Untold Stories (For Planet Ocean Challenge, 11/06/2025)

For Planet Ocean Challenge 2025 – Prompt 5: Untold Stories

For the last prompt 'Untold Stories', I chose to focus on social justice and inclusion, a topic we sometimes forget when discussing environmental issues. Not everyone has equal access to the sea. With the painting I created for this challenge, I wanted to convey that inequality. It depicts two girls: one sitting on a beach, enjoying the view; the other trapped inside a concrete building, staring at a poster of the ocean, only able to dream of visiting it one day.

For me, the sea is close, just an hour’s drive or train ride away, with both forms of transport easily affordable to me. I can swim because I had the opportunity to learn as a young girl. I have a bikini in my closet, and even a snorkel. I’m not deaf or blind, so I don’t need assistance to get there or to go swimming. A few years ago, I even took a sailing class, because not only did I have free time on Sundays, but I also had a husband who could stay home with our son, and the financial means to pay for it.

But not everyone has equal access to the sea. 

Imagine someone in a wheelchair, trying to reach the waves but struggling to cross the soft sand.

Imagine a deaf person wanting to attend a lecture on phytoplankton, but finding no one to translate to sign language.

Imagine a single mother, working two jobs just to get by, with no spare time or money to take the train with her three children.

Imagine a child with autism, who longs to collect his favorite seashells but is overwhelmed by the noisy summer crowds.

Imagine a local fishing community, being denied access to their traditional fishing grounds by massive corporations building luxury resorts for tourists.

It all begins with access. And it's our shared responsibility to provide that for all.

This post is part of my contribution to the For Planet Ocean Challenge 2025, using art and storytelling for ocean awareness.

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