In early 2020, Prada partnered with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to head up an educational programme called Sea Beyond.
According to the head of marketing and CSR for the Prada Group, Lorenzo Bertelli, the decision to join forces with UNESCO and the IOC was influenced by the Italian fashion brand’s belief in the importance of education and culture as integral to long-term sustainability.
Sea Beyond is a pilot project that was conducted in high schools all over the world with the intention of raising awareness about ocean preservation and sustainability. More specifically, the aim of Sea Beyond was to educate future generations about mindful behaviours to adopt in regards to the ocean and its many precious resources. This goal of sustainable consumption was in part, informed by the United States 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This past week, Prada and the IOC made a joint statement announcing the completion of the roughly six-month-long project. They also presented the results of the final phase of the project.
The Sea Beyond project was divided into two phases. The first phase began in October 2020 and wrapped up in January 2021. This phase saw high school teachers in ten cities around the world, ranging from New York to Shanghai, participate in webinars on how to develop an educational lesson plan relating to ocean sustainability. The webinars were hosted by leading UNESCO-IOC experts. Upon completion of the webinars, each school received a toolkit that would help the teachers instruct the students on themes relating to ocean sustainability. The toolkits contained items such as recycled cardboard, as well as both creative and educational materials.
Meanwhile, the second phase of Prada and the IOC’s Sea Beyond project began on January 25, 2021, and was focused on the students. In this final phase, the students, or “sea ambassadors” as they are referred to within the project, were asked to develop awareness campaigns centred on ocean conservation as part of an international competition. There are eleven participating schools in total, including New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, USA, the Kingston Academy in Surrey, UK, Protea Heights Academy in Protea, South Africa, and Benedetti Tommaseo in Venice, Italy, to name a few.
The winning campaign will be selected by an international judging panel and announced on March 26, 2021, via a virtual event live-streamed on the Prada Group’s website.
The winner’s work will be showcased on both Prada and the IOC’s respective websites and social media platforms. Further, the winning school will receive an award and 5,000 euros to be used for educational materials.
