Designed to go from "inspiration to action", the OU Internship gives youth from all around the world the opportunity to connect, learn from ocean leaders and implement an impact project in their local community.
The Ocean Uprise Internship program is where inspiration and action meet
Every year, three times a year, Ocean Uprise (OU) brings together a select cohort of young, passionate individuals from all over the world to make an impact in the ocean activism space. During a 6-week internship period, participants get the opportunity to learn from ocean experts, take part in skill-based workshops, and implement a local community project of their choice and design.
The main objective is to first and foremost inspire youth to fall in love with the oceans and feel fired up to want to protect them. Inspirational sessions happen once a week and ocean leaders such as Captain Paul Watson, Cliff Kapono, Hannah Testa and Mike Coots are invited to share their stories, portraying different perspectives and paths on how to take care and action #fortheoceans.
Secondly, Ocean Uprise believes that everyone has a skill that they can put into action, everyone has a role to play. Through customized OU workshops, the OU team supports each individual in identifying what are the skillsets they carry and how these can be highlighted and put into action.
Now that interns are inspired to act and have identified the skillset they want to utilize, we get to the final and most exciting part - it’s time to become an ocean activist! With the guidance of OU Mentors each individual takes a deep dive in their own community, identifying local cultural, social, environmental and economic factors that impact the oceans. Interns will learn how to observe their own community through a different lens and with this new perspective in place, design a project to be implemented on week 5 of the program - every intern is required to take action.
Upon completing the program, interns receive a certificate outlining their accomplishments and become an Ocean Uprise Alumni Member which will enable them to connect with all previous alumni who have progressed into exciting projects and startups in a diverse set of areas and destinations.
So far, Ocean Uprise has empowered youth from all around the world including countries such as Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, Jamaica, Argentina, UK, France and the US. Interns have produced projects ranging from beach cleanups, educational toolkits, art workshops, virtual classes, photography exhibits, documentary viewings and more. In their unique approach, each member was successful in making an impact on their surrounding community. Whether it was through physical activity or educational material covering the state of our world and oceans, the message was clear: we need to take action and make better ethical decisions.
Being part of this program is an incredible chance to make friends from all corners of the globe, to connect with individuals who are passionate about making the world a better place and to join the Parley network. This is truly an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed!
We want interns to think big and turn their dreams into impactful action — NOW
– Ocean Uprise Team