Within the Horizon Europe project OCEAN CITIZEN, communication and stakeholder engagement are recognised as fundamental components of effective marine restoration. Ensuring that project actions are clearly explained, accessible and connected to society is essential to achieving long-term impact. In OCEAN CITIZEN, these activities are coordinated through Work Package 6 (WP6), co-led by SUBMON. Running throughout the entire project, WP6 provides the integrated framework for communication, education, citizen science, citizen engagement and dissemination across the project. During this last reporting period, WP6 has continued to strengthen outreach across Europe, ensuring that restoration actions are visible, accessible and socially relevant.
Communication: strengthening visibility and access
Communication activities continued to be implemented as planned, guided by the project’s Communication and Dissemination Plan. During this reporting period, efforts focused on consolidating OCEAN CITIZEN’s digital presence. The project website and social media channels remain the main communication tools, evolving from presenting the project’s overall ambition to highlighting pilot site activities, restoration actions and field campaigns.
As part of this outreach strategy, OCEAN CITIZEN continued its storytelling initiative through the publication of the second comic in the project’s series, released in June 2025. Following a first issue focused on the pilot sites and the challenges facing marine forests, this new chapter shifts the spotlight to the restoration approach itself and, importantly, to the preparatory steps required before restoration actions can begin. By translating scientific concepts into an accessible and engaging format, the comic series contributes to making marine restoration understandable to a broader audience. A third issue is currently in preparation and will be released in the coming months.
Excerpt from the second OCEAN CITIZEN comic, published in June 2025.
A key communication milestone has been the development of a StoryMap that presents the work carried out across the five pilot sites in a visual, dynamic format. Designed for non-specialist audiences, the StoryMap brings together restoration actions, local contexts and project achievements in a coherent narrative, strengthening transparency and public understanding for each pilot site.
Building on this momentum, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was just launched in collaboration with other Mission Ocean initiatives. The course introduces the fundamentals of ocean literacy, explains marine forests and their restoration, and highlights how citizen science can empower individuals to contribute to conservation. Through practical tools and examples from pilot sites, the MOOC provides accessible knowledge and encourages participants to take an active role in protecting and restoring the ocean.
Dissemination: sharing knowledge and results
Dissemination of scientific results has continued to strengthen OCEAN CITIZEN’s visibility within the research communities. Between July 2024 and December 2025, the consortium participated in 18 scientific congresses and events, including the European Ocean Days.
During this reporting period, 14 scientific papers were published, bringing the total to 20 publications so far, with additional manuscripts currently under review. All outputs, including papers, posters and conference presentations, are publicly available here.
By ensuring that research findings are accessible and widely shared, WP6 enhances the uptake, transparency and long-term impact of OCEAN CITIZEN’s work, contributing to informed decision-making and broader European dialogue on marine restoration.
In addition, a three-part educational webinar miniseries was organised during autumn 2025, setting the scene for understanding Blue Forests and the restoration approach developed within OCEAN CITIZEN. Each session addressed a key aspect of the project’s restoration plan and was introduced by expert partners. The series gathered around 180 registrations, with approximately 40% attending the live sessions. The recordings remain available online, extending their reach beyond the live events.
Visual from the three-part educational webinar series on Blue Forests.
Engagement activities
Over the past 18 months, engagement activities have been implemented across the project’s five pilot sites, primarily involving public administrations, educators and students, and the academic and scientific community. Engagement has taken multiple forms, including multistakeholder meetings, school workshops, university lectures, public events and collaborative field-based activities. The aim is to create spaces for dialogue and shared understanding, helping citizens connect with marine restoration efforts in their local contexts.
To promote engagement with schools in particular, OCEAN CITIZEN integrates citizen science approaches, allowing students to explore ecological processes directly and to relate scientific research to tangible experiences. In this context, collaboration with other European initiatives has played an important role in creating synergies and expanding outreach.
A particularly illustrative example is the deployment of three experimental structures developed within the Erasmus+ project BiodivOcean, which promotes ocean literacy and awareness of marine biodiversity through innovative methodologies and citizen science. Installed in the harbour of Marina Amarilla, in Tenerife, these structures provide new substrates for marine organisms to colonise, enabling observation of ecological succession, the order and timing in which species settle on a new surface.
Two structures were installed just beneath the dock, while a third was placed at 15 metres depth. In collaboration with a local dive centre, underwater photographs are being shared every two months, allowing the colonisation process to be followed over time. In 2026, elementary school students will examine these structures as part of educational activities, linking citizen science with ocean literacy in a practical and engaging way. More information about this initiative is available on the OCEAN CITIZEN website.
As OCEAN CITIZEN moves forward, WP6 will continue supporting communication, engagement and dissemination activities across all pilot sites. Further actions and results will be shared in the coming months.
BiodivOcean experimental structures deployed in Marina Amarilla, Tenerife, providing new substrates to observe marine colonisation and ecological succession over time.
