The fourth cycle of the “Kindergarten of the Lagoon” project concluded this month with an outdoor lesson dedicated to the study of algae on the island of Sant’Erasmo. This year’s cycle involved 50 children, aged 3 to 6 years, from the Sant’Elena preschool (Venice). The initiative promotes the discovery of the lagoon’s biodiversity through outdoor activities and sensory workshops based on experiential learning, with the aim of creating a strong connection between children and the ecosystem.

Building on this experience, the IOC team has developed the “Ocean Literacies in Early Childhood: Outdoor Education and Learning for Sustainability” toolkit, designed as a practical tool for educators worldwide wishing to replicate the Kindergarten of the Lagoon model in their own contexts. The toolkit promotes an interdisciplinary and experiential approach, integrating pedagogical, psychological and scientific perspectives to foster environmental awareness and an emotional connection with marine and aquatic environments, particularly through hands‑on, context‑based experiences. It also highlights how early exposure to “blue environments” can support children’s holistic development and strengthen their sense of belonging to the ocean.

The toolkit was presented on 5 June during a dedicated webinar, featuring contributions from experts who have supported the development of the project over the years: Francesca Santoro, Senior Programme Officer (Ocean Literacy) UNESCO; Esteban Gottfried, Consultant (Ocean Literacy) UNESCO; Alessia Tombolini, Clinical Psychologist and PhD candidate in Social Psychology, together with Viviana Langher, Professor of Clinical Psychology, both from Sapienza University of Rome; and Michela Schenetti of the Department of Education Studies, University of Bologna. Additional contributions came from Michael Palmgren and Elinor Hermansson of the Marine Education Centre, Malmö (Sweden), and Elin Eriksen Ødegaard of the Kindergarten Knowledge Centre (Norway), promoters of similar initiatives in Northern Europe. The toolkit is available here: link.
The fifth cycle of the Kindergarten of the Lagoon is scheduled to start next autumn.

June also marks the conclusion of this year’s cycle of the SEA BEYOND educational module for secondary schools worldwide − “Poles to Tropics: One Planet, One Future” − which involved 70 schools across 27 countries in a journey connecting polar and tropical ecosystems as key elements for the future of the planet. Through the collaboration between Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari, Coral Gardeners, and the IOC team, two dedicated educational modules on coral reefs and glaciers were developed, combining scientific content, expert insights and interactive tools to explore global environmental challenges. At the end of the cycle, students participated in an international contest, developing practical and interdisciplinary projects aimed at fostering awareness, responsibility and community engagement. The winning projects, selected by an international jury, were presented during a digital award ceremony held on 8 June.

• First place in the Corals category went to Manara School (Egypt) for “Guardians of theDeep Red Sea”, focusing on protecting Red Sea coral reefs by combining scientific learningwith community action, and promoting sustainable initiatives and educational workshops.
• First place in the Glaciers category went to Shanghai High School International Division(China) for “Frozen Voices”, addressing glacial melting and its impacts through anexhibition with installations and a social media campaign, encouraging greaterunderstanding of climate change.
• Second place went to Itz’at STEAM Academy (Belize) for “Coral Walls”, creatinginteractive murals and engaging the community through art and education to raiseawareness of coral reef degradation.
• Third place went to Escola Portuguesa de Moçambique - EPM-CELP (Mozambique) for“The Last Color of the Ocean”, a project on coral bleaching that saw students produce anexhibition and awareness materials, alongside a children’s story to explain coral bleachingin an imaginative way.

From the end of June, Accademia dei Bambini at Fondazione Prada will host SEA BEYOND, engaging more than 1,000 children, aged 3 to 10 years, in a journey to discover the invisible world contained within a drop of water. The workshop, co-designed by the IOC and Accademia dei Bambini, will be held at Fondazione Prada’s spaces in Milan.
The first session, scheduled for the last weekend of June and dedicated to families of Prada Group employees, will be followed by a series of workshops open to the public from mid‑September to mid‑November.
More information will be available on the Fondazione Prada website from September.

SEA BEYOND is a project by Prada Group conducted in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO since 2019 to raise awareness of sustainability and ocean preservation, contributing to the progress of ocean education on a global scale through a series of training initiatives for younger generations. Since its debut, the educational program has shared the principles of ocean literacy with more than 38,000 students around the world. Moreover, the “Kindergarten of the Lagoon” project – outdoor education activities for preschool children in Venice – was launched in 2023 to create links between kids and the lagoon ecosystem. While the main focus remains education, SEA BEYOND has recently extended its scope to new areas of focus: support for scientific research, community engagement activities and policy advocacy dedicated to the ocean. The commitment was further reinforced in 2025 with the launch of the SEA BEYOND – Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Connecting People and Ocean, designed to mobilize financial resources from a broad coalition of partners to help restore the relationship between humanity and the ocean. As of July 2023, 1% of the proceeds from the Prada Re-Nylon for SEA BEYOND Collection benefit SEA BEYOND. The list of products in this Collection is available at www.prada.com. Through SEA BEYOND, Prada Group has also trained its employees worldwide on ocean literacy principles via VR educational content and the AWorld app, the official platform selected by the United Nations to live more sustainably.

Prada Group is socially engaged to contribute to the sustainable development of communities and stimulate cultural debate in all its forms of expression. The Group partners with recognized players and international entities to develop educational and training programs, promote talent, support scientific research, foster women’s empowerment, and promote local culture and artistic heritage. Prada Group operates in the luxury sector through the Prada, Miu, Church’s, Car Shoe, Versace, Marchesi 1824 and Luna Rossa brands.
www.pradagroup.com

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO promotes international cooperation in marine sciences to improve management of the ocean, coasts, and marine resources. The IOC enables its 150 Member States to work together by coordinating programmes in capacity development, ocean observations and services, ocean science, tsunami warning, and ocean literacy. The work of the IOC contributes to the mission of UNESCO to promote the advancement of science and its applications to develop knowledge and capacity, key to economic and social progress and the basis of peace and sustainable development. The IOC is the entity in charge of coordinating the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (The Ocean Decade).