Aqaba, October 9, 2024 – The Delegation of the European Union to Jordan, co-organised with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Interreg NEXT MED and Aqaba Marine Reserve (AMR) a beach clean-up campaign in honour of World Cleanup Day. The event, which falls under the #EUBeachCleanup umbrella, brought together over 80 students from public and private schools in Aqaba to collect plastic waste at the Blue Beach in the Aqaba Marine Reserve to raise awareness of the harmful effects of marine litter, including cigarette butts and plastic waste.

At the event, the European Union Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Pierre-Christophe Chatzisavas, said: “The European Union’s Beach Clean-up campaign has evolved into a global initiative, with over 45,000 participants in 44 countries last year alone. Aqaba, where we are today, has been actively participating in the Clean-up Campaign for numerous years. Beyond the fight against pollution, we want to help Aqaba adapt to climate change and evolve into a hub for green economy.”

During the event, students received a technical training on how to effectively collect plastic items from coastlines. Additionally, they concluded the beach clean-up with an arts and crafts activity, giving them the opportunity to transform collected waste items into sculptures – a symbol of their collective efforts to preserve Aqaba’s marine life.