Catherine McCann, IOLN Executive Officer, recently delivered a talk on on the evolution of Ocean Literacy in Ireland for the Scottish Ocean Literacy Coalition’s July meeting. You can read the keynote and view the accompanying slides below.
The Evolution of the Irish Ocean Literacy Network: Building Community, Connection and Trust
Good afternoon everyone, and thank you so much for inviting me to speak with you today.
Before I begin, perhaps I should introduce myself properly.
My name is Cat McCann, and I’m the Executive Officer of the Irish Ocean Literacy Network, or the IOLN.
But I wasn’t always part of the IOLN Secretariat. Before I worked for the Network, I was one of its Members.
I joined in 2022 after my husband and I founded The Sea Collective, a coastal community-based social enterprise in Gaoth Dobhair in north-west Donegal.
The Sea Collective works with people in this beautiful area to restore their connections to the ocean, sharing knowledge to rebuild meaningful relationships with the ocean through science, culture, heritage and storytelling.
So, before I ever became Executive Officer, I experienced the IOLN from the perspective of one of the organisations it existed to support.
Now I have the privilege of wearing two hats.
Through The Sea Collective, I see Ocean Literacy from the perspective of one small coastal community. Through the IOLN, I have the privilege of working with organisations, communities and individuals across the entire island of Ireland.
That dual perspective (and my work on a small island off the coast of Borneo for 10 years) has taught me something really important:
Every community’s relationship with the ocean is unique, but many of the challenges — and many of the opportunities — we face are shared.
And that is why networks and coalitions matter.
It is a real pleasure to be here with colleagues from across Scotland because, although our coastlines are separated by the North Channel, Scotland has never felt very far away to me.
Living in Donegal, I’m very conscious of the deep connections between our communities. Our histories, languages, music, maritime heritage and cultures have travelled back and forth across the sea for centuries. St Columbcille and his journey to Iona spring to mind, for example.
The sea between us has rarely been a barrier.
It has been a bridge.
And I think that is a useful place to begin today, because Ocean Literacy is fundamentally about relationships.
Relationships between people and the ocean, relationships between communities.
Relationships between different sectors and different ways of knowing.
And relationships between people who may not always have sat around the same table before.
Looking at the work of the Scottish Ocean Literacy Coalition, I can see that you have been asking some really important questions.
What does Ocean Literacy mean in a Scottish context?
What gaps need to be filled?
How can Ocean Literacy reflect Scotland’s culture and communities?
How do we make the ocean accessible to people who may feel disconnected from it?
How do we connect knowledge with action?
And how do we make sure that an Ocean Literacy Strategy is something that belongs to people, rather than something that simply sits on a shelf?
I think those are exactly the right questions.
I’m certainly not here to tell Scotland what its Ocean Literacy Strategy should look like.
Scotland’s relationship with the ocean is Scotland’s story to tell.
Instead, I’d like to share the story of the IOLN — not simply what we have done over the past ten years as that is readily available in this book series, in Chapter 15 of Vol 3 which you can access by scanning this bar code (it is Open Access).
I’d like to explore why we have done it this way, what we have learned along the journey, and perhaps most importantly, what I think makes the IOLN a little different. What has defined our journey, so to speak.
Because, looking back, I don’t think The IOLN’s greatest achievement has been creating projects.
I think our greatest achievement has been building trust.
And if there is one takeaway message I would offer today, it is this:
Communities come before strategies.
We spent years building relationships before we ever wrote a strategic plan.
And perhaps that is why the strategy, when it eventually came, had something real to build on.
There are five things that I believe have defined the IOLN’s journey and to me, make the IOLN unique
- We began as a movement rather than an institution
- We deliberately chose to amplify our members rather than compete with them
- We embrace an all-island perspective
- We brought together people who would not normally sit around the same table
- And finally, we recognised that Ocean Literacy is not simply about increasing knowledge.
I’ll explore these in a little bit more detail in this talk.
The story of the IOLN actually begins before the Network officially existed.
Back in 2012, Ireland was beginning to rethink its relationship with the ocean
Ireland’s national marine plan, Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth, recognised that engaging society with the ocean was just as important as developing the blue economy.
At the same time, European initiatives such as Sea for Society were asking important questions about how people relate to the ocean and how society could play a more active role in shaping its future.
