L’Odyssée de l’ULIS

Discovering the Pelagos sanctuary

Alongside the Direction de l’Éducation Nationale, de la Jeunesse et des Sports, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has supported the first edition of the « L’Odyssée de l’ULIS » program run by Olivier Anrigo, naturalist photographer and President of the WILDLIFE Interactions association.   

Aimed at students from ULIS (unités localisées pour l'inclusion scolaire) program at Charles III secondary school in Monaco, this initiative takes its name from the re-reading that can be made of Homer's Odyssey, in favor of education for ecological transition and with a view to building a habitable earth, as proposed by François Prouteau in Odyssée pour une terre durable.

With this in mind, and with a desire to ensure that environmental awareness can reach all children, Olivier Anrigo has designed an original educational program, focusing on the challenges of biodiversity in the Mediterranean and tailor-made for students with disabilities who benefit from adapted shooling.   

The first edition of the program, implemented over the 2024-2025 school year with the support and encouragement of the Monegasque National Education Department, was a resounding success and enabled a dozen students to discover right out in the field, thanks to a sea outing in the Pelagos Sanctuary, the richness and beauty of Mediterranean biodiversity, its emblematic marine mammals, but also the dangers that threaten them - destructive human activities, pollution, climate change.   

In just a few months, the students have become true ambassadors for the Pelagos Sanctuary, thanks to work carried out in collaboration with their teachers, including several in-class workshops and field visits.   

(Images © Olivier Anrigo - WILDLIFE Interactions)

At the end of the program, a fresco on the theme of preserving the seas, created by the ULIS students of Charles III secondary school, was donated to the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.