“It takes a valley” – The stories and companies behind the #OURSEA campaign

The #OURSEA campaign, launched in January 2020, reached its goal of raising 1 million euros in early spring 2021. The campaign was set to mark the 75th anniversary of the Moomin stories and to help the John Nurminen Foundation to save the Baltic Sea and its unique heritage.

“The #OURSEA campaign took our breath away with its beauty, clear message, channels – and great partners, both the licensees of Moomin Characters and our supporters who joined the campaign”, says Annamari Arrakoski-Engardt, CEO at the John Nurminen Foundation.

“The #OURSEA campaign is an uplifting example of how one simple idea can lead to global action when born out of a meaningful cause and built together with dedicated, quickly-moving people – despite a pandemic”, Roleff Kråkström, the CEO of Moomin Characters Ltd adds. “Our sincerest thank you to every person in the participating organizations who put a piece of their time and energy into this project and saw its importance.”

In the end, more than 150 companies and organizations from various fields ranging all the way from the Scouts to prestigious watchmakers joined the #OURSEA campaign.

Orion, a globally operating Finnish pharmaceutical company, made a significant donation to the campaign and actively included their personnel and customers in protecting #OURSEA. Terhi Ormio, Vice President, Communications at Orion Corporation, shines a light on what it was like to help the campaign succeed.

Several publishing houses also took part in the campaign. Bonnier Carlsen, a Swedish publisher, focused on literature for children, teens and young adults, made a direct donation to the campaign and published new editions of two classic Moomin stories as a part of the campaign. Sara Kyhlstedt, project manager at Bonnier Carlsen, shared how the publishing house also involved Swedish libraries and schools in helping children understand what they can do to protect the sea:

Nasza Księgarnia is the oldest publisher of children’s books in Poland. Wiktoria Korzeniewska and Janek Ławicki from Nasza Księgarnia share their lovely story of how both the Moomins and the Baltic Sea give them and the readers comfort and joy.

The Maritime Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, is a museum for naval history, merchant shipping and shipbuilding. Lina Granér from the museum tells about a self-guided tour they built into the museum.

Also, for example, Junibacken, a children’s cultural centre in Stockholm, Sweden, recently opened a new Moomin exhibition that is also part of the #OURSEA campaign, and through different activities aimed at children, Junibacken will help them learn more about the Baltic Sea. During the one and a half years of the campaign, the Finnish scouts have carried out activities related to the Baltic Sea and learned about protecting the sea. Already more than 6000 scouts have earned an #OURSEA badge by taking part in the activities!

The #OURSEA campaign, launched in January 2020, has reached its goal of raising 1 million euros to save the Baltic Sea and its unique cultural heritage. The work is, however, not over yet, as the campaign continues until the end of July 2021.