Those conversations brought together people from many different backgrounds — marine scientists, educators, community organisations, government bodies, environmental organisations, industry and others.
They began to ask:
How can we help people understand the ocean?
How can we strengthen people’s connection with it?
How can we bring together organisations that are already doing excellent work, but may be working independently from one another?
And, eventually, a simple concept emerged:
What if we built a network?
Not another organisation competing for funding.
Not another NGO promoting its own agenda.
But a network.
In October 2016, the first meeting of the IOLN was held in Belfast.
Twenty-seven people representing eighteen organisations came together.
One of the first decisions they made has probably shaped everything that followed.
They agreed that the IOLN would not duplicate the work of its members.
It would coordinate.
It would connect and create opportunities.
It would provide a shared space where people could learn from one another.
And it would act as an umbrella without overshadowing anyone underneath it.
That sounds like a small organisational decision.
But I personally think it became the defining characteristic of the Network.
Because from the very beginning, success was not measured by how many projects the IOLN delivered itself.
Success was measured by what members were able to achieve because the Network existed.
That brings me to another element that I think makes the IOLN distinctive.
We seek to amplify the work of our Members, not compete
I often describe the Network as being deliberately Member-first
Many organisations naturally begin by asking:
“What project should we develop next?”
Our first question has usually been:
“What do our members need?”
That might mean connecting two organisations that do not know each other but are working on similar issues.
It might mean sharing a funding opportunity or, helping a small community group connect with a university researcher.
It might mean creating a space where many different stakeholders can simply have a conversation.
Sometimes the most valuable thing a network can do is not to create something new, it is to help people discover and AMPLIFY what already exists.
There is already an enormous amount of knowledge, experience, creativity and passion within our communities.
A network can help to make those connections visible and can help ensure that people are recognised and credited for the work they are already doing.
This has been particularly important for smaller organisations.
I know that because I was one of those members.
I know what it feels like to be a small, community-based organisation trying to find connections, opportunities and support.
We needed someone to open doors, someone to introduce us to people – someone to facilitate collaborations and help access funding.
And organisations like ours need to feel that their local knowledge and experience are valued.
That experience has shaped how I approach my role today.
The IOLN does not exist to become the biggest or most visible organisation in the room.
It exists to help its members become more connected, more supported and more effective.
Another feature that makes the IOLN distinctive is that we have always been an all-island network.
From the beginning, we chose not to organise ourselves around political boundaries.
Instead, we organised ourselves around our shared relationship with the ocean.
The ocean does not recognise borders.
Neither do marine ecosystems – ocean currents do not stop at political boundaries. Marine species do not recognise different jurisdictions.
And many of the challenges facing our ocean are shared.
From the beginning, the IOLN brought together people and organisations from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
That was not always the easiest approach.
We have different governments.
Different funding systems.
Different policies.
Different educational structures.
And sometimes those differences create practical challenges.
But we believed that the ocean gave us more in common than politics divided.
Looking back, I think that decision has become one of our greatest strengths.
The all-island approach has enabled us to build relationships across sectors, regions and jurisdictions.
It has allowed people to share knowledge and experience across boundaries.
And it has helped us create opportunities for collaboration that might not otherwise have happened.
It has also taught us that shared purpose can be a powerful foundation for cooperation.
We may approach issues from different perspectives, but we can still come together around our shared relationship with the ocean.
Something else that shaped the IOLN from the beginning was the diversity of people involved.
Only around half of the organisations represented at that first meeting were directly involved in marine education.
Initially, that might have seemed like a problem.
If this was an Ocean Literacy Network, why were so many people involved who were not marine educators?
But that diversity quickly became one of our greatest strengths.
Because Ocean Literacy is not owned by educators.
It is also about scientists. Artists. Fishers. Community organisations. Museums. Aquaria.
Marine industries. Tourism organisations. Heritage groups. Policy makers. Young people.
Coastal communities. And people who simply love the ocean.
Everyone has a relationship with the ocean.
And everyone has knowledge and experience to contribute.
That diversity constantly challenged us to think beyond narrow or traditional definitions of Ocean Literacy.
Of course, knowledge matters. Understanding marine ecosystems matters.
Understanding climate change, biodiversity, pollution and the role of the ocean in supporting life matters.
But Ocean Literacy is much broader than information.
It is also about awareness, Attitudes. Communication.
