Understanding Ocean Literacy in Canada is a ground-breaking national study conducted by a team of early career researchers, graduate students, and diverse organizational and university partners. This study established a baseline seascape of ocean literacy (OL) in Canada and its results informed the co-development of a national OL strategy: Land Ocean Water Us.
The study examined OL across five regions (Pacific, Inuit Nunangat, Atlantic, St. Lawrence, and Inland Canada), and within nine sectors (Education and Youth, Government, NGO and Advocacy, Academia and Research, Industry, Community, Media, Cultural Heritage, and Health), collecting data between September 2019 and March 2020 from participants whose work (1) advances ocean knowledge, (2) strengthens ocean values, and/or (3) implements ocean actions. Over 3,000 Canadians and more than 400 organizations participated and a total of 18 research reports (4 national, 14 regional) were created.
As part of this massive project, MEOPAR’s KM Fund was proud to support the translation of the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition‘s strategy into French and Inuktitut, the production of short regional and sector-relevant videos to accompany the strategy, data visualization of key recommendations and actions; development of an interactive, digital national OL asset map, and development of a social media and overarching communication campaign.
