In the summer of 2024, the Jordan Youth Innovation Forum proudly took part in the first mobility of the SEAL – Sustainable Environment for Aquatic Life project, hosted in Sinop, Türkiye. This remarkable European Solidarity Corps initiative united 28 young volunteers from Jordan, Türkiye, Bulgaria, Georgia, Spain, Romania, and Portugal to work collectively on marine conservation, ecological education, and public awareness activism.
The project began with orientation sessions that introduced participants to:
These discussions sparked deep reflection among participants — especially those witnessing the link between environmental harm and human conflict for the first time.
Before starting the environmental activities, volunteers spent the first week:
The cultural exchange element created a sense of family, rather than just a working team.
During the second week, volunteers moved from learning to action.
They cleaned polluted beaches around Sinop, collecting:
Working in the heat, side-by-side, the volunteers saw firsthand how pollution quietly accumulates — and how collective effort can reverse it.
For licensed divers, the experience went even deeper — literally.
After receiving safety refreshers from professional instructors, volunteers dove in pairs, exploring depths of up to 35 meters.
What they discovered shocked them:
Each item pulled from the sea floor represented a story of neglect — but also a moment of healing.
Meanwhile, the artist volunteers stayed onshore, sketching, collecting objects, and beginning to conceptualize how these findings could be transformed into public art that makes people stop and think.
In the final stage, volunteers collaborated on an open-air exhibition displaying:
Locals walked through the exhibition in silence, shock, and reflection — proving that art can sometimes speak louder than statistics.
Our Jordanian participants returned home with:
This first mobility was not just a project — it was a transformation.
