We wanted to give youth educators the tools and knowledge to better understand the blue economy—what it is, why it matters for sustainable development, and how it can create real opportunities for young people. By helping educators become more confident with these topics, we knew they’d be better equipped to guide and inspire young people to explore this emerging sector. Also, we aimed to improve the employability of young people—especially NEETs aged 18 to 30 living in coastal and maritime areas—by helping them develop concrete entrepreneurial and business skills. Our goal was to offer them practical support and inspiration so they could imagine and build sustainable career paths connected to their environment and the blue economy. Finally, we wanted to strengthen the capacities of all partner organizations involved in the project. By working together and creating shared tools—such as training resources and local workshops—we aimed to build a solid foundation that each partner could continue using well beyond the project. This collaborative approach helped us make the outcomes more relevant, impactful, and long-lasting across different countries and communities.
We applied for this project because we observed real challenges affecting young people in our coastal regions. Despite the economic potential of the blue economy, these areas still face high youth unemployment—especially among NEETs (young people aged 18 to 30 who are not in education, training, or employment). There was a clear lack of concrete opportunities and guidance for young people to access sustainable careers linked to the sea and coastal environment. We also noticed that youth workers often lacked the tools and knowledge to introduce these opportunities to the young people they support. The blue economy remains largely unknown or misunderstood by many, and this lack of visibility prevents young people from seeing it as a viable future. Our motivation was to respond to this gap. On the one hand, we wanted to promote the social and professional inclusion of young people from often overlooked coastal and rural areas. On the other, we wanted to contribute to the ecological transition by helping them discover sustainable and meaningful career paths in the blue economy.