A new wave of ocean awareness is reaching UAE classrooms as an ocean education charity launches its interactive learning sessions across schools in Dubai. The initiative - backed by hotel chain Jumeirah and UK-based charity Ocean Generation - aims to improve ocean literacy among students by turning complex marine science into engaging, hands-on lessons that spark curiosity and action.

The UNESCO-endorsed programme kicked off last month in the emirate, as a pilot across five international schools: Arbor School, Dubai British School, Fairgreen International, Greenfield International, and Heartland International.

The goal is to expand nationwide, reaching students aged five to 16 through immersive activities focused on marine biodiversity, coral reef conservation, sustainable fishing, and ocean energy.

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In an interview with Khaleej Times, Victoria Edwards, Chief Executive of Ocean Generation, highlighted that the Ocean Academy is designed to make marine education both accessible and inspiring.

“The Ocean Academy is essentially a series of teaching sessions. Every session has a different theme, so according to the year group and the stage they're at in their education. It might specialise on corals, or it might be on different species that are alive in the ocean," Edwards said.

The sessions use strong visual content to bring the ocean into the classroom - and sometimes, take students closer to it.“We use a lot of visual material. We've got some really nice visual material. Ocean Generation was started by a filmmaker and we're true to our roots. We use good imagery,” Edwards explained.

But the lessons don't end indoors. The academy also encourages field visits and coastal engagement.“The children [are taken] out to the coast. Now obviously they're not all going to be divers. They're not going to see under the ocean, but at least getting them to the coast and getting them closer to the ocean, we can do some intervention work there - explaining to them the different species in the ocean and what you find on a beach and why and so forth.”

Looking ahead, Ocean Academy plans to scale up the project by training teachers to deliver the sessions themselves.“We will be scaling it up as a teacher model where we will be inviting teachers from different schools to come to training days where they will be given extensive training of the different resources and the different learning packs,” Edwards said.

Teachers will receive practical materials - from“cheat sheets” to full lesson plans - that can be easily integrated into their classroom teaching.

“We do things like teacher cheat sheets which give them quick access to questions and answers that students might ask for example and all of those will be available via our website... We will train them how to access those easily, how to understand them, explain to them how they get used in their classes," Edwards said

The programme will also include field components for teachers.

“Second day would be taking them to various initiatives on the coast around Dubai to give them examples of the kind of things they could do in the field with students,” she added.“That training would include how do you cover safety? How do you reassure parents about health and safety in the field? What kind of activities can you do in the field? But also introducing them to partners in the field who will facilitate that. And translation to Arabic is another major element of next year's programme.”

While the pilot is currently focused on Dubai, Edwards said discussions are already under way to expand Ocean Academy to other emirates.

“Beyond Dubai, Ocean Academy has already made contact with schools in Abu Dhabi and we'll be looking at the other Emirates as well. Ultimately, the project hopes to help young people see how their choices - however small - can contribute to protecting the planet's blue heart. And that could be something tiny, like one student deciding to go and clean up their local beach to something major, like inspiring students to become marine biologists, engineers that are working on big problems in terms of improving the ocean,” Edwards said.

She believes ocean literacy can inspire children in any career to think sustainably.“There are applications about the ocean right across the curriculum and really this is about making sure that pupils early on, whatever career they choose - whether it's in medicine, engineering, architecture or marine science itself - have a thought to what impact their future work can have on the ocean for its good and start designing that into the workplace.”

And while not every student will become a scientist, Edwards said, even small steps matter. "Some of them have already become great campaigners for the ocean, others might just remember the ocean when they get to their chosen career.”

Meanwhile, in the capital's Al Dhafra region, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has announced a major expansion of its coral rehabilitation project - a move that aligns with the UAE's wider marine conservation goals.

By 2030, more than four million coral colonies will be outplanted in the emirate's waters, covering over 900 hectares - making it the largest coral rehabilitation project in the world.

The initial phase of EAD's coral restoration efforts successfully achieved its target of one million colonies across eight sites, spanning over 300 hectares. The restored areas have shown an impressive success rate exceeding 95 percent, with coral coverage expanding and fish biomass and diversity increasing by more than 50 percent.

The expansion underscores how initiatives like Ocean Academy - by inspiring the next generation to value and protect the ocean - complement on-ground conservation projects already transforming the UAE's marine ecosystems.

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