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Description
Ocean Heroes - The project aims to build effective capacity about the principles of ocean literacy, through the development of informal programmatic and methodological content to be used by the school community, and a communication strategy that promotes awareness and the engagement of the entire community. The project''s actions seek, on the one hand, to raise awareness and train students on issues related to sustainability in general, on the sustainability of marine resources and the importance of nature and the Ocean; and on the other hand, to raise awareness and alert to the responsibility and power that each of us, in its different capacities, has in its conservation and valorisation, promoting the change of behaviours and making them agents of change in the community in which they operate, and also for the adoption of more sustainable policies. For example, as citizens we can choose more sustainable fish, and we can also demand that decision makers ensure that fishing levels are sustainable.The planned actions aim to raise awareness among students about responsible consumption and marine conservation, in order to promote a change in behaviour at this level, as a guarantee of protection of the environment, the seas, the people and the communities that depend on fish to survive and availability of fish for future generations. Moreover, the project foreseen sessions to present to the students professional careers that are linked to the ocean.This innovative approach interconnects with several projects with other science-based projects (Co-Fishing, MPA X-ray Report, Unknown Seahorses and Fish Forward), acting in complementarity with them and translating the main recommendations for the community, promoting the affective connection and awareness for change. It is innovative because it calls for an affective connection with nature, in particular the sea, through participation and the promotion of active citizenship.
Summary of project results
Formal education is very important within society, but can have challenges to integrate and promote some areas, such as ocean literacy, within their curriculum. Also, some very important competencies to be developed within students, can also be a challenge to be engage and worked within the school curriculum. This project is innovative, because it focus on capacitating youth to be active citizens, promoting ocean literacy and emotional engagement with the ocean, giving space, time and new methodologies to allow these students to grow in their own passe and be multipliers of change. For the engagement and motivation of youth to join the activities, the project aimed to engage them since the very beginning, allowing youth to share their needs, interests and expectations and supporting them in the definition of the topics and activities to be developed within the club.
In order to answer the challenges identified, the following activities were developed within the project: • Face to face presentations, within different classrooms, to present the club’s idea and recruit youth to join (instead of using flyers); • Recruitment of 21 youth to join the club; • Creation of the extracurricular club within school (a classroom was reserved for this activity and the students co-developed ideas to decorate the place): a mural was painted and other materials, such as cushions, paints, flipcharts were bought to personalize the place; • 22 sessions were developed in total: o 18 sessions within school (in the club space); o 4 sessions outside school. • Students developed the questions and choose the speakers to be part of a round table (the speakers were oceans’ professionals who also participated in some sessions outside the school); • Also, a final forum was co-created with this students, where a round table with ANP|WWF education officer, a student representative of the club, a teacher and a youth activist developed a conversation on their experiences within the club, active citizenship and the importance of this type of projects within the school community. All the sessions implemented within the project were created based on the youth ideas and interest and integrated different and innovative dynamics and methodologies identified in the ‘Atívário’, a handbook created within the project, explaining all the educational methodologies used and their importance for competencies development within this students, competencies of extreme importance for school progress, such as autonomy, group work, emotional management and prioritization.
The project allowed these students to have different experiences, allowing them to explore different professional sectors and try out ocean’s sport (surf). Also the project achieved to co-create a game (in attachment) with this students, a card game that focus on ocean literacy, threats and good practices.