A dedicated Inception Report debriefing workshop was recently held as part of the Terminal Evaluation of the SEA BEYOND 2023–2025 programme, a global ocean literacy initiative implemented by IOC/UNESCO in partnership with the Prada Group and currently being evaluated by SETIN through an independent external assessment. The session served to ensure full alignment across the evaluation governance structure, validate methodological decisions and address the main operational challenges before moving into the intensive data collection phase.
The meeting brought together the core institutional actors guiding the evaluation process: IOC/UNESCO and PRADA Group, ensuring institutional coherence between both organisations.
SEA BEYOND and its role within the UN Ocean Decade
SEA BEYOND is embedded in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) and contributes directly to its mission of transforming humanity’s relationship with the ocean through education, awareness and youth engagement. This ambition is closely linked to the establishment of the Decade Coordination Office (DCO) for Challenge 10 in Venice, supported by the Prada Group, which will serve as a hub to scale and coordinate ocean literacy initiatives globally and regionally.
Why this evaluation matters
Since 2019, SEA BEYOND has helped strengthen ocean literacy worldwide through activities with secondary-school students in multiple countries, reaching more than 35,000 participants to date, as well as through a pilot programme for preschool children in Venice and the continuous expansion of school-based initiatives.
The Terminal Evaluation will assess to what extent these contributions have increased awareness and knowledge about the ocean, encouraged more sustainable attitudes and behaviours, and empowered students, educators and wider civil society to meaningfully engage with ocean challenges. Ultimately, it will examine whether and how the project has advanced the overarching mission of the UN Ocean Decade: transforming humanity’s relationship with the ocean.
