Endorsement of the “Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy in Action”

Unveiling of the first SEA BEYOND Ideas Box

Afternoon of workshops for the children and young people of Venice

Venice, 8^th June 2024 – The second day of the first UN conference dedicated to ocean education, the ‘Ocean Literacy World Conference’, opened with the endorsement of the ‘Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy in Action’.

The Declaration is designed to catalyze a new wave of action to establish Ocean Literacy in the spheres of education, science, policy, economics and culture. By expanding humanity's understanding of the ocean, Ocean Literacy will empower communities to respect the marine environment and preserve ocean cultures around the world. Ultimately, it can become the foundation for wider sustainable development.

Discover the “Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy in Action”

Francesca Santoro, Senior Programme Officer of UNESCO-IOC, together with Aurore Asso, Council Advisor (Nice Côte d’Azur) for Ocean Conservation & Marine Protect Area and Enrico Vicenti, Secretary General, Italian National Commission for UNESCO, started the day with the official presentation of the document. Ten participants from the institutions and academic world were chosen to announce a single “action” from the Declaration, collectively representing the 131 experts who attended the two-day event.

Lorenzo Bertelli, Executive Director of the Prada Group and Patron of the Ocean Decade Alliance, commented: “Today is an important day, highlighted by the contents of the Venice Declaration, which we hope will stimulate the debate on the importance of ocean literacy and the need for action, leading us to the next conference in Nice with enthusiasm and a positive spirit”.

Francesca Santoro, Senior Programme Officer of UNESCO-IOC, stated: “The Venice Declaration is a community: what we are endorsing today is not the end but the beginning. The document will travel around the world and arrive to Nice, from Venice. We want people to embrace it as an opportunity to tell all stakeholders what ocean literacy is. It is a fundamental tool in facing environmental challenges and issues, a deep enabling factor to reach sustainable goals. The Venice Declaration is a living document”.

This was followed by the presentation of the first SEA BEYOND Ideas Box, the result of a collaboration with the international NGO Bibliothèques Sans Frontières, which aims to facilitate access to education for children and young citizens in vulnerable communities. Designed by Philippe Starck in 2014, the Ideas Box is a mobile multimedia center of over 100 square metres, equipped with internet connection, tablets, laptops and over 250 books and games, as well as hundreds of training materials. To celebrate the Ideas Box’s tenth anniversary, Philippe Starck and Patrick Weil, Founder and President of Bibliothèques Sans Frontières, told the story of its inception in a dedicated conversation. The contents of the media center were curated by UNESCO's ocean literacy team in collaboration with Bibliothèques Sans Frontières and a selection will also be integrated into those already operating in metropolitan France and overseas regions (8 Ideas Boxes), Burundi (4 Ideas Boxes) and Ivory Coast (6 Ideas Boxes). The teams responsible for managing the individual Ideas Boxes will be trained by UNESCO’s ocean literacy team.

Patrick Weil, Founder and President of Bibliothèques Sans Frontières, declared: “The Ocean is the source of life on our planet, and it is crucial for us to have partners who are profoundly engaged in spreading this message at an international level. At Bibliothèques sans Frontières, we are very proud to be part of the SEA BEYOND project because it allows the SEA BEYOND Ideas Box to be deployed for priority actions, such as offering younger generations the possibility to access fundamental knowledge about ocean, and therefore making Ocean Education inclusive worldwide.”

Philippe Starck, French creator, commented: “Bibliothèques Sans Frontières brings peace to the world for those who have lost it. Bibliothèques Sans Fontieres brings hope through dreaming, intelligence, culture and education. SEA BEYOND has that same goal of peace and intelligence, but for the 71% of the rest of the world that is the ocean.” 

After Venice, the SEA BEYOND Ideas Box will be donated to Fondazione Quartieri Spagnoli of Naples, with a program of outings planned in the Metropolitan City of Naples, with the aim to reach even more children. The Ideas Box will stop at Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Fondazione Terzoluogo Cultural Space of Sant’Anna a Capuana and in East Naples area in collaboration with Maestri di Strada Onlus - Centro Polifunzionale Ciro Colonna. It will also visit the islands of Ischia and Procida, in collaboration with the Area Marina Protetta Regno di Nettuno. 

The morning ended with testimonies from the SEA BEYONDers, the project’s ambassadors a diverse group of professionals who spoke about their special connection with the sea to inspire the audience.

In the afternoon, over 80 children and young people from Venice experienced the SEA BEYOND Ideas Box through an educational journey consisting of ocean-themed workshops, led by the SEA BEYONDers and supported by educators from the Italian branch of Bibliothèques Sans Frontières.

Maya Gabeira, Big Wave Surfer and UNESCO Champion for Ocean and Youth, read to young visitors from her upcoming book, “Maya Makes Waves”, due out at the beginning of August and published by Abrams; Titouan Bernicot, Founder and CEO of Coral Gardeners and National Geographic Explorer, showed the children the coral gardens he cultivates in Tahiti; Giovanni Chimienti, Marine Biologist and National Geographic Explorer, educated them on the extraordinary characteristics of deep-sea ecosystems through the power of underwater images;

Valentina Gottlieb, Environmental Advocate and Actress, offered a meditation class inspired by the movements of yoga and the waves; Carmelo Isgrò, Biologist and Founder of the MuMa

Milazzo Sea Museum, entertained the young guests with a game of ‘charades’ inspired by the animals that live in or near the ocean.