As part of the PREP4BLUE project, the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) hosted a two-day gathering in Barcelona for five pilot actions funded in 2024 through the project’s citizen engagement funding scheme. The pilot actions aim to engage diverse publics in restoring the ocean and waters through creative, inclusive, and participatory methods.
The gathering was designed to foster mutual learning, peer exchange, and explore pathways for future collaboration aligned with the goals of the Mission Ocean & Waters. The two-day event combined formal presentations, collective discussion, local immersion, and facilitated co-creation activities, generating both interpersonal connections and conceptual outputs.
The first day, held at Centre de la Platja, opened with team presentations facilitated by PREP4BLUE partner Ifigeneia Giannoukakou Leontsini. Each pilot shared their project scope, methods, and future aspirations, followed by a Q&A and open discussion that revealed key cross-cutting values: emotional connection to the ocean, arts-based engagement, cocreation, and the importance of equitable and inclusive processes.
The second day, hosted at the ICM building, was dedicated to facilitated co-creation, led by Aua Plaza (Colectivo Posidonia). Participants explored synergies between their approaches and envisioned a future shared initiative through interactive exercises, mapping, and group dialogue.
Over the course of two days, the PREP4BLUE Pilot Actions gathering created a space where artists, educators, curators, scientists and researchers came together not just to present their work, but to connect, reflect collectively, and dream forward. What began as a series of individual citizen engagement projects quickly unfolded into something more connected: a constellation of aligned intentions, shared values, and mutual curiosity. Across storytelling, immersive experiences, education, and participatory design, participants discovered a common commitment to making the ocean felt, not just understood.
One of the clearest takeaways was the energy for collaboration. The co-creation sessions did not only surface ideas, they built momentum.
From this space emerged the early outline of a collective initiative tentatively called “Connect the Blue”, a modular and adaptable framework that could evolve into something larger. Among the concrete steps proposed was a joint application to DigiEduHack 2025, as a first opportunity to co-create in practice and bring wider visibility to this emerging alliance. What made this gathering remarkable was the atmosphere: generous, reflective, energising. Participants did not only share: they listened, offered support, and asked honest questions.
The full event report can be accessed here.
