We want to emphasise the interdependence of water / nature <=> People / society. This was achieved by comparing the use of water for settlement and the development of the economy and society. In this way, all partners have learned similar and different things from each other, but we have also seen that the cities maintain the cultural heritage in very different ways and continue to use it. The concept of sustainability is not well developed everywhere. There has been a sensitisation to the threat to water, but also to the threat to society. Both are closely linked to exploitation, profit motives, carelessness and ultimately climate change. Clarifying cause and effect was an important concern for us, which was also communicated intensively in two summer workshops for young people. Finally, the city of Paderborn's application was important for the EKS. The Pader, as the shortest river in Germany, is to receive this award and we want to support this initiative through European project work and at the same time use it for our research: https://www.pader-europe.eu. We would like to support the development of learning centres of European water culture.
The facilities of all four project partners are located ‘on the water’: sea, river, canal. The aim of our work was to analyse the balance between nature and society - who shapes whom? It was also important for us to work with all partners to identify factors that have a negative impact on the climate: We analysed whether the situation is comparable between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, between larger and smaller rivers. It is about binding values in civil society, the commitment to an environment worth living in and the quality of life, so that settling on the water remains attractive for future generations. We do not want to stand by and watch the littering, overfishing and over-fertilisation of our waters, but rather acquire knowledge and gather facts on how such a downward trend can be halted and, if necessary, reversed. With this in mind, we are initiating a teaching-learning process, as natural resources and the habitat close to the city are becoming increasingly important. In this way, ‘research and innovation’ and ‘green skills’ are promoted, as we want to initiate a process of perception, understanding and change in our facilities. To this end, it is also important to collect historical facts so that we know our root