The United Nations is marking World Oceans Day today through an annual event and activities co-ordinated by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (Office of Legal Affairs).
photo courtesy of Blancpain Ocean Commitment
The 2021 edition is produced in partnership with the non-profit organisation Oceanic Global and presenting partner Blancpain.
The event provides an opportunity to celebrate the importance of the ocean and to better understand how to interact with it in a sustainable manner.
Last year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the celebrations were held virtually via a digital event that attracted hundreds of thousands of people across the globe, setting World Oceans Day as a milestone in terms of raising awareness for oceanic causes.
"The Ocean: Life And Livelihoods" is the theme for the second fully virtual celebration this year, which will shed light on the wonder of the ocean and how it is our life source, supporting humanity and every other organism on Earth. The event will be live-streamed today at 9pm via unworldoceansday.org.
Interested people are invited to join and hear from over 40 thought-leaders, celebrities, institutional partners, community voices, entrepreneurs and cross-industry experts about the biodiversity and economic opportunities that the ocean sustains.
The line-up includes UN Secretary-General António Guterres; Jean-Michel Cousteau, ocean explorer and president of Ocean Futures Society; Nicole Yamase, a PhD candidate in the Marine Biology Graduate Program, University of Hawaii at Manoa; and Gael Garcia Bernal, actor and co-founder of La Corriente del Golfo.
They will be speaking directly with people that live off the ocean daily and explore the vastness of life beneath its surface, the latest scientific discoveries and how we are all interconnected.
This blue day is also marked by a photo competition and concert supported by Blancpain.
The finalists and winners of the 2021 UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition will also be announced during the event which will conclude with the virtual concert featuring renowned musical artists from around the world.
Visit unworldoceansday.org.
