Marevivo & MSC Foundation continue teaching love for the sea through the pandemic

The “Nauticinblu” programme has started its fourth year in Piano di Sorrento. To date, 2,300 students have already been involved in this Marevivo and MSC Foundation environmental education programme.

Focus Areas: Education & Environmental Conservation

This March, Piano di Sorrento saw the return of “Nauticinblu”, the Marevivo environmental education programme for the students of 12 Nautical Institutes across Italy, thanks to the ongoing support of  the MSC Foundation. Dedicated to supporting an Ocean Generation set on environmental sustainability and responsible economic growth, the programme has involved 2,300 students across Italy since its inception four years ago and has always included Sorrento.

From the 24th of March, students at the Nino Bixio Nautical Institute will have the opportunity to learn from environmental experts about conserving biodiversity, the impact of climate change, protecting the oceans, the circular economy and the importance of Marine Protected Areas.

These are matters of greater concern than ever today, with the pandemic providing further evidence that our planet is under intolerable strain and that teaching our younger generations about environmental conservation and respect for the sea is the only way to stop repeating the errors of the past and build a resilient future.

The MSC Foundation has been the main partner of “Nauticinblu” since 2017. The programme is now being implemented in 12 Institutes across Italy: Genoa, La Spezia, Palermo, Bari, Ancona, Porto Santo Stefano, Trieste, Milazzo, Civitavecchia, Porto Empedocle and Trapani as well as Piano di Sorrento.

Over the past three years, “Nauticinblu” has alternated classroom lessons with outdoor sessions (beach clean-ups and citizen science). But this year, due to the pandemic, the teaching will mainly be by remote learning, prioritising virtual visits to turtle sanctuaries, dives and museums.

During the final ceremony presenting the certificates of participation, which will also be a virtual event, the students will join a virtual tour of MSC Grandiosa.

The partnership between Marevivo and MSC Foundation has developed strongly over the years. In addition to “Nauticinblu”, the MSC Foundation has partnered Marevivo’s “Guardian Dolphins of the Islands” programme since 2015, inspiring environmental awareness and respect for the planet in the pupils of the primary schools on Italy’s smaller islands.

“Faced with the challenges of this year, it was more important than ever to maintain the continuity of this programme and reach our goals,” commented Maria Rapini, General Secretary of Marevivo. “It is possible for us to have a future that is both prosperous and sustainable. And that’s of direct interest to our younger generations. Which is why we want to inform their strong awareness of their responsibilities and potential. We are pleased to contribute to achieving this with the support of Partners like the MSC Foundation, which has helped us in this mission for years”.

“We’ve been supporting Marevivo’s educational programmes since 2015. They’re a perfect fit with our mission to protect the Blue Planet” observed Daniela Picco, Executive Director of the MSC Foundation. “The Nauticinblu programme in Italy’s Nautical Institutes was inspired by our Chairman Gianluigi Aponte, who had long nurtured a desire to convey his life experience in constant contact with the sea to our younger generations”.