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WATER EDUCATION AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTInternational cooperation on water educationChanges to attitudes and habits, and reaching the collective subconsciousin the defence of sustainable development, must begin with the educationof children and young people. HidroEX tries to operate in the formaleducation settings of elementary schools, in partnership with the publiceducational system, as well as in informal education to create socialawareness. This is an open and innovative pedagogical process that notonly diffuses knowledge but also seeks to sensitize various public audiences.It unfolds an educational process that is connected to the everydayreality of the student with the understanding that we are all responsiblefor the sustainable use of water, and that the learning process starts atschool, at home, in the community and in the basins where we live.Water Education – from an interdisciplinary perspective‘Water Education – from an interdisciplinary perspective’ is an environmentaleducation project focused on water, which was conceivedaccording to the IHP instructions and guidelines. The target audiencecomprises students (6-11 years old) and teachers (first to fifthgrades) from elementary school.The project is based on the need to find viable alternatives for therational use of water and is underpinned by cognitive theories andthe four pillars of education – learning to know; learning to do;learning to live together; and learning to be – described in Learning:The Treasure Within, the report to UNESCO of the InternationalCommission on Education for the Twenty-First Century. Thesetheories hold that education is the only instrument capable of raisingawareness and instructing citizens towards a more qualitative, fairand democratic society.The project is an ongoing process that combines work philosophyand the creation of new learning spaces. It includes and integratesthe environmental theme into the curricular and extracurricularactivities of educational institutions through educational actions andpractices aimed at sensitizing, organizing, mobilizing and involv-ing the school communities. This makes the project aninterdisciplinary one.The goals of the project are:• promoting environmental education focused on waterresources, hereafter referred to as water education –one of the reasons for HidroEX being established• contributing to a transdisciplinary approach in theenvironmental content to be developed, so it can beexplored as a transversal theme cutting across thetraditional disciplines taught in elementary schools• disseminating information and knowledge about theuse, preservation, conservation and protection ofwater resources• turning school communities into a space wherewater education can become a social practice.The Sister Schools ProgramThe Sister Schools Program is aimed at strengtheningties between Portuguese-speaking countries so thatenvironmental experiences, especially those with afocus on water, may be interchanged. It includes a set ofpredefined actions seeking to develop mutual cooperationfor the implementation of environmental educationfocused on water within the school community.The ‘My World through Your World EnvironmentalFair’ is part of the programme and is intended toestablish close liaison between school communitiesfrom CPLP countries, so they can exchange practicalenvironmental experiences through information andcommunication technologies. The purpose is to disseminateexperiences, practices, knowledge and culture fora better understanding of environmental issues fromstudents’ perspectives in CPLP countries.Images: Tânia BritoStudents in the Sister Schools Program exchange information and experiences on the use of water resources in their communities[ 120 ]