Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Youths to Live an Amazon Adventure

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

SAO PAULO, May 13 2006 (IPS) - Some 45 students from Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and French Guiana will retrace the same route followed by Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana along the Amazon River in 1541 and 1542 The expedition, designed by the Organizations of the Amazonian Cooperation Treaty (OTCA), will depart from Quito on June 24 and is scheduled to arrive in Brasilia on July 27.

“The main objective is to encourage the kids to love and protect the Amazon. The important thing is that they are from different countries and speak different languages, which ensure the project's multiplier effect,” OTCA secretary general Rosalía Arteaga told Tierramérica.

The students will be accompanied by 27 teachers and professionals from various fields, and will take part in cultural and scientific activities.