Behaviour, Participation. Access and experience.
Trust and transparency.
And perhaps most importantly, emotional connection.
Which brings me to my final part
People do not protect the ocean simply because they have memorised seven principles.
Knowledge is important, but knowledge alone does not necessarily create action.
People also need to feel connected.
They need opportunities to experience the ocean.
They need to see themselves reflected in conversations about it.
They need to understand that their knowledge and their stories matter.
And they need to feel that they have a voice in decisions that affect their communities and their ocean.
That is why culture, language, heritage, storytelling and creativity are so important.
They are not simply tools for communicating science.
They are ways of understanding our relationship with the ocean.
They help us remember that the ocean is not only an environmental space or an economic resource.
Of course, the IOLN’s journey was not always smooth.
For many years, the Network survived almost entirely because people believed in it.
There was not a large budget, there were no permanent staff.
There was not even a legal structure.
There were simply passionate people giving enormous amounts of time because they believed that the Network mattered.
The Network grew – it developed a Secretariat, it established a Steering Committee.
It built a website and social media channels.
It began holding member meetings and creating opportunities for people to connect.
Membership grew from around forty members to more than one hundred individuals, groups and organisations and became recognised internationally as an example of a national Ocean Literacy initiative.
But the growth was still driven by relationships.
The challenge of growth
But eventually, passion alone is not enough.
By 2021, the IOLN had reached an important crossroads.
The Network had become successful.
And, ironically, that success exposed its weaknesses.
Because the IOLN was still an informal network, it could not apply for funding independently.
It could not employ staff directly. It relied on another organisation to act on its behalf.
The Network had grown beyond the structure that had originally supported it.
An external strategic review confirmed what many members already knew.
The IOLN had built a strong, diverse and respected community.
But if it wanted to survive and grow over the next decade, it needed to evolve.
This review recommended that the Network become a formal legal entity, develop a long-term strategy and establish a more sustainable funding model.
That was a significant moment. Formalisation can feel daunting.
There is always a risk that, as an organisation becomes more structured, it becomes more distant from the community that created it.
There can be a fear that governance will replace relationships.
That bureaucracy will replace creativity.
Or that a network will begin to serve itself rather than its members.
We were very conscious of those risks.
So we had to ask:
How can we professionalise without losing what made the Network valuable in the first place, create structures that support, rather than control?
In 2023, after several years of planning and development, the IOLN became a Company Limited by Guarantee. We moved from an informal network to a formal organisation
We established a Board of Directors.
An Advisory Panel.
A Constitution.
A formal membership structure.
Working Groups.
And a long-term Strategy for 2024 to 2030.
These were important milestones.
But here is the point I want to emphasise:
None of those structures changed our purpose, but simply made it easier to deliver it.
We formalised because we wanted to become more useful.
We wanted to be able to apply for funding directly, employ staff and build a more sustainable organisation to provide greater support to our members.
And we wanted to ensure that the Network could continue beyond the goodwill of a small number of individuals.
The structures are not the purpose.
They are the scaffolding.
The community remains the foundation.
SO we developed our first long-term strategy.
One of the lessons we had learned was that Ocean Literacy can become almost limitless.
Ocean Literacy has so many facets – education, culture, science, industry
And much more.
You could do everything.
But if you try to do everything, you often achieve very little.
So the strategy became less about adding more work and more about making choices.
It helped us to focus:
Where can the IOLN genuinely add value? Where are our members asking for support?
What can we achieve collectively that individual organisations might struggle to achieve alone? And how can local action contribute to wider national and international ambitions?
The Strategy gave us direction.
But it was important that the strategy emerged from the Network rather than being imposed upon it – Members contributed to its development, and the Board brought expertise and leadership. From that, Working Groups were established to help turn strategic ambitions into action.
The strategy gave us all a shared direction, but it did not attempt to make every organisation do the same thing.
That is not the purpose of a network.
Our role is not to make every community the same.
It is to connect different communities so that they can learn from one another while celebrating what makes each place unique.
This became a lesson learned – there is STRENGTH THROUGH LOCAL ENGAGEMENT –
So this other important evolution has been this move towards stronger regional engagement.
Originally, many of our meetings were national.
That made sense in the early years – but over time, we realised something:
Ocean Literacy always happens locally.
It happens in communities and through people’s experiences of place.
