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PML celebrating the United Nations World Oceans Day
5 June 2024
World Oceans Day (WOD) is celebrated annually on 8th June across the globe, fostering public interest in the crucial role the ocean plays in all of our lives and a call for the protection of the ocean and the sustainable management of its resources.
WOD was first proposed in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2008, and since then, it has been a day to raise awareness about the importance of the ocean and mobilise global action for its preservation.This year a new multi-year action theme is being launched: Catalyzing Action for Our Ocean & Climate. By growing the movement through transformative collaboration, the aim is to create not only a healthy blue planet but also a more just, equitable and sustainable society.
We have lots of activities planned for this World Oceans Day, usually held on 8th June but this year being celebrated on Friday 7th June:
- Head of PML’s International Office, Prof. Matt Frost, is taking part and speaking at a side event co-organised by PML, during the High-Level Stakeholder Event on Ocean Action: Immersed in Change 2024 in San José, Costa Rica. This will take place 7th – 8th June and is organised by the Government of Costa Rica in the run up to the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), to be held in Nice in 2025 (co-hosted by Costa Rica and France). Find out more.
- A WOD celebration in Greenwich Park (London, UK) where Eden Oldfield will be representing PML with a focus on zooplankton and showcasing PML’s brand new, state-of-the-art AI plankton imager, as part of the Automated, in situ Plankton Imaging and Classification System (APICS) project. The event will also have an outdoor trail with activities tied to the seven principles of ocean literacy https://oceanliteracy.unesco.org/principles/ and how the ocean connects with land. Find out more.
- The Bonn UN Climate Change meeting (SB 60) will also run over the WOD period. As part of this the UNFCCC mandated Ocean & Climate Change Dialogue takes place 11th & 12th June, with a PML Moderator in the breakout sessions and PML is the lead organiser of a side event on the ocean across conventions on 11th June. Find out more.
- Amy Kenworthy, Ocean Acidification Research for Sustainability (OARS) Project Manager hosted at PML and ProBleu participant, is attending the Ocean Literacy World Conference on the 7th and 8th June in Venice, Italy. Find out more.
- The Box Plymouth are hosting a WOD event called ‘Ocean Marvels’, in which you can create your own plankton to appear on the big screen. Once you have created your plankton, why not venture over to the Planet Ocean exhibit to explore pivotal moments in Plymouth’s past and present relationship with the sea. PML has contributed to this exhibit as well as the long-term exhibit in the main hall.
There will also be an event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Friday 7 June under the theme “Awaken New Depths”, this will be hosted by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs (DOALOS) in partnership with Oceanic Global and you can find the details of how to register here.
Wishing you all a wonderful World Oceans Day!