2015 Communication and outreach plan
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) commissioned the development of a Massive Open Online Course on Marine Litter to increase understanding of the issue of marine litter, sources, fate and challenges/opportunities related to prevention and reduction of marine litter. It is developed as part of the UNEP-led activities of the
Global Partnership on Marine Litter in collaboration with the Open University in the
Netherlands.
The ML MOOC will be promoted via the following means:
1: MOOC LAUNCH
The launch is expected to take place around the International Coastal Clean-up day,
3 rd weekend of September.
2: MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
UNEP DCPI will produce a press release to announce the MOOC joint with OU::
1. National media a. The OU can produce an adapted press list for the Netherlands and
Flanders in Belgium
2. International ‘green media’ e.g. GreenBiz, Sustainable Brands, Guardian
Sustainable Business
3. International ‘financial media’ e.g. Responsible Investor, Institutional Investor,
IPE, Environmental Finance
4. UNEP media list-serves
5. Partners media list-serves
6. International Educational Technology and MOOC list-serves and communities
3: STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
UNEP will promote the MOOC via relevant list-serves, the Tunza network, newsletters; social media, Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability
(GUPES) as well as webinars for members of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter, to, amongst other things, promote the MOOC and engage global stakeholders prior to the launch of the MOOC.
OU will also promote the MOOC via newsletters; social media and national education partnerships on Environment and Sustainability to promote the MOOC and engage local and national stakeholders prior to the launch of the MOOC.

A “sign up for more info” should be created.
Target groups for tracks:
EVERYONE TO FILL IN
Tracks Target group
Leadership track
Senior Government
Officials
How
Focal point list GPA/ Committee of Permanent
Representatives (CPR), UNEP; Regional Seas list serves
Private sector/business leaders or sustainability managers
Business media, list for Valuing Plastic, list-serves
Plastic Coalition, Recyclers, Global Environmental,
Plastics Europe
Civil society leaders UNEP Major Groups and Stakeholders
Academia / IGO’s GUPES, UN Oceans, UN-Water, European
Association of Distance Teaching (EADTU)
Expert track ML practitioners ML list serves e.g. Local Beach Global Garbage,
GCFI CaMPAM list serve, GPA’s ML list serve.
Open University, through their national and international networks on plastic research and projects.
University students GUPES, Open University
European Association of Distance Teaching
(EADTU) http://www.distancelearningportal.com/
International Council for Open and Distance
Education http://www.icde.org/
European Association of Technology-Enhanced
Learning (EA-TEL)
Interested citizens press release, social media; Open University, through their national and international networks on plastic research
Youth Tunza, Youth Environmental Networks
(Caribbean, Pacific etc.)

Waste managers
(governments)
ISWA, Global Partnership on Waste, Focal points
GPA/Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans
Reviewers / contributors
We should consider identifying a few per unit or for the entire
MOOC
GPML Steering Committee
(IMO,FAO,Netherlands, USA, Germany) - maybe all nominees to the advisory group for UNEA
Study could be invited to review on a voluntary basis
Targeted outreach will take place during specific stakeholder meetings e.g.:
EVERYONE TO FILL IN
Date/Place Event Attendee(s)
3-5 June, Cape
Town, SA
Africa Marine Debris Summit Heidi
5 of June 2015
– Online
World Environment Day 2015 (promotion of the 2 pager and webpages with more information and sign-up for interest announcement on WED Website)
8 June 2015
–
Online
World Oceans Day
Geraldine
Geraldine
10 June 2015 Waterf(or)all: Europan (new) project meeting in Liege Belgium
Ansje
11 June 2015 Dutch National Environment Day at the
University of Utrecht www.nationalemilieudag.nl
Representatives of the
Department of Science of the Open University
(via Ansje)
28 June
29 June- 2 July
2015,
Gothenburg,
Sweden
GUPES Partnership Forum ( Global
Universities Partnership on Environment and
Sustainability (GUPES) and UNEP). Side event @ World Environmental Education
Congress (WEEC) http://weec2015.org/
Mahesh
Heidi 30 August - 4
September,
Paris, France
GESAMP meetings
7-9 September,
Flanders,
ISWA World Conference 2015 in
Flanders/Belgium
UNEP ED – keynote –
MOOC can be

Belgium included. ML session
Heidi
24-28 August,
Miami
Annual Conference of Caribbean Water &
Wastewater Association
Vincent Sweeney
3 September UNEP CPR on GPA Vincent Sweeney
4: ONGOING PROMOTION
UNEP will continue to promote the MOOC and engage global stakeholders following the
MOOC launch through events and media.
5: BRANDING
The MOOC could make use of the logo and colours of the GPML logo which features silhouettes of common litter items such as bottles, six-pack rings, plastic containers and fishing gear.
Open University, through their national and international networks on plastic research and involvement in all kinds of “plastic soup”-related projects.
EdCast can also play a role in promoting the MOOC in their networks…
The OU will make a theme “impacts from (plastic) waste in the environment” including the MOOC on the webpage ou.nl/duurzaam (duurzaam = sustainable)
KEY MILESTONES
2-pager prepared for promotion 28 May
28 May Webpages with more information and sign-up for interest announcement
Stakeholder engagement webinar TBD
DCPI to provide draft press release
DCPI to provide draft social media plan
ALL to agree final press release
Translation of press release and factsheet
30 August
30 August
13
September
TBD

Embargoed distribution of media materials
MOOC launch tied to suitable event
TBD
ICC