Keeling Curve

Primary Project Category:

Secondary Project Category:

Project Summary / Description:

The Ocean Awareness Contest engages youth ages 11-18 worldwide in learning about and exploring the connections between human activities and the health of our ocean through the arts, introducing them to the impacts of climate change and empowering them to take action. Through the creative process, students explore their feelings, forge a personal connection with the issue, and demonstrate increased awareness and commitment to pro-environmental behavior change. Student work becomes part of a global art collection that raises awareness and inspires protection of our blue planet, and that uplifts youth voices to advance dialogue and participation in environmental advocacy efforts.

Regions of Operations:

Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

Sustainable Development Goals:

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

The Ocean Awareness Contest is more than just a competition‚Äîit is an invitation for youth to share their questions, concerns, and hopes in a safe space; it is a platform from which to insert their voices and values in debates frequently dominated by their elders; and it is a global community of like-minded peers and supportive adults. The program empowers young leaders‚Äîa majority of whom are women (79% in the 2020 Contest)‚Äîto use their art, stories, and visions to guide action on personal, community, and policy levels. 

Akhila Bandlora, a student from landlocked Phoenix, Arizona, didn‚ t fully grasp the ocean‚ troubling state of affairs until she conducted extensive research for her poetry submission to the Ocean Awareness Contest. This experience sparked her environmental activism, and since earning the Contest‚ Gold Award, Akhila has helped organize Arizona‚ Youth Climate Strike, joined EarthEcho International‚ Youth Leadership Council, and served as a Sea Youth Rise Up delegate. 

Bow Seat gave me so much confidence in my poetry and a deeper understanding of the oceans. Now I consider these two truths‚Äîpoetry and water‚Äîso integral to who I am and who I want to be. ‚ Akhila Bandlora 

Bow Seat has recently committed to making a greater investment in young, creative environmental advocates of color, particularly those whose communities have been the most affected by environmental racism, pollution, and the impacts of the climate crisis, and who have been historically underrepresented in ocean conservation efforts, including the Ocean Awareness Contest. To that end, Bow Seat launched the We All Rise Prize, a new initiative to engage a greater number of Black, Indigenous, and Latina/o/e students in the 2021 Ocean Awareness Contest that includes $15,000 in new scholarships; educational programming that centers the voices of artists, performers, and activists of color; and a diverse and representative advisory committee.

Sub-Categories: