NEB Ocean, Coastal and Island Communities Lab

Project summary

The Lab is the operational answer to a structural gap in the EU Ocean Observation Initiative (Ocean Eye): while the science/data and governance pillars have institutional homes, the societal engagement pillar does not. 

Building on the Bauhaus of the Seas Sails (BoS) ecosystem, which has tested across seven coastal pilots how artists, scientists, educators and coastal/island communities co-produce ocean knowledge, the Lab scales this practice EU-wide.

It combines two scaffoldings: the BoS "drops, ripples, waves" theory of change (local pilot actions scaling into continental practice and policy influence) and the TBA21 cultural-method framework (embedding art and culture into the Ocean Observatory's scientific mandate). 

The Lab runs in two phases: 

• Phase 1 (Consolidation) maps existing BoS practices, methods and partnerships and builds funding strategies and governance; 
• Phase 2 (Activation) rolls out public-facing actions such as Oceanic Civic Rooms, Drifting Residencies, the Observatory as Sensorium, the Public Curriculum, Cultural Satellites and a Policy Studio. 

The project aligns with the EU Ocean Pact, the EOOI Communication, the Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness, the EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the forthcoming EU Strategies for Coastal Communities and Islands, and the UN Decade of Ocean Science.

Indicative project milestones

Achievements

Participation in the project

The project is open to participants within and beyond the NEB Community, including:

• Local and regional governments of coastal and island territories
• EU-level art-science programmes (S+T+ARTS, TIDAL Arts, Creative Europe)
• International/national research entities (ISMAR, CSIC, CNRS, IPMA, AR-NET and bodies linked to emerging marine science infrastructures such as the Biodiversity Gateway in Venice and Palermo)
• Universities and higher-education institutions in ocean literacy, marine science and transdisciplinary research
• Artists and creative professionals working at the art-science-ocean nexus
• Philanthropic organisations and private funders committed to ocean stewardship
• NGOs and community-led initiatives

List of project coordinators (organisations)

1. Fundación TBA21 (Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary) — Host
2. Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI) – Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa — Host
3. Municipality of Oeiras — Host

Contacts (persons)

• Nicolas Gharbi — nicolas [dot] gharbitba21 [dot] org (nicolas[dot]gharbi[at]tba21[dot]org)
• Luisa Metelo Seixas — luisa [dot] metelo [dot] seixastecnico [dot] ulisboa [dot] pt (luisa[dot]metelo[dot]seixas[at]tecnico[dot]ulisboa[dot]pt)
• Marco Alexandre Ferreira — Marco [dot] Ferreiraoeiras [dot] pt (Marco[dot]Ferreira[at]oeiras[dot]pt)
• Alexandra Vasconcelos — Alexandra [dot] vasconcelosoeiras [dot] pt (Alexandra[dot]vasconcelos[at]oeiras[dot]pt)