “I am proud to attend this first day together with the children of Venice, wishing that the Kindergarten of the Lagoon will continue to grow and that a larger number of young explorers and families will have the pleasure to be part of it. Our ambition is to see the programme growing over time and to develop the project in other cities in the
future.” Once again Venice can play a very important role and it will surely be a model for other kindergartens in the world.