bLYSs at the McMaster University: Knowledge Co-Creation and Blue Equity Workshop June 2026

Conference cover co-created by Sarah Mohamed and Sanpo Yokoi, 2026.

✦ Endorsed Activity of the UN Ocean Decade (2021–2030) ✦

Involving children from Canada · Sinai · Gaza · Tanzania

bLYSs at McMaster University

Reimagining Ocean Futures Through Co-Creation

Hamilton, Canada | June 2026 | McMaster and UiT The Arctic University of Norway

About the Workshop
bLYSs at UiT The Arctic University of Norway is proud to announce the upcoming event at McMaster, Ontario Canada — an endorsed activity of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030). This workshop brings together children and young ocean advocates from four communities across the globe: Canada, the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza, and Tanzania, united by a shared vision of ocean justice and ocean literacy.

Our team is working together to reimagine ocean futures. Through participatory methodologies, children from diverse cultural backgrounds contribute their drawings, dreams, and voices to a living conversation about our shared ocean. This workshop is a milestone moment in that ongoing journey.

The event is hosted at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and forms part of the broader bLYSs international program, which spans Arctic Norway, the Amazon, the Sinai, Gaza, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Workshop Resources & Links
The following materials are available for participants, media, and the public:

→ Link to the Booklet (co-created by Amna Usmani, Jessica Liebmann, Anna Zucchini):

The official bLYSs McMasterConference Booklet: your guide to the workshop programme, community portraits, and co-creation vision.

→ Link to the letterhead you can use to write to the children:

A letter template for participants who wish to write directly to the children involved in the project.

→ Link to names of the children in Songea, Tanzania (NEMCA and Beyond Borders, Ladslaus Bigambo):

The names of the participating children from the NEMCA community in Songea, Tanzania: our ocean co-creators from East Africa.

→ Link to the drawings of the children in Sinai, Egypt (Nuweiba Community and Asfour Initiative, Dana Ahmed)

A collection of artworks by children from the Sinai Peninsula, sharing their vision of the sea and ocean futures.

→ Link to the drawings of the children in Gaza (Dream fishers coordinated by Shimaa Abu Qamar: Mira Sami and Bayan Halioua)

Drawings by Mira Sami Al-Masri (8 years old) and Bayan Haloui (10 years old) from Gaza — young voices carrying ocean dreams across borders.

→ Link to the instructions for the co-creation

Station cards and instructions for the co-creation activities — Day 1 and Day 2, Canada session, June 2026. A practical guide for facilitators and participants.