SEA-ME: CO-CREATING EMPOWERMENT THROUGH INNOVATION IN COASTAL FISHING COMMUNITIEs
Updated: Oct 8
The main focus of SEA-ME is to provide a platform for vulnerable fishing populations—who are often marginalised in their regions—to harness digital skills that empower them. SEA-ME works alongside fishing communities to develop tools that help make their voices heard, allow them to choose how they are represented in the media, and showcase what is truly important to them regarding their values, knowledge, skills, and competences.
SEA-ME aims to co-create opportunities for training, exchange, and valorisation. More specifically, it provides fishers and local communities with the tools required to foster greater agency in shaping the image they want for themselves and their regions. Through small-scale innovation and international exchange, this project will actively enable fishing communities to realise their full potential as agents of change.
Objectives
Provide opportunities for the exchange of practices and experiences leading to innovation (in products, approaches, community visibility, and valorisation);
Empower fishing communities to co-creatively give visibility to their own knowledge, skills, and practices, inspiring their respective communities using digital means, thereby increasing their digital literacy;
Promote the inclusion of women by improving their capacity to make their knowledge and skills more visible;
Develop open-access pedagogical materials that support positive change in other coastal fishing communities.
Making the Invisible Visible
What actions are we undertaking with fishing communities?
Digital tool manuals and tips
International workshops
Local workshops
Event visits
Dialogue with fishing communities
Meetings with governing bodies
Dialogue with community bodies, such as fishing associations
Activities at internationally renowned events to showcase the community
Exhibitions (Óbidos, October 2026)
Book publication (expected in 2027)
Documentary film (expected in 2027)
Fishing Communities: Now and in the Future
Currently, the project focuses on the fishing community of the Óbidos Lagoon and the Western Fishing Region of Portugal, as well as the fishing communities of the Turku Archipelago in Finland.
We are fully aware that fishing communities (whether coastal, riverine, or lake-based) exist right across Europe. While the team recognises the current boundaries of this project, this transnational initiative serves as a stepping stone to engage more communities in the future. Our goal is to progressively expand this collaboration to other regions and countries.
Are you interested in showcasing your own community or learning more? Contact us at admin@kreamundo.org.
Meet our fishing Communities
Lagoa de Óbidos | Turku ArchipelagO |
Resources
Partners
Kreamundo - Stichting voor Creatieve Transformatie en Ontwikkeling, The Netherlands (lead)
Livraria Artes & Letras, Portugal
Novia University of Applied Sciences, Finland
Supporting bodies
Åbolands Fiskarförbund, Finland
Municipality of Óbidos, Portugal
TRAM – Tourism and Marketing Research
