Celebrating Unsung Heroes: Bow Seat’s 2023 Ocean Awareness Contest Invites Teens to Highlight Everyday Trailblazers Who are Taking Action Against the Climate Crisis

September 7, 2022

(Boston, MA) – Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs (Bow Seat) is excited to launch our 12th annual Ocean Awareness Contest, an international arts competition that challenges youth to explore the connections between human activities and the health of our ocean, and to creatively inspire action to protect our blue planet. The 2023 Contest, “Climate Heroes in Action,” asks students to research and focus their submissions on everyday trailblazers who are tackling climate threats with innovative and effective solutions.

The Ocean Awareness Contest is open now through June 13, 2023, to teens ages 11-18 worldwide. Submissions are accepted in visual and performing arts, poetry and spoken word, creative writing, film, and multimedia. Winners will be selected from each category and receive awards of up to $1,500 each.

Since 2011, nearly 30,000 students from over 130 countries and all 50 U.S. states have participated in the Ocean Awareness Contest. Bow Seat has awarded approximately $600,000 in scholarships to help advance teens’ creative talents and their passion for the environment, as well as to educators who use the Contest as a tool to teach students about conservation issues, apply classroom learning to real-world problems, and build students’ research and communication skills.

“The catastrophic impacts of climate change are increasing, and with that are the number of young people who are experiencing anxiety about their futures,” said Linda Cabot, founder and president of Bow Seat. “This situation is made worse by the mass media’s tendency to report almost exclusively on bad news rather than on solutions.

“That’s why it’s more important than ever for youth to discover the positive stories of the climate movement,” continued Cabot. “We believe that, by centering their Contest submissions around everyday heroes, participants will be inspired by learning about real people making a difference: scientists, activists, artists, educators, and others whose work we may not know about yet—but should. Understanding that there is a large and robust global community working to solve climate issues helps young people better imagine—and then take action—towards a more sustainable world.”

“That’s why it’s more important than ever for youth to discover the positive stories of the climate movement. We believe that participants will be inspired by learning about real people making a difference. Understanding that there is a large and robust global community working to solve climate issues helps young people better imagine—and then take action—towards a more sustainable world.”

To support students’ participation in the Contest, Bow Seat curates a unique, online Resource Studio that offers an interdisciplinary educational experience—using inspirational artwork, videos, journalistic media, primary literature, interactive quizzes, and more—to teach students about climate change, share solutions-based climate news, and provide resources for climate anxiety. It also includes a skills-based section with educational information and tips on art-making, filmmaking, spoken word, storytelling, and more. In addition, the Resource Studio provides educators with lesson plans, classroom activities, and suggested reading to help them incorporate the Contest into their classrooms and meet important educational standards across disciplines.

For more than a decade, the Contest has helped to build a strong conservation ethic among students and strengthened 21st Century skills such as communication, critical thinking, creativity, and global awareness. According to feedback surveys from the 2022 Contest:

• 77% of students reported that the program increased their knowledge of climate change or ocean issues.
• 65% stated that it impacted their worldview and behavior.
• 87% reported that creating something for the Contest (i.e., art, writing, music, films, or multimedia) helped them personally connect with conservation topics.
• 76% reported that the Contest increased their confidence in their creative skills.

Results from sponsor feedback surveys corroborated the findings from the student surveys, demonstrating that the Contest was an effective tool for increasing students’ interest in and knowledge of climate change, and for strengthening their desire to make a difference in the world.

For more information about the 2023 Ocean Awareness Contest, go to www.bowseat.org/contest.

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About Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs: Bow Seat is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that engages youth in ocean conservation and advocacy through the arts. Visit bowseat.org for more information about Bow Seat’s programs, educational resources, and global collection of student artwork.