"Tell me about your river", a project that is one of a kind!

"I deeply appreciate projects that look ahead, and I believe that the "Tell me about your river" exchange project, because of its ongoing aspect and its expansion, will inspire other more or less similar projects."

François Coutin

The nonprofit Maison du fleuve Rhône (MDFR) has been dedicated since 1989 to the knowledge and sharing of a river culture. "Tell me about your river", conceived by the MDFR, is a project for exchanges between young riparians of the Rhone River and elsewhere. Aged 10 to 16, in a school or recreational setting, these young people set out to discover an environment that is both clean and common property: the waterway. Through their exchanges, they gain an awareness that they share the same identity, that of a citizen of the planet. The medium for the exchanges is identical in each project, and is in the form of a collaborative internet site.

Youths are the players of their discoveries about the rivers

Nine "Tell me about your river" projects have already been completed between 2004 and 2011 between rivers of the whole world (Rhone, Ganges, Daugava, Saint-Lawrence, etc.) demonstrating the value of the project with youths and institutions. For the 2011-2012 school year, MDFR wants to develop a new version of its project for the Rhone Valley and internationally, where by becoming photographers, video artists, sound engineers, the youths can become the players of their own discoveries about the rivers. MDFR therefore needs to acquire equipment to lease multimedia hardware to schools and recreational facilities. The hardware will be used to go online and utilize the researches carried out by the youths, and thereby help train them in the use of information and communication technologies. The MDFR internet site also deserves to be optimized and it is necessary today to purchase development software.