Source: European Commission
The European Ocean Coalition (EU4Ocean) has been launched by Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, on World Ocean Day on 8Th June and the release of the first EU4Ocean Coalition video.
It connects diverse organisations, projects and people that contribute to ocean literacy and the sustainable management of the ocean. Supported by the European Commission, this bottom-up inclusive initiative aims at uniting the voices of Europeans to make the ocean a concern of everyone!
This coalition will:
- Contribute to enhancing awareness and the engagement of all parties involved in the sustainable management of our ocean and seas
- Help coalition members to become ocean advocates in their own field/role/region as well as agents of transition supporting changes in perception, values, attitudes and behaviour towards more sustainable practices, management of the ocean and blue economy opportunities;
- Put ocean literacy high on the policy agenda, contributing inter alias to the implementation of the EU marine and maritime policies and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030, in particular the SDG 14 Life below water.
The EU4Ocean coalition combines EU-wide activities with actions dedicated to the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean (including the North Sea), the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the global ocean.
The coalition is made up of three components: a Platform for organisations and individuals engaged in Ocean Literacy initiatives, a European Youth Forum for the Ocean and a Network of European Blue Schools.
EU4Ocean is a project funded by the European Commission and implemented by a consortium of 12 partners across Europe, which includes: ACTeon (coordinator, France), Seascape Belgium (Secretariat of the European Marine Observation and Data Network and the European Atlas of the Seas, Belgium), the European Marine Board (EMB, Belgium), Nausicaá-National Sea Centre (France), the World Ocean Network (WON, France), Ciência Viva (Portugal), the European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA, Belgium), Ecologic Institute (Germany), the European Centre for Information on Marine Science and Technology (EurOcean, Portugal), Secretariat of Submariners (S.Pro, Germany), MARE Nostrum (Romania), European Schoolnet (Belgium), and Farah Obaidullah (Independent Ocean Advocate & Founder Women4Oceans, The Netherlands).
For more information read here
