Introduce the ocean literacy at SETAC Rome
During the next European SETAC Conference, which will be held in Rome, from 13th to 17th May, a special session, entitled “Towards a shared understanding of science and risk communication in the context of the inevitability of chemicals and the hazard they may represent”, has been organized by Annegaaike Leopold (Calidris Environment), Thomas-Benjamin Seiler (RWTH Aachen) and Charmaine Ajao (ECHA).
As past year SETAC Environmental Education awardee, they invited Angel Borja (AZTI) to participate in the session, with a presentation on “Ocean Literacy: changing attitudes and behaviour of society in the face of the problems of the oceans”. In this contribution, the H2020 project ResponSEAble , will be presented, trying to raise awareness around six key-stories (fishing, eutrophication, renewable energies, coastal tourism, microplastics, and ballast waters), within the four European regional seas. Under the DAPSIWRM framework (Drivers, Activities, Pressures, State, Impact, Wellbeing, Responses, Measures) Angel will explain the products developed to change attitudes and behaviour of different actors related to each story, but also to the society at large, from children to adults, trying to test the changes in those attitudes.
The products include videos, cartoons, serious games, interactive tools, specialized courses, etc. Our aim is that if scientists and society have a shared understanding of science and risk communication regarding the problems of the oceans, these can be solved through the individual and collective changes in our attitudes towards the oceans in our daily lives.
