Naïa: The Voice of The Ocean

We're using comic books and educational materials to engage a new audience with ocean issues. "Naïa's Journey" follows her exciting mission to balance human activities with ocean health. Throughout her travels, she meets inspiring people and learns important lessons, encouraging young readers to care for the environment.

Contact us if you want to join the initiative! msc-marres@univ-cotedazur.fr
 
 

The first book: Panic at Pelagos

In her first adventure "Panic at Pelagos", Naia finds herself a small French port, at the heart of the Pelagos Sanctuary, a dolphin is found dead on a beach, entangled  in barbed wire with its flank mutilated, bearing the letters “MIAM”. With her friend Octave, a marine biologist, they attempt to solve the mystery of this tragedy in an area  designated for the conservation of cetaceans.

The first book has been imagined with Antoine Erwes (Seaweed First), scripted by Eric Pailharey (a specialist of comic books for scientific outreach) and illustrated by Lita.

The first book will be released both in English and French in June 2024 for the month of the Ocean, at one year to the UN Ocean Conference in Nice.

Naïa's upcoming adventures will explore the ocean's past and how scientists reconstruct its distant and recent history, as well as human interactions with it. She will also investigate how to better consider local and indigenous knowledge in marine conservation and resource valorization.

 

Educational material

With guidance from ocean experts, our students develop accompanying educational materials such as video podcasts, outreach infographics, and interactive quizzes. Emma and Nikita are at the forefront of this initiative, interviewing experts to compare the scientific and socio-economic aspects of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in France and Costa Rica.

This material will complement the comic book, connecting readers to real-world information on MPAs globally, with a particular focus in the two countries who will organize the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice.


>> First part of book 1: Panique à Pelagos (French)

Part 2 will be available with the education material in September 2024, together with the English version