World Water Day is celebrated annually on March 22. The Eco Academy at the Association “Youth Development Center – Mutual Aid” (YDCMA) marked the day with an initiative at the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water – Stara Zagora (RIEW–Stara Zagora).

The initiative included international participation by volunteers under the European Solidarity Corps programme from the associations YDCMA and “United Avangard Artist,” as well as 5th-grade students from the 5th Primary School “Mityo Stanev” in Stara Zagora and experts from RIEW–Stara Zagora.

The lesson was part of a step closely linked to the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goals, aimed at obtaining “Eco-Schools” status under the international programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). It was planned as part of the large-scale UNESCO Greening Education Partnership initiative to introduce environmental education worldwide.

The event took place in the conference hall of RIEW–Stara Zagora, where the inspectorate’s experts presented its functions. It also featured innovative methods developed by the Association YDCMA to demonstrate water purification processes, water formation, and the water footprint that each of us leaves behind.

Volunteers from Egypt and Turkey, together with their colleagues from the organizations, demonstrated to the children how polluted water can be purified at home using a napkin, activated charcoal, sand, and stones.

The students also had the opportunity to visit the Regional Laboratory – Stara Zagora at the Executive Environment Agency.

The initiative was carried out under project No. 2024-1-BG01-KA154-YOU-000209866, titled “Eco Academy 2024–2025,” funded by the Erasmus+ programme. The day has been officially observed since 1993, with events organized worldwide each year.