A great promotion of Lesvos and the Petrified Forest took place at the Geoparks Conference held in Japan. The Conference was organized by the San’in Kaigan World Geopark UNESCO with the participation of more than 200 participants including mayors, university professors and members of scientific institutes, representatives of international organizations, local authorities, etc. The opening of the Conference was declared by the Mayor of Toyooka Mr. Kunio Kannuki.

The keynote speaker of the conference was Professor N. Zouros, Director of the Petrified Forest Natural History Museum and President of the World Network of Geoparks. In his opening speech he presented the successful examples of the promotion of the new fossil sites along the road axis Kalloni – Sigrio, the Petrified Forest Park and the educational and awareness actions of Lesvos within the framework of the Act “Actions for the promotion of protected areas of Lesvos”. At the same time, he stressed the importance of the development of Geoparks for the promotion of the monuments of geological heritage and local development. He also referred to the contribution of Geoparks to the development of alternative forms of tourism and local development. In particular, he referred to the recognition of geoparks and their educational function through the exploitation of their unique importance and value characteristics, which make them ideal areas for education. It was also stressed that Geoparks are areas that present evidence of the ever-changing natural processes that make up our living planet and the extraordinary beauty of geological formations.

Mrs. Konstantina Bentana, Head of the Department of Educational Programmes, referred to the way of utilising the protected areas of Lesvos for educational purposes and the cooperation that has been developed in recent years with countries from all over the world for the implementation of educational visits to Lesvos. Particular reference was made to the extremely successful cooperation with the San’in Kaigan Geopark from Japan and the visits of secondary schools from the city of Toyooka to Lesvos.

At the end of the conference, the participants were impressed by the example of the Petrified Forest and Lesvos, which attracted the lively interest of the media. Newspapers, special magazines, state television and radio carried extensive reports on Lesvos and the Petrified Forest, which will contribute to the promotion of Lesvos as a tourist destination.

Great promotion of Lesvos at the San’in Kaigan Geopark

Great promotion of Lesvos and the Petrified Forest takes place daily in the museums, information centres and publications of the San’in Kaigan Geopark in Japan. At the entrance of major museums and information centres special stands and screens have been set up to show images of the Petrified Forest and Lesvos. At the same time, traditional products of Lesvos such as olive oil, ouzo and wine as well as traditional ceramics are displayed in special showcases at the entrance of the museums, while large posters translated into Japanese inform all visitors about the possibilities of visiting Lesvos. At the same time, a special publication of the Japanese Geoparks Network, which has been distributed throughout the country, includes an extensive tribute to Lesvos in Japanese.

The promotion of Lesvos was organized by Sai’in Kaigan UNESCO World Geopark in the framework of the multi-year cooperation that has been developed with Lesvos UNESCO World Geopark / Natural History Museum of the Petrified Forest of Lesvos.

Promotion of Lesvos as an educational destination

Particularly important was the promotion of Lesvos as an educational destination in order to attract students from Japan. In particular, within the framework of the conference, meetings were held with teachers of Primary and Secondary Education schools where the possibilities of educational visits to Lesvos and the educational programs of the Natural History Museum of the Petrified Forest of Lesvos were presented.