The Australian National Maritime Museum is coordinating a 10-year program of activities in support of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030.
Project implemented: January 2021
As a national museum with international reach, the program goal is to communicate ocean futures to local, regional, national and international audiences to increase public ocean literacy.
Australians are concerned about ocean futures. As a national org. in service to a marine nation, we must foster ocean literacy at home and abroad.
Exhibitions, collection, webpage, onsite and online learning programs launch. Will update with 2022-30 program annually.
The museum is developing a national survey for tracking Australian ocean literacy over the decade.
The Program has already achieved positive partnership outcomes and increased community engagement. It will continue to develop partnerships with universities, NGOs, industry and other identified organisations and communities with links to current and future maritime technology, ocean health and science.
The program is a series of exhibitions, informal and formal learning programs, public events, symposia, Ocean Talks, the Ambassador Bill Lane Sustainable Oceans Prize, publications and citizen science. It launches in 2021 with an international learning program (Australia-USA-Pacific) aligned with Decade themes, a link to our new contemporary and historic oceanographic instrumentation collection, and our first major exhibition VAST: the ocean, our future. The museum is partnering with national and international research organisations, government agencies, industry and communities to share stories of ocean innovations, science, community action, energy futures and sustainable industries.
Three major exhibitions will be developed throughout the Decade which will travel nationally and internationally. Smaller exhibitions are to be developed to reach remote and regional areas throughout Australia. Learning programs are delivered on-site for physical audiences (formal and informal learning as well as public programs) and online as in addition to local, regional and online public events.