The “Waves of Action” youth initiative of the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea connects young people emotionally with the ocean, imparts knowledge, networks young ocean actors and enables them to make an individual and sustainable commitment to its protection. With OceanCamps as a door opener, our initiative supports young people in realising projects. The community that is created when participants come together at camps and when young people with similar interests and passions meet is a central point for the young people. To enable them to come together in person, Okeanos organises annual “community weekends”. Here, former participants from all over Germany and Europe can meet up again, network further, share their project ideas and plans and continue to refine them. Enriched by presentations from experts and inspiring personalities and customised workshops, these meetings provide an important pillar for our ever-growing community.
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. From consciously dealing with plastic as a consumer, working on a political level, sustainable cultivation of algae, to podcasts, new ideas and projects were developed this year, which the Okeanos team is now continuing to support.