Coastal Heritage & Ocean Literacy Series

Project content

A public-facing activity connecting coastal cultural heritage, local and traditional knowledge, and ocean literacy through bilingual digital dissemination, public education and inclusive dialogue.

Endorsement information

Endorsed as a Decade Activity under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

This activity page uses a text-only endorsement block in version 1. Ocean Decade logo assets are not used unless WICHF separately provides approved files and confirms that the official branding rules should be implemented.

This publication is endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development as a Decade Activity. Use of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development logo by a non-UN entity does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations of such entity, its products or services, or of its planned activities. For more information please access: https://oceandecade.org/legal/

Activity overview

The Coastal Heritage & Ocean Literacy Series is a public-facing activity led by the World Intangible Cultural Heritage Federation (WICHF). It connects coastal cultural heritage, local and traditional knowledge, and ocean literacy through bilingual digital dissemination, educational communication, and accessible public-facing content.

The activity is not presented as a registration page, a one-time event flyer, or a scientific database entry. It is a stable, publicly accessible activity page intended to explain what the activity is, why it matters, how it will be presented to the public, and what kinds of outputs it plans to share during the endorsed activity period.

The page should make the activity understandable to external readers, institutional contacts, educators, youth audiences, cultural and heritage practitioners, and the broader public.

• Lead entity World Intangible Cultural Heritage Federation (WICHF)
• Activity type Public-facing endorsed Decade Activity
• Activity period 1 June 2026 - 1 December 2026
• Core themes Coastal heritage; local and traditional knowledge; ocean literacy
• Languages English and Chinese
• Contact path Existing WICHF contact channel

Why this activity matters

Ocean sustainability is not only a scientific and policy issue. It is also shaped by memory, culture, lived relationships with coastal environments, local and traditional knowledge, and the public's ability to understand why the ocean matters in social life.

In many contexts, coastal heritage and community-based knowledge remain underrepresented in mainstream public discussions about the ocean. At the same time, ocean literacy is often presented in overly technical ways that are less accessible to wider audiences.

WICHF proposes this activity to help create a clearer public-facing bridge between coastal cultural heritage, local and traditional knowledge, and ocean literacy, so that ocean-related understanding can become more accessible, more culturally grounded, and more socially meaningful.

Core objectives

1. To connect coastal cultural heritage, local and traditional knowledge, and ocean literacy in a clear public-facing format.
2. To strengthen public understanding of how heritage, coastal communities, and sustainable ocean futures can be discussed together.
3. To publish bilingual, accessible and educationally useful content for public audiences.
4. To support respectful, inclusive and dialogue-based engagement among educators, youth, cultural practitioners, community knowledge holders and wider audiences.

Thematic scope

This activity may cover selected themes such as:

• coastal cultural heritage;
• local and traditional knowledge related to coastal and marine environments;
• ocean literacy for public audiences;
• public-facing interpretation of heritage, knowledge and sustainability links;
• bilingual educational and editorial materials;
• dialogue-based public communication formats.

The activity does not claim to represent all coastal cultures, all marine knowledge systems, or all ocean issues. It focuses on selected, clearly framed public-interest themes that can be communicated responsibly, accessibly and with appropriate contextual restraint.

Who it serves

Primary audiences include youth, educators, cultural and heritage practitioners, community knowledge holders, public-interest readers, and the wider public interested in coastal heritage and sustainable ocean futures.

Secondary audiences include institutional contacts, researchers, communication teams, and external reviewers who need to quickly understand what the activity is, who leads it, and how it is being publicly presented on the WICHF website.

How the activity works

The activity will be carried out through a combination of bilingual digital publication, thematic editorial development, public-facing educational communication, and dialogue-oriented content release.

WICHF will coordinate the activity structure, content planning, editorial review, bilingual publication and website-based public presentation. Depending on topic readiness and practical conditions, the activity may include thematic pages, educational summaries, public-facing stories, digital exhibition-style content, short dialogue-based releases, and factual activity updates.

The page does not list signed external institutions, confirmed field deployments, co-organizers or completed large-scale implementation unless WICHF separately confirms them in writing.

Public-facing formats and outputs

WICHF plans to develop the activity through the following public-facing outputs:

• one stable bilingual activity page on the WICHF website;
• a first set of thematic public-facing content modules or activity sub-sections presented in a clear and readable format;
• public explanatory content connecting coastal heritage, local and traditional knowledge, and ocean literacy;
• educationally useful bilingual summaries for public audiences;
• a limited number of factual activity updates during the endorsed activity period.

This version does not add unconfirmed named people, external institutions, output counts or downloadable resources.

Activity timeline

The activity timeline shown on the website remains consistent with the endorsed period: 1 June 2026 - 1 December 2026.

• June 2026 Launch of the core bilingual activity page and initial public overview.
• June to August 2026 Development of the first thematic public-facing content and editorial modules.
• August to October 2026 Publication of educational and explanatory materials as ready.
• October to December 2026 Release of factual activity updates and public-facing closing-stage summary content.

Governance and roles

Lead entity: World Intangible Cultural Heritage Federation (WICHF).

WICHF is responsible for overall activity framing, content planning, editorial review, bilingual publication and public-facing website management.

Where relevant and feasible, the activity may later involve educators, cultural practitioners, researchers, community knowledge holders, communication contributors or dialogue participants. No specific external institution, role holder, funding source or certifier is listed unless WICHF separately confirms them in writing.

Endorsement, ethics and compliance

The activity page follows a restrained and factual communication standard. It may accurately state that the activity has been endorsed as a Decade Activity, but it must not imply that the United Nations endorses WICHF as an organization, or endorses WICHF's products, services or all planned activities.

The page avoids any wording that would present the activity as a United Nations, UNESCO or Ocean Decade cooperation, certification, approval or institutional endorsement page. It is a WICHF official website activity page.

Any community-related materials, stories, images, names or knowledge references should be used with contextual accuracy, appropriate authorization, respect for intellectual property, image rights and community dignity.

If official Ocean Decade logo assets are later provided, logo usage must strictly follow the official branding rules and must be accompanied by the mandatory disclaimer text already specified on this page.

About the lead entity

The World Intangible Cultural Heritage Federation (WICHF) is the lead entity of this activity page. WICHF works on public-interest communication, knowledge organization and international-facing heritage-related project development.

Official website: https://wichf.org/ About WICHF: https://wichf.org/en/about

Contact / institutional dialogue note

For institutional dialogue, educational exchange or public-interest communication related to this activity, visitors should use WICHF's existing official contact channel on the website.

The page does not add personal phone numbers, unverified personal email addresses, unconfirmed team names, buyer-facing order language or implied institutional relationships unless WICHF separately confirms them.

Project Updates

This section is reserved for future factual updates related to the activity, such as newly published thematic materials, educational content releases, or activity notes. In version 1, do not populate this block with invented dates, simulated media coverage, fictional event records or temporary stand-in news items.

Current version

Current version: V1 public activity page. Page first published: 29 April 2026. Last updated: 29 April 2026.