To celebrate the European Year of Cultural Heritage (EYCH 2018), Greek NGO the Green Project is heading to Australia to spread its message and launch their ‘Platypus Trail’ trek.
A delegation of experts led by Dr Yiannis Tzortzis is set to fly from Athens to Melbourne and will use motor homes with solar panels to travel along the east to west ‘Platypus trail’ of the country while documenting renewable industries and indigenous communities.
They will then fly back to Greece from Perth, with the whole journey expected to last approximately 29 days and cover 11,210 kilometres.
Inspired by UNESCO’S World Solar Programme, Green Project looks to raise social awareness through environmental photography. They take photo and video records of ‘greenpoints of interest’ in relation to best practices on the use of Renewable Energy Sources and the utilisation of traditional indigenous knowledge.
Through their efforts, their aim is to promote the rational use of energy via ‘energy tourism’, provide energy education, and by doing so aspire to be a civil society tool of intercultural communication highlighting the strong energy ties and common environmental concerns among the peoples visited.
Among the bodies supporting the project are the Hellenic Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Australian Embassy in Greece, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO, The Greek Centre and Neos Kosmos.
To help launch their latest trek, the Greek Community of Melbourne is hosting a free screening of Sudamerica: The Colors of Life – A Green Project Journey. Directed by Dimitra Zirou, the documentary follows the Greek Project team of 15 volunteers, including scientists and artists, on their travels through South America in 2014.
Covering eight countries in 52 days, they explore the environmental and cultural diversity of South America, looking at both environmental disasters, but also the alternate positives.
They explore the environmental disaster caused by oil company Chevron in the remote Ecuadorian Amazon, the alarming over-exploitation of the Potosi mines in Bolivia, and the melting glaciers of Patagonia in Argentina and Chile. In contrast, the doco also looks at innovative use of photo-voltaic panels to produce electricity in Lake Titicaca, Peru, the breathtaking richness of flora and fauna in Pantanal, Brazil, the vibrant colonies of sea lions and cormorants in Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego.
The Green Project team from Athens will be in attendance at the screening, and available to answer questions and explain what it is that their trek in Australia plans to achieve.
The free screening takes place Sunday 5 August at the Greek Centre for Contemporary Culture (Delphi Bank Mez, 168 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, VIC) at 6.00 pm. To reserve your seat visit TryBooking or call (03) 9662 2722. For more information, email info@greekcommunity.com.au