
BlueCommunities
The Program
* what is a blue community*
During a typhoon in Hong Kong in 2012, the Chine oil company, Sinopec, lost its shipping container cargo of plastic nurdles, which coated the shoreline in trillions of white plastic pellets. Unlike oil, plastic is deemed non-hazardous, leaving no one accountable for its impact on ecosystems, communities, or health.
This spurred the creation of Plastic Oceans International (POI), with a mission to end plastic pollution through education and community engagement. Starting with the documentary, A Plastic Ocean, POI quickly recognized the power of film and community dialogue not only for awareness, but also as a way to engage stakeholders and create collaborative action.
Today, awareness of plastic pollution is higher than ever, but there is still a lot of confusion about how to take effective action.
Ending plastic pollution has never been just about plastic, but instead about rethinking how we produce, consume, and reuse.
That’s why our work today focuses on supporting local partners to conduct effective intersectoral dialogues, spurred by film, that reveal opportunities for collaborative action to support circular economy transitions, inform policy, and create sustainable community-led initiatives.
Our Approach
The Participatory Film-Activism Model developed by Plastic Oceans International is a novel, scalable, and evidence-based approach to engaging stakeholders in circular economy transitions.
We systematically integrate storytelling, dialogue, and impact measurement to support community-driven solutions and inform policy development.
As a practical framework ready for replication, the model offers substantial value to organizations seeking to advance circular economy principles through participatory engagement.
FAQs
Learn what it takes to become part of our BlueCommunities.
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We prioritize partners who believe in the transformative power of film and recognize its ability to educate, inspire, and drive meaningful change.
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Screenings: BCs commit to hosting at least 6 screening per year.
Dialogues: Each film screening is to be followed by a structured and recorded dialogue, which are then analyzed by Plastic Oceans. Dialogue reports provide actionable steps for the community.
Take Action: According to the insights from the dialogues, BCs develop new community-led circular initiatives or help advance policy.
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Thorough Reports and Analyses: These reports serve three key purposes: 1. they help align community voices to the global agenda, ensuring their insights and challenges are represented in larger conversations, 2. they provide BCs with valuable data and recommendations to strengthen their local collaborations and impact; and 3. Identify new film projects to address knowledge gaps.
Capacity Building Resources: Plastic Oceans provides various toolkits, guides and resources to equip BCs with everything necessary for impactful engagement, including dialogue facilitation, dialogue report analysis, and strategic planning.
Network Exchange: We carefully select organizations that are both highly impactful and deeply committed to using film to bring stakeholders together. Being part of this network connects people together working around the world for circular transitions.
Join The Global Network
Interested to join the network? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly! We can't wait to hear from you!