Okeanos works in a promotional and operational capacity with a dedicated team in Germany and Europe. In doing so, we combine what is particularly close to our hearts: People and oceans
Okeanos – Foundation for the Sea
Vaka Okeanos at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice :
Inspiring a generation to take courageous action!
Genuine connection with the ocean is a prerequisite for us as stakeholders to take the challenging steps to protect this habitat. The Okeanos Foundation for the Sea has learnt from the Custodians of the Pacific what it means to be deeply connected to the ocean. The construction and operation of 16 traditionally built catamarans (Vakas) through Okeanos Foundation has resulted in decades of co-operation with Pacific nations and their cultures. Their attitudes towards the ocean form the basis for today’s youth work of the Okeanos Foundation in Europe. As a people-centred ocean initiative, Okeanos provides long-term individual support to young people to actively, courageously and collectively shape the future of the ocean. In that sense, Vaka Okeanos was available as a space for experiences and learning space at the UN Ocean Conference in the harbour of Nice.
Extract from the projects:
Youth project
UNOC explained - Youth reporting from the UN Ocean Conference in Nice
As a project group of the Waves of Action Initiative of the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea, young people from all over Europe have come together with the aim of reporting on the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice.
Okeanos Foundation Project
BaseCamp - new development
All participants of the France camps come together in the so-called BaseCamp to be intensively prepared for content, processes and group dynamics in a large community for a week.
Youth project
Save the Wave - Documentary film
United by a passion for the ocean and a desire to initiate change, the young people work on the script, filming, interviews, editing and production. In the film, three young people discover the beauty of protected areas on a sailing trip, but also realise that âprotectedâ does not always mean âsafeâ.
Okeanos Foundation Project
The third UN Ocean Conference - from an Okeanos perspective
What can a small German foundation achieve on the ground? The UNOC is over and we take a look back to draw a very personal conclusion for the future.
Okeanos Foundation Project
WAVES OF ACTION - The people centred ocean initiative The Okeanos Foundation's youth initiative for the ocean
WAVES OF ACTION is the youth initiative of the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea. Here, people are at the centre of experience-based, socio-ecological work.
Okeanos Foundation Project
The 2025 Vaka season has begun
For the fourth year in a row, the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea is offering OceanCamps off the coast of southern France on our traditional Polynesian catamaran Vaka Okeanos through the youth initiative âWaves of Actionâ.
Youth project
SeagrassGuards - Waves of Action Project
The SeagrassGuards are a Waves of Action project group with the aim of giving seagrass meadows a voice.
Scientific Cooperation
RiffReporter funding - the future of the North Sea and Baltic Sea
Under the direction of Tomma Schröder and Katja Trippel and in collaboration with renowned science journalists, the research project âFuture North Sea and Baltic Sea – how our seas are changingâ produced 12 articles that take a broad look at the seas on our doorstep.Â
Okeanos Foundation Project
Community weekend 2025 of the Okeanos youth initiative Waves Of Action
In 2025, the weekend took place on Schönberg beach, right by the Baltic Sea. With around 50 participants from previous years’ camps, we continued to work on existing projects and develop new project ideas.
Scientific Cooperation
Talking Salmon research project
How can fields of journalism be improved (sea, rivers) and a new, holistic narrative be stimulated? To what extent can migratory salmon-like fish be used to tell cross-genre and cross-media success stories that transcend the human-nature boundary?
Funding Project
School in Hesse wanted for WE ARE OCEAN!
Okeanos is looking forward to supporting ARTPORT in 2025 and bringing the WE ARE OCEAN project to a school in Hesse. Since 2019, WE ARE OCEAN has been bringing together artists, art collectors and curators, pupils, students and teachers, scientists and political decision-makers in many places around the world to raise awareness of the environmental state of the ocean and the role of humans in its current and future state.
Okeanos Foundation Project
OceanCamps
The WAVES OF ACTION âOceanCampsâ took place for the fourth time during the nationwide summer holidays.
Okeanos Foundation Project
New OceanCamps in SwedenÂ
Building on the success of these camps and the participants’ desire to experience more camps and learn about other marine ecosystems, the foundation has developed the OceanCamps Sweden pilot project in 2025.