Ocean Equity Collective: Language Guide
Originally published on next100coalition.org.
“Language is the basis of trust building and so important in interactions with new partners and communities.”
The Ocean Equity Collective is a coalition of BIPOC-led organizations and people focused on holistic ocean conservation, protection, and appreciation. Their goal is to foster the next generation of ocean stewardship and create a community-centered sustainability movement where all people can access and cherish the ocean’s ecosystems. Their mission is to address historical inequities in the ocean conservation movement and include historically excluded communities in the protection and enjoyment of the ocean’s ecosystems.
To aid community support work, they have created a language guide to help individuals, organizations, and corporations better communicate with communities and decolonize their language.
This guide aims to build trust and create more fruitful conversations and partnerships across communities and sectors. The guide is a first iteration and will continue to grow with community input as they engage more BIPOC community members to collectively build a resource that all communities can utilize and learn from.
Shifting the marine conservation narrative to be more just, inclusive, and equitable first begins with awareness and reflection about how the language we use impacts the communities we seek to partner with and serve.
We look forward to engaging more BIPOC community members as we expand on this growing
document and collectively build a resource that all communities can utilize and learn from.