1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your Doors to Diplomacy project?
1. Mobile Telephone:To contact with each other, to arrange interviews and to discuss each day’s work. 2. Digital camera:To frame anything which looked interesting, to capture resources as many as we can and then load it to our computers without too much of a hustle and certainly without having it to be printed by the local photographer. 3. Computer & the Internet: : P4 1.6 GHZ, 256 MB RAM, 10.4 GB HDD. For editing photos, recording findings, sending and receiving e-mail’s, surfing for more information, 4. Computer software: Photoshop, Paint ShopPro8, Macromedia Flash MX, Microsoft Office XP. 5. Scanner: To scan some interesting old pictures of craftswoman and newspaper articles. 6. Tape recorder: We used it in interviews. 7. Photocopier: To read photocopied articles at home.
2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your Doors to Diplomacy project both on-line and in person.
We made lots of friends during this project. Most of the people are experienced people involved in conservation of sea turtles and they know us just like we know them. We will be in a better posiion to organise volunteering activities stating from this summer and continuing every year. Our school will become a centre in this volunteering activities.
We contacted all the newspapers during our project and our activites convinced journalists that our project was worthwhile to find good coverage in their newspapers. In other words, our knowledge and communication skills played a significant role in geting through our messages in the way that we planned it initially. What better way to act as ambassadors?
We would like to mention that on the day that we finished our web site and while we were putting the last touches we received an interview program request from the TV station which reaches to the highest number of audience. Hence, we took the chance by both hands and we had an interview which will be screened nationwide during the coming days. The feeling of talking to cameras was very exciting. It certainly takes some time to get adjusted to it but you are aware that time has slipped away and the camera is on! This event is a true reflection of our objective. Our project will be on air on March 24 but everything for the sake of a safer planet for the turtles will be starting from now on. In short, we believe that we are not undressing to become ambassadors anymore. The public and media are choosing each one of us at Eastern Mediterranean College to act like an ambassador to the kingdom of sea turtles!
3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?
Our project will certainly create a better awareness towards the difficulties sea turtles face while trying to survive. Most of our peers now have a better pictire in their minds that if we want to continue to enjoy the beauites our world present to us than every person must act accordingly and put in his share of responsibility. It is nio good sitting at home and hope that everything will work out fine! Other people around the world will be more consciouss about the sea turtles and how to use local beaches. Our web site is the bridge between acting local and thinking global.
We are in direct contact with the Department Of Environment, Cyprus Turtle Conservation Club and Environment Club of Eastern Mediterranean University (just to name a few) all over our country who devoted themselves to protect and conserve the lives of sea turtles. We are in direct relationship with these people and they feel that our participation into their cause and with our project they will have a good support from the up and coming youngsters of Cyprus in the very near future.
The feedback we received is that we are sure that there will be many youngsters from our school acting a s volunteers starting from this summer. All for the sake of seeing more turtles in the turquoise. An army of teenagers with awareness to the problem is a weapon no one could stand against.
4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?
Our group leader helped us a lot while designig the web site and gave us lots of ideas. This was a great help because we certainly wanted to get our messages across very clearly. We believe that due to this support we have a good web site to send our message globally. On the local side we have many teenagers to act as volunteerts during the hatching period of sea turtles.
Since our project received coverage in the media we are receiving calls and e-mail messages from citizens of Famagusta and other cities and the people are interested to play their part in the conservation of sea turtles. There are families whom would like to make donations to help us for our expenses of leaflets and brochures. Our sister organization, Eastern Mediterranean University is planning a seminar which we will be invited as guest speakers. Additionally, our school’s web site is receiving e-mails from people abroad who are interested in gaining more information about conservation of sea turtles. At the same time some clubs from abroad are replying to our messages and sending us information about their activities.
Additionally, Kibrisonline provided us free web space to present our project.
All the people volunteering to help the turtles also provided us great support and we would like to thank them. We would like to single out Mr. Asaf Senol because his web site and immense knowledge on sea turtles certainly helped us to have a clear ideas about sea turtles.
Our teachers and school management provided us lots of help during this project and we know that without their support and motivation this projec5t would not have been succesful.
5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)
Love and friendship should not be limited with human beings only. If there is care for all the species and flora on earth than friendship and love becomes more meaningful.
The older generations should do all the best they can to teach the younger generations the beauties evident in the world. Thus, sharing and helping to other living organisims becomes meaningful. Every child may start to care for flora and other species if we rightly teach them their importance.
This project certainly showed us that sea turtles are amongst the most beautiful creatures on earth. We are now aware that after thousands of hatchlings open their eyes only 1 percent is able to survive. Since this is the uinberable truth than we must do everything we can to present them a better place to live in.
After this project we are aware that we must learn more about what goes around us and in the world. This is crucial for a better quality lifestyle.
There is another great learning after we finished this project. Nowadays we are more aware that the world used to be more practical place to live in. We feel that we started something worthwhile because we have only one country to live on and share everything on it and if we try to conserve all the species around us than we will have a better world to live in. One for all, all for one that is!!
|