"Mar de Ciència"

Ocean literacy aims to bring marine research closer to the public and to rediscover and strengthen our connections with the ocean. It is directed towards the general public and families, as well as schools and educators.

Highlights

• We collaborate with entities in the Catalan region to promote the inclusion of the sea in schools and to consolidate the European Blue Schools Network.

2025 Actions

• Production of an educational guide to bring the sea into the classroom.
• March 12th - Inspira Cycle:
  Presentation of the outreach report "The State of the Ocean" and a round table discussion. This report, written by staff from the ICM, aims to raise public awareness of marine environmental issues based on scientific evidence.
• February 20th - Inspira Cycle:
  "Women in Scientific and Outreach Diving: Opening New Horizons," an engaging dialogue about diving, experiences, and anecdotes in a field where women are paving new paths. This event is in collaboration with FECDAS and the ICM's Equality and Diversity Group, as part of Awareness Month.

2024 Actions

• October 31st:
  Inauguration of the Josefina Castellví Library in Bon Pastor. A tribute to a pioneering Antarctic figure by ICM staff, including a visit to the exhibition "Living and Working in the Ice," produced by the ICM and loaned to the Library.
• July 11th:
  Debate and round table on Tsunamis: Prevention and New Technologies for Detection as part of the "CSIC in Film" cycle, featuring researchers from the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC) and the ICM, prior to the screening of the film "The Impossible," directed by J.A. Bayona.
• Throughout the year:
  Specific training for primary and secondary school teachers on marine culture in collaboration with Green Schools.

Knowledge transfer to provide information to the industry and administrations, reinforcing the blue economy and marine management. Aimed at public administrations and the private sector.

Highlights

• BlueNetCat. Innovation and Transfer Instrument of the Maritime Agenda of Catalonia.
• ICATMAR. Catalan Institute for Research on Marine Governance.

2024 Actions

• Participation in the Blue Hub and Blue Economy Market Place.

Participation and collaboration with the territory to turn marine research into an element of identity and local revitalisation. Aimed at the naturalist audience and the social fabric of the neighbourhoods.

Highlights

• Ocean Cities Network. United Nations programme to promote the Ocean Science Decade.
• Observadores del Mar & MINKA. Citizen science platforms.

2024 Actions

• March 9th:
  As part of the Ocean Decade Conference 2024 organised by UNESCO in Barcelona, the satellite event 'Building a Spanish Network of Marine Citizen Science' took place. Its aim was to analyse and discuss the opportunity and feasibility of establishing a national network for marine citizen science. The event featured experts and representatives from various initiatives related to citizen science and network creation at regional and national levels."

Exploration of new narratives to promote awareness and critical reflection on the present and future of the ocean. Aimed at the general public, with a particular emphasis on artistic and creative circles. Highlights include collaboration with BAU University Centre of Arts and Design, Espronceda Center for Art and Culture, and Fundación Épica La Fura, driving collaborative projects between art and science.

Highlights

2024 Actions

• September:
  An Ocean of Plastic. Over two weeks, 20 selected artists, guided by Fundación Épica La Fura dels Baus, participate in a collective creative process to reflect on plastic use and its impact on the ocean. Following an immersive experience at sea with the scientific team, an interactive performance is developed and presented at the European Researchers' Night, accompanied by a debate session with the audience.
• July:
  Thalastasi: The Symphony of the Ocean that Illuminates the Invisible. An artistic and scientific co-creation project that utilises generative code and visual and sound elements based on scientific data from the marine microbiome's DNA. The result is a digital artistic work that explores the complexity of biogeochemical processes carried out by marine microorganisms, essential for the planet's health. Presented at the Eufònic Festival.
• July 19th:
  3rd ICM-BAU Seminar: Foraging in the Field of Art and Science Collaboration. From BAU University Centre of Arts and Design and the Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC), a project is initiated where artists work extensively based on scientific activity, in the form of collaboration prototypes from a data ecology paradigm. This seminar will be a working session open to various agents from the scientific and artistic community interested in the initiative.
• June 9th:
  No t’emboliquis. A forum theatre piece on inequality of opportunity and gender roles in the scientific field. Four scientists from ICM-CSIC perform a scene based on real events and open a dialogue with the audience in search of possible solutions.
• May:
  Liquid Light: Another Way of Perceiving Relationships: two-day experimental laboratory where 20 artists explore plankton from a multidisciplinary perspective, transforming their reflections into a performative piece. In collaboration with Espronceda Center for Art and Culture.
• April 26th:
  2nd Seminar Meetings between Art and Science: Metaphor (ICM-BAU): Workshop-glossary Art/Science: FORAGE. Continuation of the 1st seminar Foresight (2023), an initial exploration of interests and lines of work with potential for development in the near future.
• April 8th-12th:
  The Blue and Us: A collective exhibition on our relationship with the ocean. Five independent artists exhibit their works within the ICM facilities during the International Conference of the Ocean Decade in Barcelona.