Originally hatched back in late 2019 at the first We Are Ocean summit, the team has kept the idea evolving and now has its own website & brand deck. Two of the original team members will host the session, and are looking to build the movement. This includes finding and sharing more stories from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and abilities to celebrate each other’s connection to water, drawing a connection between our daily lives and protecting our waterways. They are also on the lookout to recruit community leaders from across the globe to widen the reach and impact. 

While many thousands of people and organisations had been part of the movement against unnecessary plastic and ocean pollution for decades, the passengers will be wanting to jump off soon… but where will they go? We know that the work to connect the ocean and climate in the public consciousness is ongoing and that work is starting to pay off now - the issue is starting to push through. If we want to bring something to the party rather than jumping on the bandwagon - how can we, as a collective, most helpfully contribute to accelerate awareness and action on this issue?

In the lead up to the 2021 Summit an exciting new framework has been hatched for the We Are Ocean community - WAVES. It sets out an approach on how to communicate with others, and to connect their hearts to the Ocean. The originators of the framework are now looking to design further tools for you the user to become a toolkit for you and your organisation. Join them to work through your own situation to make a case study for others to see how the framework can become practical. 

For over a year the NHS and other key workers (over 1MM humans) have worked at the frontline of the pandemic, pushing the limits of themselves physically and mentally. We all know of the benefits of the blue for well-being, with the connection of the blue heart, could there be a beautiful offering and healing? What would it look like to offer social prescribing of the blue mind to these workers in the spring and summer of 2021? Launching both pilots as well as pushing for policy changes in the programs for recovery for the workers. 

Community is messy and human. It’s not about sameness - it is endlessly diverse and ever changing. At the same time though, it is enduring and constant. In considering this duality we find the value and benefit of a community like We are Ocean - to each of us as individuals and to the cause that brings us together - our ocean. What is best for this collective in 2021? Where should it focus, what can it do that no one else can?