Summer 2024 Update
Explore the first update from ECo Greece, which includes the first joint ECo Greece course, participation in the international Our Ocean Conference, visits to Greek universities, and student capstone projects.
Read the UpdateEarth Commons Greece
The Earth Commons Greece is a global extension of Georgetown University’s Earth Commons Institute established to address environmental challenges in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions. As a hub for environmental and sustainability innovation, research, and education, we aim to support solutions to pressing issues in Greece and the Mediterranean while fostering global partnerships and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Our Vision
With global expansion as a key strategy, the Earth Commons has chosen Greece as the location for its first international hub due to the unique range of environmental challenges it faces—including to its urban systems, biodiversity, protected ecosystems, climate health, and water resources—and also due to the country’s strong academic networks, cultural and historical global significance, and regional influence at the crossroads of three continents.. Through ECo Greece, Georgetown is building partnerships and driving innovation to address global environmental issues from the heart of the Mediterranean.
Our Goals
- Advance research in key areas including biodiversity protection, urban sustainability, and fragile island ecosystems in Greece.
- Build cross-sectoral partnerships with academic, governmental, and private institutions in Greece.
- Engage students and faculty in hands-on learning and research on environmental sustainability.
- Facilitate opportunities for interdisciplinary research and practical skills development.
- Host signature events and foster collaborations between Georgetown and Greek institutions.
Focus areas
Biodiversity: Supporting practitioners and scholars protecting Greece’s rich biodiversity and working to address and advocate against any threats to protected areas.
Urban Sustainability: Establishing an urban sustainability commons engaging students, researchers and expert practitioners to collaborate on innovative solutions to sustainability challenges in urban systems.
Fragile island ecosystems: Interdisciplinary research on marine and coastal ecology as well as creative solution-making for the unprecedented sustainability challenges faced by Greek islands.
Reports & Stories
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ECo Greece: a model for international environmental collaboration
In its first year, ECo Greece has become a model for international collaboration, bringing together Georgetown students, faculty, and local partners to tackle climate challenges on the ground in Greece. From its first course, “Adaptation in a Climate Change Hotspot,” to hands-on student projects to partnerships with major organizations, this initiative is shaping global environmental solutions through local action.
Read the storyCourses
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Adaptation in Climate Change Hotspot
This course offered with Georgetown in Qatar led by Dr. Raha Hakimdavar offered an immersive exploration of climate change impacts in Greece, combining academic study, hands-on fieldwork, and independent research to develop practical solutions for environmental challenges including marine plastic pollution, water management on the Cycladic islands and sustainable tourism.
About the courseOur Team
Managing Director, ECo Greece
Dean, Earth Commons Institute for the Environment and Sustainability and Laudato Si’ Professor of Biology and the Environment
Director of Partner Relations, ECo Greece