Partnerships Initiative Ocean & Blue Economy Cycle

Through the microgrant the awardees were deeply engaged in initiatives spanning across Africa, directly influencing hundreds of dedicated young individuals committed to propelling the sustainability of ocean communities and blue economy endeavors. This cycle has demonstrated the tangible effect that a modest microgrant can have on small local organizations striving to restore ocean ecosystems.

These grassroots projects, while operating at a local level, have served as powerful showcases of the potential for cross-continental collaboration. Many of the youth-led organizations involved have been actively exchanging insights and experiences with their European counterparts who are also engaged in ocean sustainability initiatives. In some cases, this exchange even extended to in-person meetings and workshops facilitated by experts.

Despite there being only six projects, they managed to engage youth from a diverse array of countries in both Africa and Europe. Participants hailed from Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Germany, Estonia, France, Madagascar, Morocco, Togo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Finland.

The awardees included:

• Kenya Youth Biodiversity Network -Kenya
• Tech Hub -Tanzania
• Marine Debris Cleanup Project -Nigeria
• Arena Recycling Industry -Tanzania
• Je m’engage pour l’Afrique -France & Madagascar
• Coastal Resource Centre -South Africa

Trained youth from coastal communities in Kenya on mangrove restoration. Through intergenerational knowledge sharing with 30 Young people from 3 coastal counties of Kwale, Mombasa, and Kilifi. Youth were taught by local community leaders on mangrove nursery management, effective methods of growing mangroves, and economic significance of mangroves.

The project fostered intergenerational sharing of knowledge and skills which is immensely valuable to pass down best practices, traditional knowledge, cultural, and socio- economic significance of marine resources across generations, for sustainability of coastal ecosystems.

Through the projects 1000 additional mangroves were planted, which is a great step in the organizations vision of effectively restoring this former degraded landscape. They also hosted an in person meeting with coordinator of GYBN Europe, a part of the national delegation of Sweden, on the sidelines of a meeting with UN CBD.

Fostered youth and women's participation in the blue economy, enhanced resilience, and promoted sustainable practices, through capacity-building and green skills workshops.

Successfully planted 50 mangrove trees along Maweni Beach in Kigamboni. This direct action enhances the coastal ecosystem and contributes to mitigating coastal erosion.

Developed an Awareness Campaignthrough the Tanzania Bloggers Network digital media coverage that reached over 1000 people and fostered online collaboration with UN SDG Action Campaign and World Cleanup Day.

Led clean-up Campaign that led to the removal of 23 tons of marine debris from coastal areas, in Port Harcourt with direct involvement and feedback from community stakeholders. Enhanced community ownership of cleanup efforts, promoting local responsibility for coastal cleanliness and bolstering the blue economy's appeal to tourists and investors.

Conducted environmental clean-up community sensitization with the Elelenwo (local town) participants, incorporating stakeholder input into program content. Tailored sensitization materials to address specific community needs and concerns, promoting sustainable practices and fostering a sense of collective responsibility for marine health.

Conducted stakeholder workshops and surveys with local community members, to assess needs and gather input. Ensured that project activities align with the specific needs and priorities of the local community and stakeholders, enhancing the project's relevance and effectiveness.

Beach Clean Ups

• In collaboration with MBRC, conducted a cleanup at Coco Beach, Dar es Salaam, with over 100 volunteers and 12 organizations. Successfully collected 690 kg of plastic waste.
• Partnered with the Student for Liberty organization to celebrate World Cleanup Day, conducting another successful cleanup.
• Collaborated with the Irish Embassy to Tanzania and HUDEFO, involving a diverse group of environmental enthusiasts. The clean up event drew 187 volunteers, 47 children. Notably, the attendees included dedicated staff members from the Irish Embassy to Tanzania, enthusiastic students from Agape Secondary School, local and international NGOs, and committed members of the community (including beachgoers). With such a significant number of participants, collected a total of 159 sacks of waste, equivalent to a substantial 1685 kilograms of litter. An analysis of the collected waste revealed that plastics constituted 76% of the total waste collected.
• Arena Recycling joined hands with local collaborators, for the inauguration of the collection centre at Kawe Beach. This event marked the fourth successful beach cleanup initiative and the official launch of their Ocean Plastic Bank**. Over 20 environmental organizations participated wholeheartedly in the beach cleanup and the grand opening of the Ocean Plastic Bank.

Community Workshop Training
The program conducted comprehensive workshop training sessions involving 40 coastal community members and 40 youth. These workshops taught participants about the negative impacts of plastic waste pollution, proper waste separation, an sustainable practices. This output contributed to building a strong foundation of awareness and education among the target groups, empowering them to take action against pollution.

Hosted a Masterclass with expert advices and key knowledge on sustainable actions to preserve oceans and explore innovation to protect oceans. 50% of the participants of the 1st masterclass were interested to follow up on the training and joined the 2nd masterclass.

Engaged 50 local Madagascar youth to advise locals and tourists with on measures to protect Madagascar’s coastline.

Developed a booklet on the 10 recommendations to preserve oceans, that have been emerging from a collective workshop and will provide key actions to be applied by youth and other actors to have a long-term impact on ocean sustainability

Project aimed to provide information to young people in rural coastal communities of the opportunities for innovation that abound within the ocean economy in South Africa. Using an online format, scholars and interestingly out-of-school youth were engaged by presenters on relevant ocean issues, careers and sustainability of marine resources.

The activity engaged both African and European youth during implementation as CRC linked with Luontoliitto in Finland (which is a youth-based nature conservation and education organization) and also with Eberswalde University in Germany. Two presenters were from Finland and Germany. While most of the participants were African youth, there was cross-border collaboration as they were joined by a youth group in Tanzania. This was made possible by use of digital platform and fostered a very diverse and inclusive project environment.