The Basque Government and the URA Agency have presented the new campaign "Against the Current. Swim Against the Current. Care for them. Enjoy them" at the Tabakalera center in Donostia-San Sebastián. This initiative calls on citizens to reconnect with our rivers, rediscover their benefits, and strengthen the bond between human communities and river ecosystems. The campaign will begin airing on October 11th and was presented by the Deputy Minister of Environment, Josu Bilbao, and the Director General of URA, Asier López Etxebarria.
Josu Bilbao emphasized that "this campaign is precisely born to invite us to turn our gaze back to our rivers, to recognize all that they do for us, and to reinforce our commitment to their conservation." The deputy minister added that rivers "are not only ecosystems of great environmental value. They are spaces that contribute to our health, our quality of life, our adaptation to climate change, and the resilience of our cities and towns."
The campaign responds to the reality of an increasingly urbanized society with a distancing relationship from nature. Through a positive and inspiring message, it highlights the multiple benefits of rivers: they help regulate temperature, filter and purify water, contribute to reducing the impact of floods, promote biodiversity, and enrich the landscape and identity of the territory. Furthermore, it advocates for the role of riparian vegetation as a "silent ally" contributing to ecological balance.
For his part, Asier López Etxebarria stated that "this campaign is an invitation to feel the rivers as something close again." "We want people to explore them, observe them, enjoy them, and better understand everything they provide us with every day," he added. The Director General recalled that "protecting rivers is a shared responsibility, where administrations and citizens must be involved in the conservation of water and river ecosystems."
The initiative will be disseminated on television, radio, digital media, social networks, and outdoor media, as well as through a dedicated website. The entire campaign has been conceived and developed entirely in Euskadi, by leading Basque professionals and companies such as Shernan Creative Collective and Laszlo Hace.
