OCEAN Global Exchange Series
Learning from Practice: Sharing Lessons from Community-Led Approaches to Marine Conservation and Sustainable Development
Dates: 29 September – 1 October 2026
The OCEAN Global Exchange Series is a virtual event designed to bring together OCEAN Grantees, external experts and the wider development and conservation community to discuss how marine conservation and poverty alleviation initiatives are addressing complex environmental and social challenges.
Over the course of three days, participants will be invited to ‘learn from practice’ through discussions grounded in real project experience, with opportunities to share insights and explore common challenges.
A session will be held each day, each lasting approximately three hours and focusing on a different topic relevant to the OCEAN portfolio. Each session will feature a series of short presentations showcasing practical examples from OCEAN Grantees, supported by members of the OCEAN Expert Committee and Blue Planet Fund Regional Coordinators, followed by a panel Q&A, discussion and questions from the audience. The event is free of charge.
Event timings and speakers are still to be confirmed and will be announced shortly.
- 29 September 2026 | Session 1 | Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods
Exploring the connections between marine conservation, sustainable livelihoods and resilient coastal communities.
Find out how projects are creating economic opportunities that make conservation work for communities, through livelihood diversification, community enterprises, value chain improvements and other locally led approaches that strengthen both livelihoods and marine conservation.
- 30 September 2026 | Session 2 | From Community Engagement to Empowerment
Highlighting how community participation, trust and collaboration can strengthen local leadership, community empowerment, inclusive governance and shared decision-making.
Understanding how projects foster meaningful participation by working alongside communities, local organisations and knowledge holders to strengthen inclusive governance, local leadership, shared decision-making, ownership and trust, creating the foundations for more effective and sustainable conservation outcomes.
- 1 October 2026 | Session 3 | Innovation for Impact
Using technology, data and innovative approaches to enhance conservation and community outcomes.
Exploring how projects are using digital technologies and innovative tools to improve monitoring, data collection, community engagement and evidence-based decision-making, showcasing practical solutions that support locally led action and contribute to more sustainable, resilient and inclusive outcomes across diverse contexts.
Can’t make the session time? No worries! We’d still love you to register, we’ll share the session links with all registered participants, so you can join whenever you’re able.
Please continue to visit this page for updates.
Image credit: OCEAN/Action for Ocean
