{"id":1293,"date":"2026-03-24T11:57:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T11:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/?p=1293"},"modified":"2026-04-24T11:59:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T11:59:52","slug":"guardians-of-the-coasts-interview-with-the-mayor-of-saronikos-for-qualitative-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/2026\/03\/24\/guardians-of-the-coasts-interview-with-the-mayor-of-saronikos-for-qualitative-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardians of the Coasts&#8221;: Interview with the Mayor of Saronikos for Qualitative Research"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>March 23, 2026<\/p>\n<p>Within the framework of the qualitative research for the European Erasmus+ program &#8220;Guardians of the Coasts&#8221;, implemented by PHOTOESSA in collaboration with the Portuguese Aeququalitas, an interview was conducted with the Mayor of Saronikos, Mr. Dimitris Papachristou. The discussion focused on the management and protection of coasts and ensuring free access for citizens to the sea.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation highlighted critical issues directly affecting Saronikos, an area under intense pressure from tourism development and increasing social demands for free beaches.<\/p>\n<p>Key Excerpts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Environmental protection and free access are non-negotiable.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;A characteristic example is Glyfada\u2026 a VIP, inaccessible environment is created that excludes most people.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Constitutional protection exists, but in practice, it is bypassed.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;The participation of society and local bodies is required before decisions are made.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These positions are directly linked to the debate developing recently at the local level, with citizen initiatives and movements highlighting the need to protect the public character of the coasts.<\/p>\n<p>The Mayor\u2019s participation and support for the program carry significant weight due to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>His extensive knowledge of coastal issues and local development.<\/li>\n<li>His institutional role in shaping policies that influence the future of coastal protection and public access.<\/li>\n<li>The fact that he represents a vital coastal Municipality adjacent to the capital, with a growing number of residents and visitors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The interviews from the &#8220;Guardians of the Coasts&#8221; qualitative research will contribute to the program&#8217;s goals of informing, educating, raising awareness, and empowering citizens. This supports the collective effort to protect coastal ecosystems and defend the fundamental constitutional right of everyone to have free access to the beaches.<\/p>\n<p>About the Program<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;Guardians of the Coasts&#8221; project seeks to contribute to the protection and sustainable management of coasts and coastal ecosystems, as well as ensuring equal access to the sea for all.<\/p>\n<p>This two-year program includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Training for citizens, activists, and volunteers in environmental advocacy and active participation in public affairs and dialogue<\/li>\n<li>Conducting practical workshops to develop communication and collaboration skills<\/li>\n<li>Exchange visits between the two countries, Greece and Portugal<\/li>\n<li>A public awareness campaign<\/li>\n<li>\u03a4he creation of an open-access information manual<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>\u201cFunded 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\u201d.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March 23, 2026 Within the framework of the qualitative research for the European Erasmus+ program &#8220;Guardians of the Coasts&#8221;, implemented by PHOTOESSA in collaboration with the Portuguese Aeququalitas, an interview was conducted with the Mayor of Saronikos, Mr. Dimitris Papachristou. The discussion focused on the management and protection of coasts and ensuring free access for<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/2026\/03\/24\/guardians-of-the-coasts-interview-with-the-mayor-of-saronikos-for-qualitative-research\/\" class=\"themebutton2\">READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-civil-society","category-our-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1293"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1295,"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293\/revisions\/1295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.fotoessa.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}