The Ocean Blue Forests International Summer School (ISS) aims boosting blue growth through the education of Portuguese and Norwegian university students, with diverse academic backgrounds. Blue forests are key marine ecosystems for human well-being, yet they are underrepresented in education curricula and underappreciated in professional groups. The ISS seeks to improve professional skills and competencies in blue forests ecosystem benefits. By the end of the ISS, students will be able to apply the acquired knowledge into their professional contexts.

The educational contents of the ISS will cover the role of blue forests in the carbon cycle and how restoring these ecosystems can contribute to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. The program was created to provide a multidisciplinary approach, combining lectures, field trips, laboratory work, and outdoor and cultural activities. Students will have direct contact with multiple blue forests stakeholders in Portugal and Norway (scientists, NGOs, fishing communities, decision-makers, and media professionals). Experiential learning on the blue forests will be provided to the trainees while promoting direct contact with the local community, who is part of the undergoing Ocean Alive sustainability project “Keepers of the sea” (https://www.ocean-alive.org/en/keepers-of-the-sea). In addition, a digital platform will be available to support the program's contents about Blue Forests. 

During the ISS students will conduct autonomous work that contributes to their evaluation. They will be challenged to apply their understanding to their own fields of interest and motivation. Students will develop and present a framework model on how they would solve a problem affecting blue forests.

The summer school will be held in Setubal (Portugal) to take advantage of the blue forests of saltmarsh, seagrass and macroalgae of the Sado estuary and adjacent rocky shores of the Arrabida region. 
 

The ISS and the Digital Learning Platform about Blue Forests
A digital learning platform on Blue Forests will be developed by the team of the project. The educational contents of the platform correspond to the modules of the educational content of the ISS program.

The team of the Ocean Blue Forest ISS
The Ocean Blue Forests International Summer School is promoted by Ocean Alive, a Portuguese NGO dedicated to seagrass protection and engaging the local community. The educational program takes advantage of the complimentary expertise and experience of Portuguese and Norwegian project partners on blue forests: marine biologists from Ocean Alive and CCMAR/University of Algarve, with a strong background in blue forests research, education and environmental awareness, and members of the GRID-Arendal, a Norwegian non-profit environmental communications centre, with strong expertise in providing capacity-building services and science-based information products. Both Ocean Alive and CCMAR project partner teams will share their knowledge in person with the trainees. GRID- Arendal team will participate online. Apart from the project members, the program will be conducted by other scientists and NGOs, members of the local fishing communities and decision-makers, and media and cultural professionals.

Project funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants. Through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are partners in the internal market with the Member States of the European Union. As a way of promoting a continuous and balanced strengthening of economic and trade relations, the parties to the EEA Agreement established a multi-annual Financial Mechanism, known as EEA Grants. EEA Grants aim to reduce social and economic disparities in Europe and strengthen bilateral relations between these three countries and beneficiary countries. For the period 2014-2021, a total contribution of €2.8 billion has been agreed to 15 beneficiary countries. Portugal will benefit from an amount of 102.7 million euros. Learn more at eeagrants.gov.pt