BLUE EDUCATION, AN OCEAN OF OPPORTUNITIES
"How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is obvious that it should be called Ocean" is the first thing we think when we see a panorama of our planet where the color blue clearly predominates.
The oceans are crucial for life on our planet, but paradoxically they are still largely unknown.We know that they are the source of life, but many do not know that 93% of life on the planet develops in them.
We think that the lungs of the planet are the Amazon jungle or the forests, but they are really the oceans: phytoplankton produce 85% of the oxygen that is released into the atmosphere. In addition, the oceans absorb more than 30% of the CO2 generated by man.
Paradoxically, we know better the surface of Mars, which is 100% mapped and yet the seabed is only mapped in 5%, when it is estimated that in 5 years with 40 oceanographic ships could be mapped 100% (According to the scientist Walter Smith of the U.S. Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency -NOAA).
It is also well known that man has visited more space than the seabed, specifically 562 people have traveled into space, and only 7 have been to the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench, including the director of Titanic, James Cameron.
Contrary to what everyone thinks, the highest mountain in the world is not Everest, and is located in the ocean, specifically the Mauna Kea in Hawaii, with 6,000 m under the sea and more than 4,000 m. above the sea.
With all these data, what is clear is that we still have a lot to discover and learn from the oceans, which are a real engine of wealth and employment. We cannot protect or take advantage of what we do not know.
Therefore, it is necessary to raise awareness and educate about the importance and potential of the oceans and the Blue Economy.
According to the European Union, the Blue Economy "is one that recognizes the importance of the seas and oceans as drivers of the economy because of their great potential for innovation and growth".
The Blue Economy is therefore a strategic sector for economic development and job creation.
It is a sector from which an infinite number of professions related to the sea are derived, however, it is the great unknown for most of the population.
Therefore, it is necessary to educate the new generations about the potential of the Blue Economy.
And it is here where the Blue Education Association was born, an integrative and transversal project formed by a multidisciplinary team, some of them present here today.
Blue Education was born to sow the seed of the sea in the youngest population, so that, tomorrow, these children will see the Sea Sector (in the broadest sense) as an option for a professional future.
The ultimate goal of Blue Education is to bring everything related to the sea, its potential and employability, through education.
Educación Azul works along the following strategic lines:
Education:
- Working from the earliest ages, organizing leisure experiences at sea, through workshops, blue week, beach cleaning. All with the aim of stimulating curiosity about the sea and promoting maritime professions.
Employment and professional development:
- Making young people aware of the professions in the maritime sector, and offering them career guidance.
- Developing training courses aimed at meeting real market needs,
- Promoting the inclusion of young people at risk of exclusion so that they can access a decent job in one of the professions of the sea.
Awareness-raising:
- Using communication as an instrument to give VISIBILITY, INSPIRE and spread the word.
- Organizing events to BRING TOGETHER and share
- CREATING collaborative networks that connect all the agents through a seal of commitment
since Blue Education must be a commitment of all professionals in the sector, to give continuity to what we do, if tomorrow we want to have committed and qualified professionals.
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