It happens through local stories, local culture and local knowledge.
Every coastal community has different priorities, different challenges, different opportunities.
The relationship that a community in Donegal has with the Atlantic may be very different from the relationship that a community in Cork has with the sea, and different again on an island community.
And the relationship of someone who works at sea may be different from that of someone who experiences the ocean through art, recreation or family traditions.
Those differences are not barriers to Ocean Literacy.
They are part of its richness.
So, rather than always asking people to come to us, we started taking the Network to them.
We developed regional meetings across the island, bringing together local organisations and communities together with the wider Network.
They created opportunities to hear local voices and understand regional priorities – allowing local experiences to help shape national conversations.
Some of our most valuable meetings have not been the largest.
They have been the ones where people have had the time and space to talk.
One participant described the IOLN as a “neutral convening entity.”
I think that is one of the nicest compliments we have ever received.
Because genuinely neutral spaces are increasingly rare.
People need places where they can come together without feeling that they are being recruited, competed with or spoken over.
Today, the IOLN is in a very different position from where it began.
We are now a formal all-island nonprofit organisation.
We have a Board, an Advisory Panel, Working Groups and a growing membership community.
We have professional staff, a long-term strategy.
We are involved in national, cross-border and European projects.
We deliver events, workshops, training and opportunities for knowledge exchange.
We continue to develop public engagement campaigns. MY OCEAN SLIDE AND QR CODE
And we are working to strengthen Ocean Literacy across education, communities, culture, policy and wider society.
We are still here to connect, to coordinate, to amplify and to create opportunities –
People sometimes ask what the biggest lesson from the last ten years has been.
It is not governance, communications or funding.
Although all of those things matter.
The biggest lesson is this:
Networks are built through relationships before they are built through structures.
You cannot manufacture trust – you have to earn trust by listening and creating space for different perspectives.
By recognising that no one organisation has all the answers.
You also have to be patient – relationships take time.
You cannot launch a community in the same way that you launch a project.
A project can have a start date and an end date.
A community develops over years, through people seeing that their contributions are valued.
That is why I believe the Scottish Ocean Literacy Coalition is already doing something incredibly important.
You are not simply developing a strategy.
You are bringing people together.
You are asking what Ocean Literacy means in Scotland.
You are recognising the importance of Gaelic culture and identity.
You are thinking about access.
You are considering people who may feel disconnected from the sea.
You are asking how to engage young people, urban communities, coastal communities and decision-makers.
You are exploring how knowledge can lead to action.
And you are asking how trust and transparency can be built into the process.
Those conversations are not separate from the strategy.
They are the foundation of it.
The strategy will be stronger because people have had the opportunity to contribute to it.
And the Coalition will be stronger because relationships are being built throughout the process.
As we move through the UN Ocean Decade, I think national and regional Ocean Literacy networks and coalitions like ours have an increasingly important role to play.
Not because we have all the answers.
But because we create the conditions in which answers can emerge collectively.
The challenges facing our oceans are complex and these issues cannot be addressed by one sector or organisation alone.
They require collaboration, different forms of knowledge and they require people to trust one another.
They also require communities to have a meaningful role in shaping decisions.
Ocean Literacy can help create the conditions for that.
That is why our networks and coalitions matter.
As Scotland develops its own Ocean Literacy Strategy, I would never presume to tell you what it should look like.
Like I said, Scotland’s relationship with the ocean is Scotland’s story to tell.
But if Ireland has learned one thing over the past ten years, it is this:
Networks are built through celebrating the strengths that already exist and connecting organisations rather than competing with them, and by valuing different forms of knowledge.
Ocean Literacy is not ultimately only about the ocean – iIt is about people and their stories, their communities, their ‘marine’ identities and their relationships with the ocean.
If we strengthen those relationships, everything else follows.
I hope that, as you continue developing the Scottish Ocean Literacy Coalition and your Ocean Literacy Strategy, the journey of the IOLN offers some reassurance.
We wish you the best in your Scottish journey and we look forward to working with our Ocean Literacy near neighbours in Scotland and Wales in the years to come, as each of us continue our odyssey.
For me, that is the real story of the Irish Ocean Literacy Network.
It is not simply the evolution of an organisation.
It is the evolution of a community.
And communities, when they are built on trust, generosity and shared purpose, have an extraordinary capacity to create change.
Thank you very much.
