The Importance of Storytelling and the Ocean

The Importance of Storytelling and the Ocean

A guiding principle underlying the vision for PROTEUS™ is building toward a more hopeful future — as the International Space Station of the Ocean, not only will it allow scientists and observers from around the world to live under the sea for weeks or potentially months on end, but it will also be a vehicle to inspire and educate the world.  

We know the power of sharing the stories the ocean holds. On Mission 31, Fabien inspired the global community, resulting in 34 billion unique media impressions. He also connected with over 100K students all over the world via virtual classroom sessions from the bottom of the ocean. 

Mainstream media is a big part of the PROTEUS™ story. Media companies know how powerful this is, after all, the Cousteaus have used their storytelling to make award-winning documentaries about the ocean. We are already entertaining inquiries from production companies on behalf of well-known broadcasters. This tells us that before PROTEUS™ is even built, there is tremendous media interest in its story. We will develop media on and about PROTEUS™ for numerous outlets, including broadcasters and social media.

Speaking of the power of media, since July of 2020, when we officially announced PROTEUS™ with an exclusive story in Forbes, we have received over 1.5 billion media impressions.  Fabien Cousteau’s vision for PROTEUS™ has been covered by over 300 media outlets worldwide, with over 55 video interviews conducted by Fabien and articles translated in more than 25 languages.

PROTEUS™ will contain a state-of-the-art production studio, enabling live streaming of educational programming and content from both inside the station and the beautiful waters of Curaçao garnering global attention.  With live streaming directly from PROTEUS™, we will have the ability to invite the public to “meet” our aquanauts. Right now, feature film crews, photographers and documentarians alike must spend weeks in the field in order to be underwater for mere hours of filming. If working from a boat, the cost is astronomical. We can shrink the time needed to days rather than weeks.  

Fabien lives by his grandfather’s belief that “people protect what they love, they love what they understand, and they understand what they are taught.”  Until more people feel they have access to the ocean and can understand what it provides, how they are connected to it, change cannot be enacted. The more we learn about our human connection to the ocean, the more we can grapple with what we need to know, make better decisions to secure a sustainable future to pass on to the next generation. 

PROTEUS™ is operationalized and run by Proteus Ocean Group, Ltd. (POG), a private sector social enterprise, a sustainable for-profit business that will scale and have global impact. POG manages the coordination of and partnerships with strategic collaborators such as Northeastern, Rutgers, Gov’t bodies (Curacao), quasi-governmental bodies (CARMABI) and private sector partners. Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center (a 501(c)(3)) (FCOLC) is a major stakeholder in POG and leads the educational programming.

For information, please contact Lisa Marrocchino, CEO, Proteus Ocean Group, Ltd. at lisam@proteusoceangroup.com