On March 22, the international community celebrated World Water Day. Each year, a specific theme highlights one particular issue linked to the management and use of water resources ; this year’s theme was "Be the change", which underlined the fact that one must take action at their own level to change the way they use and consume water resources.
In order to achieve such a goal, Armenian NGO "Environment and Health" organised a national public monitoring campaign under the "EU4Environment - Water Resources and Environmental Data" programme, with the financial assistance of the European Union.
The campaign gathered 150 schoolchildren, students, and active young people coming from different regions of Armenia; with the support of appropriate guide-videos, the participants sampled and tested water from nearby rivers and lakes, and from snow and rainwater, they assessed dust contents in the air. The young students’ actions have been relayed by the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection, and broadcasted on the Armenian public television (ARMTV Channel).
The results of their actions were compiled by Environment and Health and used to create a story map, which can be found here.
A video documenting the monitoring campaign can also be found here.