The Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy in collaboration with the Municipality of Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni and Safe Water Sports, organized an event about the ''Education-Awareness-Precaution of safety at sea''.

On Friday, June 12, 2020 the event was organized with great success at the Municipal Theater of Voula ''Sofia Vempo''.
The event started with the welcome speech by the Mayor of Vari Voula Vouliagmeni, Mr. Grigoris Konstantellos and the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Mr. Giannis Plakiotakis.

The event included ministers, the Port Authority chief, the mayor, teachers and children from schools of the coastal city. 

Shipping & Island Policy Minister,Yiannis Plakiotakis said that saving lives at sea "was and is a definitive priority for all of us," and said that "in Greece, nearly 350 of our fellow-Greeks drown every year; from 1980 to the present, that accounts for the population of a small city." He also revealed that in August 2019, Mitsotakis had met with Paschalakis for the design of a comprehensive program to deal with the issue of drownings at sea, and legislation has since been put in place to make this summer safer than all previous ones. The plan moves along three directions, he said, of prevention, safety and control, and includes an awareness campaign for the elderly as well.

The President of Safe Water Sports, Mr. Panagiotis Paschalakis referred to all the important actions of the Organization as well as to his cooperation with competent bodies and Ministries that support his work. He gave special emphasis on the Information System that the Organization has donated to the Coast Guard (in Greece and Cyprus) for managing online the licenses and controlling water sports centers, the supply of mobile devices (tablets) where SafeWaterSports has developed and provided for free a software for instantly controlling online and making inspections in all sea-based leisure activities. Additionally, he refered to the legislative initiatives based on the Observatory of Accidents, the benefits of using the Safe Water Sports app under the Auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, that it is about a world-wide initiative regarding the dissemination of information about the sea. Also, he analyzed the importance of the educational program that is created by the Organization and it is approved by the Ministry of Education in Greece and Cyprus. Finally, he presented the awareness campaign regarding safety in the sea for elder people. 

As he noted ''We work closely with all the bodies in order to achieve our vision...No other human loss in our seas''. 

The Minister of Health, Mr. Vassilis Kikilias discussed about the cooperation of the Ministry in the context of the awareness campaign implemented with the Organization in order to inform elder people about the dangers of the sea in order to stay safe.

The Minister of Tourism, Mr. Harris Theocharis, referred to the value of informing citizens and tourists through the application of SafeWaterSports alongside the legislative initiatives that have been developed in order to reinforce safety at swimming pools. 

The Deputy Minister of Education, Mrs. Sofia Zacharaki stressed the need for children's education, from an early age, in matters of water and sea safety and at the same time she highlighted stressed the need for student education regarding safety in the sea as a compulsory school class.

Finally, the Prime Minister, Mr. Kyriakos Minotsakis emphasized that ''the state is obliged to upgrade the current institutional framework, and will do so. We must treat the sea with respect and the same must be done by businesses related to the sea. Safe seas means upgraded tourist product for Greece.''