In November and December 2018, we started a participatory process at Ses Voltes. We gathered together people connected to the sea and asked them what type of museum they wanted. The events were attended by people with links to the Friends of the Maritime Museum Association, heritage specialists, fishermen and neighbours. There were also people linked to participatory projects (e.g. Alzina and Agustina), journalists specializing in maritime heritage, underwater archaeologists, master boatbuilders and boat owners. The question was clear: ‘How do you envisage the museum?’ The second question was: ‘How would you like to be connected to it?

As a result of these discussions, the First Sea Studies Conference was established. All the people who were involved in the participatory processes were invited.

The conferences were an opportunity for people to meet, to create a community, to think about how we relate to the sea, to envision future scenarios and, above all, to consider what we want Mallorca’s relationship with the sea to be.