The first format for high school children to inform, educate and sensitize young people about the impact of the sea on our lives and our lives on the sea starts from Milan. On November 22, a few days after the end of COP26, the Piccolo Teatro Strehler hosted the first One Ocean Summit Young in which 15 classes from different high schools in Milan participated and as many connected from all over Italy to follow the event in streaming.The One Ocean Foundation initiative was held under the patronage of the Municipality of Milan to promote a blue educational change.

“Everything is incredibly interconnected: the rain that falls on Milan comes from great perturbations originating in the Atlantic Ocean”, recalled Sandro Carniel, Research Director at the Institute of Polar Sciences of the CNR in Venice. “This is why the sea starts from where we are, regardless of what the geographic coordinates may be. And that’s why protecting the sea is a commitment that belongs to each of us”.

Speakers on this day dedicated to young people were scientists, researchers and water sports athletes of the caliber of Mauro Pelaschier, Furio Benussi, Max Sirena, Roberto d'Amico and Chiara Obino, who presented the results of their works, talked about the conditions of the ocean and talked about what they wish for a better future. The panel of experts met with the young students in the room and online, in a debate on the life of those who work for the sea, and the future of the new blue professions.

At the conclusion of the Summit, the One Ocean Young Challenge, a multidisciplinary and creative challenge for the sea aimed at students of grades III, IV and V of the high schools of the Municipality of Milan. Students, who can participate individually or in groups of up to six participants, will thus become protagonists of change by telling their own vision and interpretation on the role of the sea in our lives through science, art and words.

The challenge is open until 12 noon on 10 December 2021, and boasts the contribution of Canva that he put educational profiles are available to students to create the necessary content. For further information on our initiatives and to participate visit our website: 1ocean.org/oof-young/