Ocean citizenship. The time to adopt a useful concept for environmental teaching and citizenship education is now

Abstract

The sea is undeniably the unique heritage shared among the world’s inhabitants. Most people seem to identify very little or no connection between their activities and the future of the ocean. However, a well-preserved ocean may enhance and protect human wellbeing. In this perspective, sea education is a meaningful tool to inspire a sense of attachment and personal responsibility that can be translated as ocean citizenship (OC). There is considerable support in the literature debate to recommend further investigations on this topic and scholars seem to agree with the need to develop sea literacy as a key factor to water preservation and ocean environments. In Italy, the debate is quite far from being fully taken into consideration, despite its 7,500 km of coasts and the need to save the Mediterranean Sea habitat. Despite its importance, the sea is abig absentee in the geography of Italian schools, as well as in environmental education conducted in and out of the school system. This work resonates with the recent overseas studies and aims at relaunching the discussion on the meaning of ocean citizenship to provide an opportunity to develop OC in terms of environmental and citizen education.