All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network

All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network

The All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network (AA-BSN) Joint Pilot Action aims to connect schools from the Atlantic countries to rise and promote Ocean Literacy and society awareness, with no geographical, cultural, social, or language boundaries. The All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network will promote a bottom-up process where each school builds its own project based on its socio-cultural-economic reality. Linking all schools together will enhance knowledge exchange and create synergies.

Aim

The main goal of the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network is to create ocean-engaged citizens through enhanced ocean literacy activities by creating responsible and active generations that contribute to the Ocean’s sustainability through an international collaborative programme of different National Blue Schools Networks at the Atlantic Ocean level. The Blue School approach used in this network will encourage its students to become more aware of the ocean by inspiring them to emotionally bond with the sea and to translate their knowledge into effective attitudinal changes. It will promote the development of critical thinking and initiative in students, as well as an integrated and holistic view of the ocean. In addition, the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network promotes citizenship and cultural exchange among Atlantic countries, strengthening the identity of the citizens and the exchange of knowledge among different socio-cultural-economic realities.

Ocean literacy and awareness are crucial to promoting citizens’ understanding of ocean issues. However, there is still a lack of engagement of citizens in ocean issues and a lack of concrete actions promoting the sustainable use of the ocean resources, maybe except regarding plastics pollution. The All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network will contribute to creating ocean-engaged citizens through one of the most powerful multipliers, the students. Students change their family’s behavior and engage easily with the community. A Blue School uses different fields of knowledge, in transversal, innovative and creative learning.

Visit the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network website

Activities and Outcomes

To achieve the goals established for this Joint Action, several activities are planned to be realized:

  • Coordination of the national teams

  • Coordination of the international network

  • Development and dissemination of Communication Resources

  • Online courses (webinars and workshops) to empower All-Atlantic Blue School Teachers

  • Organisation of All-Atlantic Blue School annual meetings

  • Evaluation of the implementation of the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network

The Blue School approach used in this network will encourage its students to become more aware of the ocean by inspiring them to emotionally bond with the sea and to translate their knowledge into effective attitudinal changes. This network actively engages the school community in Ocean Literacy (OL), integrating the local community into its actions and interacting with Blue School partners’ network.

Impacts

The network will develop a committed network of schools that will strengthen their work on ocean-related topics. Schools in each country will decide to participate on a voluntary basis in their local program. Though differences in the programmes among different countries are expected, encouraged and desired, it is understood that, on average, the following impacts will be achieved:

As indirect impacts, the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network will:

  • Promote a cultural transformation co-created with the younger generations.

  • Promote marine sciences as a relevant and strategic field of work;

  • Promote the inclusion of ocean literacy in the school’s curriculum through the engagement of education policy makers in the All-Atlantic Governance Board;

  • Promote a closer connection between academy, society, and industry, since all will be called into action to support the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network.

The All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network will join forces, promote efficient cooperation and maximize impact by bringing together ocean literacy and awareness related institutions and local schools at the Atlantic Ocean level, including the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance-related projects. It will respect the cultural and economic differences among different realities and countries and link them all together in the same platform enhancing knowledge exchange and promoting real synergies with existing local initiatives.

This network will, through a new organizational approach, contribute to the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance mission by developing a transatlantic organized, structured and aligned ocean literacy and ocean awareness network involving schools, teachers, students, industry, municipalities, NGO’s, academia, science centers, museums and aquariums, local communities and families. It will foster transatlantic dialogue, scientific and cultural exchange, and the development of a high-quality strong, and coherent transatlantic initiative that will leverage from the existence of a common network to exchange experiences. More specifically the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network will contribute directly to the following Alliance societal needs: i. Ocean-engaged citizens through enhanced ocean literacy activities; ii. Human health and wellbeing; iii. Sustainable use of marine resources.

The network can benefit any of the following key common areas of interest under the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance: Climate Variability,  Ocean Observation, Ocean Resources, Ocean Technology, Emerging Pollutant, Polar Research.

Outcomes

Short-term achieved outcomes (from January 2021 to January 2023):
  • Got together to kick-off the network: (1) All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network meeting (June 2021); (2) #1 Annual meeting; (3) #2 Annual meeting. See reports here: (2) and (3).

  • Established a local coordinator per country involved in the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network (28 National coordinators from 18 institutions), and identified local stakeholders involved by country (189 stakeholders). See report here.

  • Established the coordination of the international network through the All-Atlantic Advisory Board and the All-Atlantic Governance Board. See report here.

  • Created the All-Atlantic Blue School digital interface (EN, PT, ES), the graphic identity (EN, PT, ES), several network and audiovisual materials (subtitles in EN, PTS and ES) and an e-book. See report here.
    AA-BSN Webportal;
    AA-BSN YouTube Channel;
    AA-BSN Audiovisual materials

  • Implemented online courses (webinars and workshops) to empower All-Atlantic Blue School Teachers. See report here.

  • Collaborated with the All-Atlantic Ocean Youth Ambassadors (AAOYA) in the development of the AAOYA booklet “Bridging the Ocean”. EN version; PT version; ES version; FR version.

  • Produced a report on the evaluation of the implementation of the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network. See the report here.

  • Established synergies with the AAOYA, 3 All-Altantic sister projects and 19 initiatives (organizations, universities and research centers among others). Engaged 455 schools, 125,178 sutdents and 3,458 teachers.

 

Long-term outcomes:
  • Full implementation of the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network.

Partners Involved

Led by the Universidade Federal de São Paulo in Brazil and co-lead by the Ministry of Sea – Directorate-General for Maritime Policy (Portugal) and the Centro Cultural de la Ciência, Ministerio da Ciência (Argentina), it also features the participation and contribution of Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, France, Ireland, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Portugal, São Tomé and Principe, South Africa and the United Kingdom.




Who else can be involved?

As a partner: organisations that lead national networks of ocean literacy and ocean awareness.

As a collaborator: organisations or projects that have punctual activities in the network for a specific action (e.g. capacity building) or sharing material, data, infrastructure.

As a participant: beneficiaries of the activities implemented in the network, including educators, students, and all school communities.

Downloads

Contacts

For inquiries about this Joint Pilot Action, please contact Ronaldo Christofoletti at the Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil, via email:

christofoletti@unifesp.br allatlanticblueschools@gmail.com