About
Blue Citizen e.V. is a non-profit association founded in Germany to strengthen a cosmopolitan, democratic, and reciprocal relationship between people and the ocean.
We emerged from the project Young Citizens’ Council for the Ocean, but our motivation goes beyond a single initiative: we believe that the major challenges of our time — such as climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean degradation, and global inequality — require a renewed understanding of citizenship that reaches beyond national borders.
Our Core Idea: From Global Citizenship to Blue Citizenship
The founding idea of Blue Citizen e.V. is rooted in Global Citizenship thinking: the conviction that people today are not only citizens of states, but also part of a shared global community with common responsibilities for global public goods.
This perspective does not replace local, national, or European citizenship. Instead, it complements them. It starts from local experience and democratic practice, but expands the horizon of responsibility to issues that can no longer be addressed within national frameworks alone.
The ocean is a powerful example of this reality. It connects societies, cultures, economies, and ecosystems across borders — while remaining largely absent from democratic decision-making structures. This gap is where Blue Citizenship begins.
Blue Citizenship builds on Global Citizenship by asking:
- What does democratic responsibility mean for shared global commons?
- How can citizens meaningfully participate in shaping ocean governance?
- How can knowledge, culture, and political participation be linked in practice?
What We Stand For
According to our statutes, Blue Citizen e.V. pursues exclusively non-profit purposes and is committed to:
Cosmopolitanism and international understanding
We promote dialogue, cooperation, and mutual learning across countries and cultures. International exchange is not a side effect of our work — it is a core objective.
Solidarity and responsibility for global commons
We see the ocean as a shared foundation of life. Protecting it requires solidarity across generations, regions, and political systems.
Democratic participation and civic engagement
We support (young people) in understanding themselves as political actors — not as symbolic participants, but as citizens with the capacity to contribute to decision-making processes.
Education, science, and culture
Our work connects scientific knowledge, cultural perspectives, and democratic practice. We believe that lasting engagement emerges when people understand, feel, and are able to act.
Why We Founded Blue Citizen e.V.
Blue Citizen e.V. was founded to create a long-term institutional framework for this work.
During the Young Citizens’ Council for the Ocean, it became clear that young people are willing and able to engage deeply with complex political, scientific, and ethical questions — if they are taken seriously and given responsibility.
At the same time, many existing participation formats remain temporary, consultative, or symbolic. Our association was therefore founded to:
- ensure continuity beyond individual projects,
- provide an independent, non-profit structure for (youth-led) initiatives,
- and further develop Blue Citizenship as a practical and political concept.
All board positions and much of the association’s work are carried out on a voluntary basis, reflecting a strong civic and ethical commitment rather than institutional convenience.
Our Vision
We envision a future in which:
- young people are recognised as legitimate actors in ocean governance,
- democratic participation extends to global commons,
- and Global Citizenship is not only taught as an idea, but practiced through real political engagement.
Blue Citizen e.V. exists to contribute — step by step — to that future.