Project partners meet the President of the Youth Municipal Council of the Municipality of Saronikos
How can citizens defend a right if they do not know they have it?
This fundamental question was at the centre of a meeting organised by Fotoessa in May 2026 as part of the European Erasmus+ project “Guardians of the Coasts”. Taking part were the Portuguese partners from Aequalitas and Impactrip and Mr Gavriil Kokkinis, President of the Youth Municipal Council of the Municipality of Saronikos, a lawyer and active member of the “Free Beaches” citizens’ movement, with particular expertise in the institutional and legal issues surrounding the protection of the Greek coastline.
The meeting took place while the Portuguese partners were being hosted in Greece and marked another important step in the exchange of knowledge and experience between Greece and Portugal. The aim of the visit was to introduce the partners to different perspectives, institutional experiences and local practices related to coastal protection, the sustainable management of coastal areas and the strengthening of active citizenship.
The discussion focused on the institutional and social framework governing the Greek coasts, on citizens’ right to free access to public coastal space, and on the challenges local communities face when they set out to protect beaches as a common good.
Particular emphasis was placed on the importance of informing citizens about their rights. As the discussion made clear, knowledge is a necessary precondition for participation, and active citizenship requires citizens who know not only their obligations but also their rights.
Mr Kokkinis made a telling observation:
“People don’t know their rights. And so they don’t fight for their rights.”
This single sentence captures one of the core pillars of the “Guardians of the Coasts” project: empowering citizens through knowledge, information and participation.
Equally significant was the second message that emerged during the meeting:
“The coastline belongs to everyone.”
This reminds us that the coasts are a common good, and that protecting them is not solely the responsibility of public authorities or the scientific community. It is the collective responsibility of all citizens.
This idea lies at the core of “Guardians of the Coasts”. The project seeks to build bridges of cooperation and knowledge exchange between the scientific community, local government, educational bodies and civil society, promoting good practices for coastal protection and the empowerment of coastal communities.
Through meetings with representatives of institutions, scientists, legal experts, active citizens and local organisations, the partners are gathering experiences and perspectives that will contribute to the development of the project’s educational materials and Toolkit.
This meeting showed that protecting the coasts does not begin only in the courts, with laws or with institutional procedures.
It begins with information.
With knowledge.
With citizens being able to understand their rights and take an active part in caring for the commons.
Because our beaches are:
A common good.
A shared responsibility.
A shared future.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
