The Ocean Incubator Network (OIN) Living Laboratory and Ocean Literacy Toolkit

The report documents the experience and knowledge gained during the Ocean Incubator Network workshop on Ocean Literacy, led by Margherita Paola Poto and Laura Vita. The event was held at the Arctic House in Copenhagen and funded by UArctic UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, over May 2-4, 2024. The workshop was organized as a dynamic living laboratory facilitating active participation and contribution from the Ocean Incubator Network members. Structured over three days, the workshop’s agenda followed two thematic pathways: connecting with each other and connecting with the ocean. This work resulted from the culmination of a series of preparatory meetings spanning from September 2023 (with a kick-off in Tromsø) to April 2024 (Monthly Coffee Meetings). Under the guidance of Laura Vita and Margherita Poto, the team members collaboratively crafted creative projects centred around three foundational pillars: Positionality, Inter-cross-trans disciplinarity, and Co-creation. During the workshop, team members worked in groups to co-create activities based on the pillars captured in structured booklets. The co-created activities will be included in the final toolkit, which will be prefaced by a scientific introduction and accompanied by a dedicated book chapter (one per theme). The chapters will be co-authored by the team members and will detail the objectives, rationale, methodologies, and final results of the project. In addition to the booklets and the activities, the workshop produced footage for two video documentaries and generated various supporting materials such as illustrations, mindmaps, and infographics. Collaboration with multiple project networks, including ECOCARE (HKDIR UTF-2020/10084) and the Deep Network (Erasmus+), and the BridgET project was a hallmark of this endeavour. The outcomes of this workshop are expected to extend beyond the event itself, with a scientific publication planned for Autumn 2024 and the learning materials set to be utilized in outreach activities with schools in Colombia and Brazil, as well as in a new University course on Planetary Health offered through EUGLOH, at both UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the University of Hamburg.