On the 5th and 6th of June 2026, the Blue4All photo exhibition stopped at Nausicaá in Boulogne-sur-Mer, as part of the Team for Ocean event and the 10th anniversary of France's Aires Marines Éducatives (AME). This was just one stop among several planned within that region. Visitors could see 26 photographs, grouped into three themes: human impact, strength, beauty, and flora and fauna. Alongside the display, a hands-on activity invited visitors to vote for their favourite photo and leave comments on post-its, turning a look round the stand into a conversation about marine conservation.
The numbers
83 visitors participated on day one, a great start for the event. On day two, only 6 people made it as an emergency weather alert cut the day short from 1 pm. In total, the target of 100 visitors was nearly missed.
Visitors cast a total of 110 votes for their favourite photo. The clear winner was a sunset shot, "A fascination for the sunset" (number 15 on the picture above, 17 votes). The Strength and Beauty theme, mostly landscapes, drew more votes overall (55) than either Human Impact (9) or Flora and Fauna (46), suggesting scenery outperformed the more pointed conservation images on first impression.
What stood out
Four school groups visited on Friday. One class from College Jean Jaures in Etaples stood out for how actively they engaged with the photos, and the teachers gave very positive feedback afterwards.
The sticker-voting system worked well, quick and accessible even for younger children, and life-size models of a kittiwake and a herring gull proved a strong draw for them. Comments left on post-its leaned aesthetic overall (beautiful, colours, sunset came up most), but the human impact photos drew the most engaged discussion, with words like fishing, nets, waste and sharing showing up in visitors' comments.
Looking ahead
A few lessons will carry forward: pitching the activity to the age group (older pupils can handle open discussion, younger ones do better with stickers and simple explanations), fewer and simpler instructions, an indoor venue where possible, and capping groups at around 10 people for better flow, especially for visitors with reduced mobility.
Promotion ahead of this stop stayed limited, which likely also partly explains Saturday's public turnout. Stronger social media promotion and earlier contact with partner schools are the priorities for the exhibition's next stops.