Overview
The ocean is vital to all life on Earth. It provides countless resources,regulates the climate,and supports the livelihoods,cultures, and heritage of billions of people. Yet, our current approach to ocean governance faces profound challenges. Fragmented regulations, weak enforcement mechanisms, and insufficient international cooperation hinder our ability to address interconnected threats such as overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Equally troubling is the exclusion of those most intimately connected to the ocean—coastal and island communities—from critical decision-making processes.
Their voices, perspectives, and traditional knowledge, essential for effective ocean stewardship, remain underrepresented.These challenges demand a transformative, transdisciplinary approach to ocean governance. Such a system must honor diverse ways of knowing, including Indigenous and local knowledge systems, and foster collaboration among stakeholders. Art emerges as a powerful catalyst for this transformation. Universal and boundary-crossing, art makes complex environmental challenges accessible to policymakers, communities, and the public.
By integrating artistic expression into governance, we can inspire public awareness, create inclusive spaces for dialogue, and deepen humanity’s connection to the ocean. This new e-learning course offers a unique exploration of art’s transformative potential in ocean governance. Bringing together artists, researchers, Indigenous communities, ocean advocates, and policymakers, the course examines how artistic creation can bridge divides and inspire innovative solutions to the triple-planetary crisis. For many, the ocean is more than a resource—it holds deep spiritual and cultural significance. Yet, current governance structures often overlook these profound connections, limiting their potential to inform transformative policies.
This course addresses this gap by fostering a governance approach where both the ocean and humanity can thrive. Through the lens of art, participants will explore new ways to perceive, relate to, and protect our ocean, forging a future where diverse knowledge systems and creative expression lead the way toward sustainable stewardship.
** The artwork featured on this course page was created by two talented artists, Julia Granillo Tostado and Elisa Morgera, whose vision brings the themes of ocean governance to life. Their captivating illustrations reflect the complexity and beauty of the marine world, serving as a visual complement to the course's content.
Support climate change literacy
We want to continue our crucial journey to equip people with the skills and knowledge needed to make informed decisions, to act and to fight climate crisis.
DonateLearning Objectives
The main objective of this course is for participants to explore the intricate interplay between art, knowledge co-creation, and ocean governance. After completing the course, learners will be able to:
- Discuss threats to ocean health and the challenges faced by ocean-dependent communities.
- Identify the potential roles art can play in decision-making processes, particularly in relation to ocean governance.
- Outline the key steps and identify entry points for implementing art and art-based approaches in decision and policy-making processes.
Target Audience
This course will appeal to learners primarily interested in ocean governance; youth, artists, ocean-dependent communities and researchers who may be interested in learning about integrating art and art-based approaches to influence governance. It may also be of use to policymakers, non-state actors and stakeholders interested in learning about influencing decision-making and policy-making processes in ocean governance and other cross-cutting issues such as climate change.
Course at a glance
The course takes learners through approaches to ocean health challenges, the rich knowledge systems of ocean-dependent communities, and threats they face and dives deep into case studies from around the world, showcasing specific examples where art and art-based approaches have been used to influence ocean-related decisions and policymaking. It is spread across 3 modules as follows:
Intent to Use SurveyModule 1: Introducing Art as Method of Participatory Ocean Governance
Module 2: Art influencing ocean related decision-making Policy
Module 3: Do it Yourself – An Art-based Toolkit for Transformative Ocean Governance
Certificate
Each module has a final quiz that aims to assess the achievement of the learning objectives. The assessment contains 10 multiple-choice questions. After passing each module's final assessment with at least 70% within three attempts, the participant is automatically awarded a badge per module. After obtaining all three badges (from the 3 modules), the participant can download a Certificate of Completion from the ‘Certification’ tab.
Partner
This e-course was developed in collaboration between the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and One Ocean Hub who provided content as well as the artwork featured therein. One Ocean Hub is an international programme of research for sustainable development, working to promote fair and inclusive decision-making for a healthy ocean whereby people and the planet flourish.
