November 2019

Authors: Rose Hendricks and John Volmert

As part of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s (UK Branch) Valuing the Ocean strand, we have been exploring the power of framing messages (making choices about what to say and how to say it) to create a new ‘sea story’. 

In 2017, the Foundation published Getting Below the Surface, a ground-breaking report from the FrameWorks Institute into how the public thinks about the ocean. Turning the Tide builds on insights from this work and on new research to provide a ‘first aid kit’ for ocean reframing.  This report outlines the findings from a series of interrelated investigations aimed at identifying framing tools and techniques that can shift the public discussion. It sets out strategies to deepen public understanding of ocean health and build support for the systemic solutions that can aid its recovery.

The overarching strategy that the Turning the Tide report recommends is the concept of ocean health combined with an emphasis on temporal change – the ways in which the ocean was different in the past and will change in the future. An accompanying framing guide helps turn the report findings into clear communications dos and don’ts. Taken together, the findings point to a broader strategy for effectively communicating about the ocean and marine conservation.