The First UN Conference Dedicated to Ocean Literacy Meets in Venice for World Oceans Day Organized by Prada Group & UNESCO

On June 7th and 8th, for World Oceans Day, the first United Nations conference dedicated to ocean literacy entitled “Ocean Literacy World Conference” took place in Venice. The event, organized by the Prada Group and UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission represents an important milestone in the partnership between the two organizations which, since 2019, have been working side by side to develop the SEA BEYOND educational program aimed at raising awareness among the younger generations on the health and protection of the ocean.

This included 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 meters, 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.

The conference brought together 131 delegates from UNESCO Member States and ocean literacy experts from around the world to contribute to the “Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy,” a collective document that in ten points contains concrete recommendations to rebalance the relationship between the ocean and human beings. The declaration will be shared with UN Member States on July 2nd in New York to help shape the agenda for the UN Ocean Conference to be held in Nice, June, 2025.

UNESCO & Prada Group Announce The Third Edition of Their Sea Beyond Program

Today is International Day of Education, and in celebration, UNESCO and Prada Group have announced the third edition of their SEA BEYOND educational program dedicated to the dissemination of ocean literacy and ocean preservation, as well as a new partnership with Bibliothèques Sans Frontières (Libraries without Borders). This year, 34,385 students from 184 secondary schools across 56 countries will benefit from the SEA BEYOND’s training, which will focus on the interrelation between the ocean and climate, and the associated environmental challenges. It will offer ocean literacy training sessions for students and teachers and include live lessons with UNESCO ocean and climate experts. The program will run from January through June 2024 and will end with an international contest, as per the previous editions. 

All participating schools will their own awareness campaigns, which will encourage their peers to develop more conscious behaviors that help to promote ocean preservation using text, graphics or interactive content. The jury evaluating the campaigns will be composed of new and pre-established SEA BEYOND “friends,” the so-called SEA BEYONDers, people who have placed a love for the ocean at the center of their personal and professional lives.