On Saturday 18 July 2026, Gorée’s Young Sentinels took part in an ecological class in Hann Bay with Mbacké Seck, known as the Sentinel of Hann Bay. The encounter broadened their perspective on the coast through learning with a committed local advocate.
Looking beyond the island to understand the coast
Following GOCEAN’s launch, the visit extended the Sentinels’ learning beyond Gorée. Discovering Hann Bay connects nearby territories that share the sea while facing their own environmental realities. Coastal education becomes tangible: learning to observe a place, listen to those working to protect it and connect local questions with a shared horizon.
Learning across generations
The ecological class with Mbacké Seck placed intergenerational learning at its heart. His commitment as the Sentinel of Hann Bay offers young people a reference point: environmental protection also depends on knowing a territory, sustained engagement and civic participation. The encounter between Gorée’s Sentinels and a Sentinel of Hann reflects GOCEAN’s own educational purpose: observe, understand, protect and share.
Shared challenges, local realities
Waste, pollution and care for the living world provide connections between learning in Gorée and Hann. Each environment calls for attention to its uses, vulnerabilities and local actors. GOCEAN supports this curiosity without reducing a place to its difficulties: the coast is also a setting for everyday life, knowledge and commitments that deserve recognition.
Nurturing shared responsibility
This visit belongs to an approach combining island activities, field encounters and dialogue with other coastal communities. It helps young people understand that their commitment in Gorée is part of a wider responsibility towards marine and coastal environments. Encounters in Hann and later collective activities with Dak’Clim and its partners progressively enrich this learning journey.
The Sentinels in the field
A pathway that grows with every encounter.
The launch in Gorée
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