Mr Fernando García Pérez

Chairman of the Santander Port Authority.

For some years now it has been the Santander Port Authority's desire to help shape an environment that is more interested in and familiar with the maritime-port world and its social role and has aimed to help the student population better understand the port.

Our interest in making school children and students aware of maritime and port activities has led us to consider a growing number of requests from schools interested in visiting the port facilities for educational purposes. At the same time, we have also promoted some more specific projects.

The continual increase in this kind of request made us think about the need for appropriate educational tools that enabled the port to be used as a teaching resource. Conveying and explaining to students the complexity of the port phenomenon, the large variety of functions that exist at these facilities and the role they play in the modern world, wrapped up in the relevant educational programmes, required professional input to design and create these educational tools. With this purpose in mind, the Port Authority signed a partnership agreement with the Department of Education and the University of Cantabria and the result has been the development of the teaching materials presented here.

The assistance of the Ministry for Education and Young People for the Cantabrian Regional Government in this teaching project was obviously essential for the port, as it is not an educational institution. Thanks to their advice, organisational abilities and financial assistance, this educational programme has been implemented and we hope that it will make a positive contribution to the teaching of students in Cantabria.

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