COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND MOBILISATION
CARING FOR THE OCEAN
IS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Caring for the ocean is a shared responsibility. With this in mind, Blue Azores engages communities, organisations, schools, institutions and citizens, creating opportunities for society to play an active role in the conservation and enhancement of the Azores Sea.
Through awareness-raising, capacity-building and participation initiatives, the programme brings civil society closer to the ocean and strengthens its role in developing solutions to protect marine ecosystems.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Blue Azores promotes opportunities for dialogue and exchange that encourage informed participation in ocean-related issues. Through public sessions, workshops, community meetings, debates, documentary screenings and other events, it creates spaces for learning and reflection on the challenges and opportunities facing the Azores Sea.
By bringing together communities, experts, public authorities and civil society organisations, these initiatives foster dialogue between different sectors of society, strengthen ocean knowledge and inspire active participation in its conservation.
COMMUNITY MOBILISATION
In addition to promoting dialogue and knowledge-sharing, Blue Azores encourages communities to take an active role in conservation initiatives. Throughout the year, it supports and promotes activities that enable citizens, schools, associations, businesses and other organisations to contribute directly to protecting the Azores Sea.
REGIONAL COASTAL AND UNDERWATER
CLEAN-UP CAMPAINGN
Promoted by the Regional Directorate for Maritime Policies, in collaboration with Blue Azores and the Oceano Azul Foundation, the campaign is launched annually to mark European Maritime Day, on 20 May, and runs throughout the year. Organised by schools, associations, clubs, diving centres, businesses, local authorities and citizens, these clean-ups contribute to protecting the Azores Sea by removing waste from marine and coastal environments and collecting essential data to improve scientific knowledge of marine litter, making them an important example of citizen science.
Everyone can take part. Visit the Azores Marine Litter Portal to join a clean-up, organise your own or find out about initiatives taking place on your island. After each clean-up, the results should be recorded on the portal, helping to improve knowledge of marine litter in the Azores.
2015–2026
14 657
volunteers
722
clean-ups
172
organisations involved
122
tonnes of litter collected
INTERNATIONAL COASTAL
CLEAN-UP DAY
Held annually on the third Saturday of September, this global mobilisation aims to raise awareness of marine litter by bringing together civil society organisations, local authorities, schools, diving centres, businesses and citizens. By promoting local action with global impact, the initiative highlights the ongoing work of hundreds of organisations dedicated to ocean protection and conservation.
In 2025, the Azores played a prominent role in this global mobilisation by hosting the campaign’s flagship event on the island of Santa Maria — recognising the active role of the Azorean community in protecting the ocean. That year, 29 coastal clean-ups were held across the archipelago, mobilising 456 volunteers and 59 organisations and resulting in the collection of around 2,300 tonnes of litter.
In the Azores, this annual initiative is promoted by the Oceano Azul Foundation and the Regional Secretariat for the Sea and Fisheries, through the Regional Directorate for Maritime Policies, in collaboration with Blue Azores. It is supported by the European Commission and the European Parliament as part of the European #EUBeachCleanup campaign.
