Ocean Literacy Movement in Africa

Inspiration

The world is facing several huge problems, one of which is how we treat the Ocean. It has been treated for centuries as a dump, however, it is a home, a resource and it gives us life. The problem of pollution has many facets, from the plastic that is dumped in the Ocean, oil spills that pollute the coast, pesticides that run-off from agriculture, and many other activities including fishing. Most of the trash that ends up in the Ocean comes from land based activities in cities and from coastal rivers. After only a year of Covid-19 we have observed a crucial pollution of many types of masks. The solution is in Education, especially in Ocean Literacy (OL), which is a SEED that is planted in young minds that will grow into a healthy individual capable of living in a more sustainable way for a better Future for our Planet.

While Ocean Literacy has taken hold in many parts of the world, in particular the Americas and Europe, there is still a huge shortage in Africa. Improving Ocean Literacy in Africa would satisfy at least three of the sustainable development goals (4, 13, and 14). Our inspiration is improving Ocean Literacy in Africa, which will have an impact on the education of the children in Africa, the local environment, the Ocean, and the Planet. One nation that is particularly struggling with education in general is the Benin Republic. This is the country chosen to be the case study to understand what is lacking to implement OL in Africa.

What it does

This is a unique opportunity to develop OL in a developing, African country, with a high level of poverty and illiteracy, which can them be applied to neighboring countries. This project is inovative as it will aim to overcome the challenges faced promoting education in Africa and will focus on using Culture and Technology to promote Ocean Literacy. Culture: finding ways to use local traditions to educate about the Ocean. Technology: using the internet to bring in experts and professors (digitally) from other countries directly to the classroom.

While the Ocean Literacy Movement has gained momentum around the world, certain areas are still in brackish waters due to poor educational infrastructure and poverty. However, the rights to marine education should be equal even for all nations. Benin Republic is proposed as a starting point to tackle this problem and bring equality at this moment when technology and progress are moving the nation forward.

There are two short term objectives (to do within one year):

CASE STUDY: Cotonou

RESEARCH: In the largest city of Benin Republic, Cotonou, do research to understand the limits of OL in Africa, a case study.

RESOURCES: Create and make available OL resources to students and teachers in Contonou

The project has a mid-term goal (to do within the second year):

IMPLEMENTATION: Benin Republic

LOBBYING: Lobby with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to add Ocean Literacy in the curriculum and give access to OL for all students in Benin Republic.

The final long-term objective (to start working on from the third year):

EXPANSION: Africa

NETWORK: Use the experience of the Benin Republic to in other African nations, that will network together and create an African Marine Educators Association. Guarantee marine education to all African students to instill a solid foundation regarding how to live sustainably with the Ocean.

How we built it

We all met on the Oceanthon and have never worked together before. There are five of us on the team but most of the project was developed by Lanou Bolariwa with the assistance of Carolyn Berger.

Lanou Bolariwa is an agro-ecologist and volunteer in a non-profit organization campaigning for education and the climate. He formed the #team-change_me to promote climate learning in schools to guarantee a healthy planet, with a primary focus on the situation in his home country, Benin Republic.

Carolyn Berger is an Oceanography and the Vice-Director of MuMa Milazzo Sea Museum in Italy link, a non-profit organization that does environmental education around the skeleton and story of a Sperm Whale that died due to an illegal drift net and plastic it had ingested, now position in the museum.

Other members of the team: Jhonnly Jn-Baptiste, Shalom Kunini James, and Adeshina Adebanjo

Valutable Mentors (thank you!): Bruno Libardoni, Dr. Alaa Eldin, Julia Stuijfzand, Marii Business, Alberta Longanei

Challenges we ran into

Implimenting Ocean Literacy in Africa will face several barriers, including:

1) poor infrastructure (lack of toilets) - a solution would be to build outhouses (working with local authorities),

2) waste matieral (disposal problems) - a solution would be to supply recycling bins (working with local recycling centers),

3) poverty (no money for resources) - a solution would be to collaborate with local companies, associations and government officials to find solutions, and

4) illiteracy (lack of education) - a solution would be to create educational material that doesn't need to be read (work with telecommunications company to have internet).

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We were able to work together even though we come from very different backgrounds, and the outcome is very interesting. The Mentors helped give us direction with their valuable guidance.