Project Overview

Sea Change at a glance

Project Objectives

The Sea Change project aims to establish a fundamental “Sea Change” in the way European citizens view their relationship with the sea, by empowering them, as Ocean Literate citizens, to take direct and sustainable action towards a healthy ocean and seas, healthy communities and ultimately a healthy planet.

Key objectives of Sea Change are to:

• Compile an in-depth review of the links between Seas and Ocean and Human health based on latest research knowledge outputs.
• Build upon the latest social research on citizen and stakeholder attitudes, perceptions and values to help design and implement successful mobilisation activities focused on education, community, governance actors and directly targeted at citizens. 
• Build upon significant work to date, adopting best practice and embedding Ocean Literacy across established strategic initiatives and networks in order to help maximise impact and ensure sustainability.
• Ensure that efforts to sustain an Ocean Literate society in Europe continue beyond the life of Sea Change through codes of good practice, public campaigns and other ongoing community activities.
• Ensure that all activities of Sea Change are carefully monitored and evaluated to ensure maximum sustainability, effectiveness and efficiency.
• Ensure Knowledge exchange with transatlantic partners to bring about a global approach to protecting the planet’s shared seas and ocean.

The objectives will be achieved by a closely interlinked programme. Sea Change includes a mobilisation phase engaging with citizens, formal education and policy actors. Crucially, the legacy of Sea Change, including continuing knowledge sharing with North America, are embedded within the project.

Methodology 

The Sea Change project objectives will be achieved by a closely interlinked programme.

• Sea Change will firstly create a resource containing standardised knowledge relating to the links between the planet's seas and ocean and human health.
• This information will be disseminated to raise awareness and communicated through targeted campaigns tailored for key stakeholder groups.
• Dialogues will be carried out with policy makers on seas and ocean health and consultations and engagement activities will ensure mutual learning between the project partners and target stakeholders.
• Existing relevant programmes and initiatives from European Member States and North America (e.g. Ocean Literacy campaigns; One World, One Ocean, World Ocean Day, etc.) will be linked through complementary networking and coordination activities.
• Sea Change includes a mobilisation phase which will engage with schools, citizens, decision makers and industry representatives with the idea that we ALL share one ocean – and that this ocean is fragile.
• Crucially the legacy of Sea Change, including continuing knowledge sharing with North America, is embedded within the project.

For a full description of the project work packages, click the button below.

Work Packages

Expected results and impact

1. The targets identified to be reached indirectly will be achieved through a major public awareness campaign under WP7. This campaign will link with networks, associations and key stakeholders to act as ‘multipliers’ of the Sea Change message in the longer term.
2. Sea Change, will use the latest knowledge arising from EC funded marine research, including recent studies on citizen perceptions, attitudes and behaviour (e.g. CLAMER, KNOWSEAS, Sea for Society, MARLISCO) to help:
   1. influence and frame messages during mobilisation activities (WP3, 4, 5), and
   2. roll out the campaign.
3. The campaign will be implemented by all partners; including the members of the partner networks (WON, Ecsite etc.) which will multiply impact as the campaign will thus reach thousands of visitors at associated aquaria, science centres and museums.
4.  In order to support the ecosystem approach and contribute to the objectives of the MSFD (Impact 2), Sea Change will encourage stakeholders to recognise that humans are part of the ecosystem and that our activities both affect the ecosystem and depend on it. The project will endeavour to foster behaviour and attitude changes in order to encourage citizens to become responsible actors of change and to use the ecosystem approach to make decisions in order to manage their activities sustainably.
5. Sea Change will bring together a powerful collection of change agents who will collaborate and cooperate to leverage their unique insights and experience to add value, act interdependently, share knowledge and build trust in innovative, scaled-up ideas and solutions to social challenges. Due to their broad geographical coverage and active cooperation, the science centres, museums and aquaria that constitute Sea Change are ideal collaborators for ensuring significant impact of the project outcomes. An example of the multiplying role of network members is their involvement in the scaling up of the best pilot projects from WP 3, 4 & 5.
6. Sea Change will create an extended network of “Sea Change agents” empowered through WP2 to help bring about the desired “Sea Change”.
7. Sea Change has been designed to include dedicated work packages focusing on impact measurement (WP8) and ensuring a Sea Change legacy beyond the funded project duration (WP6), which will also promote the setting up of new networks to support Ocean Health - building upon the collaboration and analysis of the activities developed as pilot activities in WPs 3, 4 and 5.

Ultimately, the Sea Change project will:

• Educate and engage a wide range of audiences – from scientists to sailors and pupils to policy-makers – not only on the vital importance of a healthy Ocean to the health of humanity, but on their role in maintaining ocean health into the future through simple everyday actions.
• Leave a legacy of awareness and care for the most important resource on this planet – The Sea.