Pupils from Dakar-Plateau celebrate in their own way
Then Mundus maris was again invited to engage during the last week of March in the portion of the festival focused on youth for the first time.
This involved the active participation of schools in the activities of artists. Their contribution was conducted under the coordination of the Senegalese artist THIA.
Indeed, the pupils participated through a session of artistic creation "junior". This brought them up to speed with our campaign against fishing of juveniles of fish species.
Using supports which they had received (fish rulers, posters on baby fish) the pupils have developed some artistic pieces on two main themes: the fishing of juveniles and marine pollution.
This session happened at the end of the day dedicated to Thiof (White Grouper), the emblematic endangered species in Senegal.
These kids from all eight elementary schools in Dakar-Plateau were also informed by the adults responsible for FESMIR about the competition Mundus maris that conducted to search for names for its mascots through the submission of stories that the children had developed about the adventures of baby fish. The students were frustrated at not having been able to participate.
It was an opportunity to look back on projects with other schools involved with the pilot activities with FAO and its Nansen Project.
An educational package based on the ecosystem approach to fisheries was one of the results. Thus, the elements of the case were explained and made available to the pupils who have decided to make it echo with their teachers. This demonstration was concluded by a session for which Mundus maris provided coloring sheets and coloring pencils. These sheets had been produced to attract children's attention on the urgent need to protect the baby fish, because everywhere overfishing, including the capture of juveniles, endangers the species that are eaten by humans.
Finally, the group of young musicians and dancers "Topla" coached by THIA since about six years laid on a performance to accompany the coloring and painting workshop on 27 March 2013 at the National Gallery, where simultaneously THIA and the other artists exposed on the theme of the sea and fishing. This last event amazed also a few other visitors who came in at the last minute to visit the FESMIR exhibition, which was about to close.