The EU4Ocean Platform is a focal point for organisations and initiatives to connect, collaborate and mobilise efforts on ocean literacy. The EU4Ocean Platform offers a dynamic topic-oriented working environment that stimulates collaboration, exchange of practices and dialogue across the many different target groups leading to the creation of new ocean literacy partnerships and innovative actions, co-designed by organisations and youth.
The EU4Ocean Platform is one of the three key components of the EU4Ocean coalition (for other components, see Youth4Ocean Forum and European Network of European Blue Schools).
The EU4Ocean Platform objectives
- Consolidate and build on existing initiatives in ocean literacy spanning different stakeholder sectors;
- Connect disparate and diverse stakeholders acting in ocean literacy to form an inclusive ocean literacy community network that stimulates an environment of concrete actions and commitments to create an ‘ocean-literate generation’;
- Jointly identify best opportunities in ocean literacy activities that can be scaled up to larger campaigns to raise awareness in wider society;
- Ensure the Youth are an integral and active part of ocean literacy activities;
- Act as a focal point for the European Ocean Literacy community in the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and in particular its ocean literacy components; and
- Build momentum for EU4Ocean to ensure growth and spreading of the initiative beyond the project lifetime.
The aim is to develop an EU4Ocean Platform composed of a wide diversity of stakeholder groups that will together drive the innovation and longevity of Platform activities. This will build on existing activities, projects and wider initiatives. The initial focus of EU4Ocean Platform membership was on ocean literacy practitioners and wider organisations that already support ocean literacy initiatives. A driving philosophy of the EU4Ocean Platform is to diversify the members to mobilise stakeholders beyond the traditional marine/maritime communities, expanding the engagement to other domains, disciplines and sectors.
What does the EU4Ocean Platform offer to members?
- Gaining visibility, added value and impact for existing activities;
- Increased connection between existing activities, towards an EU movement and narrative;
- Contributing to the central focal point for collaborative dialogue and action in Ocean Literacy in Europe, the EU4Ocean Coalition;
- Working with other organisations and individuals and mutual learning;
- Pooling and adding value to resources for scaling up ocean literacy activities into campaigns;
- Forming new partnerships, creating innovation and exploring diverse funding opportunities;
- Directly engaging with youth and young leaders of the Youth4Ocean Forum;
- Possibility to support schools in the framework of the Network of European Blue Schools;
- Contributing to the growing European movement in ocean literacy, as a contribution to international efforts and agendas such as the UN 2030 Agenda.
Discover who the Platform members are
Read Platform members' testimonials
Working Groups
Between 2020 and 2022, the EU4Ocean Platform members contributed to Working Groups (WGs) dedicated to particular topics including 'Climate and Ocean', 'Food from the Ocean' and 'Healthy and Clean Ocean'. These Working Groups enabled them to exchange experience and build opportunities for collaborative work.
Become a member of the EU4Ocean Platform
Interested joining the EU4Ocean Platform?