Projects - 22 October 2025

Libraries to Raise Youth Awareness on Ocean Protection

“Humanity depends on the ocean, but the future of the ocean is at risk because of human activities. If we want to succeed in preserving it, we must support scientific research, deepen knowledge, and invest in education.” Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO.

Launched in 2024 in the framework of SEA BEYOND, the project by Prada Group in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the initiative run by Biblioteche Senza Frontiere Italia aims to raise awareness among young people about issues related to Ocean protection. Thanks to the Ideas Box, a mobile multimedia center of over 100 square meters designed by Philippe Starck in 2014, BSF provides educational tools in underprivileged neighborhoods in Naples, as well as in its Ideas Box programs in France, Burundi, and Côte d’Ivoire.

On World Ocean Day, June 8, 2024, the Prada Group, IOC and BSF Italy (Biblioteche Senza Frontiere) inaugurated a new thematic Ideas Box during the first Ocean Literacy World Conference held in Venice: the SEA BEYOND Ideas Box. The result of a collaborative effort between BSF Italia and experts from Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, this mobile media library is designed to raise youth awareness about Ocean conservation through resources on biodiversity, climate change, plastic pollution, sustainable resource management, and more.

“Education is a fundamental human right, and scientific progress should not be reserved for a minority. Prioritizing this issue and ensuring access to ocean education is a matter of social justice – so that everyone can understand critical environmental challenges, become familiar with the ocean, and realize their potential as active citizens.” Patrick Weil, Founder and President of BSF.

Giving Children the Tools to Act Tomorrow

Since summer 2024, the SEA BEYOND Ideas Box has been entrusted to FOQUS – Fondazione Quartieri Spagnoli, which has installed it on its premises, hosting an annual program of workshops, meetings, indoor and outdoor activities in the Metropolitan City of Naples, run by Biblioteche Senza Frontiere. In April 2025, the “SEA BEYOND Ideas Box Tour” kicked off, a journey that included five stops across the islands of the gulf and some key locations in the Metropolitan City of Naples:

  • Procida island, in collaboration with the Area Marina Protetta Regno di Nettuno and the Comune di Procida
  • Ischia island, in collaboration with Area Marina Protetta Regno di Nettuno and Comune di Forio
  • The Darwin Dohrn Museum in collaboration with the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn
  • The Centro Polifunzionale Ciro Colonna in eastern Naples in collaboration with Maestri di Strada Onlus
  • Spazio Obù at Sant’Anna a Capuana neighborhood in collaboration with Fondazione Terzoluogo

The program reaches both teenagers and younger children – as illustrated by this anecdote shared by a preschool teacher in Naples:

“A few days after a workshop on the importance of algae in marine ecosystems, a 4-year-old boy told me that he had gone to the beach with his grandparents over the weekend. Thinking they were doing something good, they had started collecting the washed-up posidonia on the shore. The boy stopped them and explained that it was a precious plant for the marine environment!”

Beyond Italy, this project has an international dimension. Designed and selected by our teams in collaboration with UNESCO experts, a digital educational booklet, activity sheets, and thematic content have been integrated into eight Ideas Boxes already deployed in France, four in Burundi, and six in Côte d’Ivoire. Topics include marine species protection, the links between humans and the Ocean, and more.

Among the various educational tools contained in the SEA BEYOND Ideas Box, there is also a booklet written by Andrea Coccia – journalist and co-founder of Slow News and La Revue Dessinée Italia – and illustrated by Maicol & Mirco – cartoonists of “Scarabocchio caustico” – which aims to make us recognize how some supposed information about the Ocean is full of holes, incorrectly influencing our perceptions and, in a chain reaction, determining our decisions, choices, and actions.

Finally, in each of our spaces, we also involve parents in order to strengthen the impact of the project. Intergenerational awareness-raising, family discussions, ideas for activities to do together… all ways to broaden the reach of this initiative and foster a collective reflection on these vital issues.

Photos by Antonello De Rosa, courtesy of Biblioteche Senza Frontiere Italia

BSF at UNOC 2025!

On the occasion of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) 2025, BSF presented its SEA BEYOND Ideas Box in Nice.

This international gathering provided an opportunity to raise awareness among global stakeholders about the importance of education, awareness, and access to information for Ocean protection, and to share concrete, innovative solutions that strengthen community resilience to climate challenges.

BSF has raised awareness on environmental issues, reaching more than 10,448 people. By training educators, engaging families, and working hand-in-hand with local actors, BSF is building a comprehensive learning ecosystem for a sustainable future.

In 2026, BSF aims to expand the program’s impact in Italy and extend it to new regions. The goal: to continue linking education, civic engagement, and the preservation of natural resources.

Together, let’s stand for healthy Ocean and a protected planet!

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