An Enhanced Partnership for SEA BEYOND

At the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission’s Member States Assembly (taking place from June 21st to June 30th, 2023), Prada Group and UNESCO-IOC announced a new enhanced partnership within the framework of SEA BEYOND, the educational programme dedicated to the dissemination of ocean literacy principles and ocean preservation, conducted together since 2019.

Today, at UNESCO’s headquarters, an official press conference takes place, with the following individuals in attendance: Vladimir Ryabinin, UNESCO-IOC Executive Secretary and Assistant UNESCO Director General; Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility; Liborio Stellino, Italian Ambassador at UNESCO; Francesca Santoro, UNESCO-IOC Senior Programme Officer.

In light of the new partnership agreement, which includes Prada Group’s bold commitment to make an ongoing donation of 1% of Prada Re-Nylon collection revenues to further sustain and develop the SEA BEYOND project, a two-year new programme on ocean literacy is presented.

With the substantial increase of resources SEA BEYOND will benefit from, the programme will now extend its scope beyond education, with two new areas of focus related to the ocean: support for scientific research and humanitarian projects.

The aim of this enhanced partnership is for SEA BEYOND to become an open platform, welcoming third-party projects with ocean preservation principles at the core. UNESCO-IOC will scout relevant opportunities and will analyze and validate all the new proposals submitted by Prada Group.

Vladimir Ryabinin, UNESCO-IOC Executive Secretary and Assistant UNESCO Director General, said: “We want to live in harmony with the ocean, and for that, we need to know it. That is why Ocean Literacy is an enabling factor for the success of the Ocean Decade. In a most friendly and fruitful cooperation with the Prada Group, we are seeding ocean knowledge in the minds of school students from many countries. What a great way it is to make people kinder and ocean healthier!”

Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, declared: “It is critical that everyone understands how culture and education are fundamental for making change happen. We need to invest in a constructive dialogue with young generations to contribute to a more sustainable future and preserve our ocean. UNESCO is the only UN agency with a mandate on both education and ocean science and its Oceanographic Commission has demonstrated a strong ability to bring stakeholders together. I am really proud we will continue this journey together”.

The new partnership between the Prada Group and UNESCO-IOC will see the opening of an Ocean Decade Coordination Office in Venice, within the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science & Culture in Europe and IOC Project Office on Ocean Literacy are based.

The main objectives of the Coordination Office will be:

• Overseeing Ocean Decade Challenge 101 - the United Nations’ programme to Change Humanity’s Relationship with the Ocean - through outreach and initiatives in Venice, with particular attention to youth;
  
  

• Launch of the third edition of the Sea Beyond high school students’ activities;
  
  

• Encourage and support the implementation of a blue curriculum across all Member States. To familiarize governments with this topic, UNESCO-IOC and Prada Group will organize the first World Conference for Ocean Literacy 2024 in Venice (in close alignment with the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona and in preparation of the 3rd UN Ocean Conference, France 2025);
  
  

• Monitor and report on Ocean Decade achievements as well as identifying gaps and requirements in the field of Ocean Literacy;
  
  

• Support the organization of events and strengthen Ocean Literacy networks (e.g. Blue Schools, Blue Cities and others), developing activities in collaboration with UNESCO’s Ocean Literacy With All programme:
  
  

• Collaborate with governments, research centers, NGOs, the private sector, and civil society to strengthen Ocean Decade activities, particularly in the Mediterranean area;
  
  

• Expand the activities for pre-school students within the Kindergarten of the Lagoon project.
   

Notes to Editors: SEA BEYOND achievements so far

Since 2019, the SEA BEYOND programme has significantly contributed to advancing ocean literacy globally, through a series of initiatives:

• Since its debut, the project has trained more than 600 international secondary school students. In its 1st and 2nd edition, 20 secondary schools joined a dedicated educational module from Brazil, China, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. Over the 2nd edition, students have been invited to freely interpret (with text, graphics, or interactive content), one of the ten challenges of the Ocean Decade. The winning projects were awarded during the UN Ocean Conference event in Lisbon in June 2022;
  
  

• The “Kindergarten of the Lagoon”, an educational programme of outdoor lessons in Venice for children in preschool, which has been launched in January 2023 and already reached more than 120 children;
  
  

• Strengthened understanding of ocean literacy for Prada Group’s ~14,000 employees worldwide, via AWorld app, the official platform selected by the United Nations to live more sustainably.