Rita Borges Email and Phone Number

Managing and supporting the program Educating a Blue Generation, that promotes ocean literacy of children 6-10 years old. This pilot-program was developed by the Oceano Azul Foundation and Oceanário de Lisboa, in partnership with the Directorate-General for Education, with the aim of promoting ocean literacy in elementary school students through the integration of ocean themes into the curriculum. Recognizing teachers as key ambassadors, it was designed to empower teachers to overcome some of the barriers that prevent them to teach ocean topics. It is centered in teacher capacitation through training and useful educational resources that enable and guide them to approach ocean themes through an innovative, holistic, and interdisciplinary approach, integrating into the different curricular areas of the 1st cycle of basic education and within the scope of the areas of curricular autonomy. The strategies proposed make it possible to increase not only knowledge, but also the emotional connection to the ocean and the development of action skills and other essential transversal skills in education for development and the creation of a blue generation.The program as trained more than 1300 teachers of 8 partner municipalities in mainland Portugal, and in the Azores islands. The results of a 4 years impact assessment study revealed that teachers feel empowered and apply the contents and that students become more knowledgeable and aware of the importance of the ocean. This led to the creation of an "Education for the Ocean" Working Group, led by DGE (Ministry of Education), that produced recommendations for extending the program throughout the country and for greater inclusion of the ocean in the curriculum.

Teaching Marine Biology (to bachelor students) and Marine Ecology (to Msc students)