Alannah Vellacott
Bahamas
Ancient Wisdom & the Ocean Campaign & Event
Starting in Earth Week 2021, Oceanic Global kicked off the Ancient Wisdom and the Ocean campaign with a virtual gathering supported by Aspiration, which amplified traditional, indigenous, and local knowledge from around the world & the importance of blending it with modern science to create holistic, long-term solutions for protecting our blue planet.
The gathering was hosted by actress and activist Nathalie Kelley and included four discussion circles—led by global community leaders, field experts, and representatives from Seeding Sovereignty, Eco Resolution, and the United Nations Division of Law and the Sea—across the themes: protecting marine areas, fisheries, climate resiliency, and oceanic biodiversity.
Bahamas
Tonga
Bangladesh
Colombia
California
Alaska
Hawaiʻi
Canada
Nicaragua
New York
Colorado
New Orleans
Peru
California
Australia
Ecuador
Philippines
London
ndigenous wisdom holders spoke and performed during The Ocean x Climate Summit at COP27 hosted by Oceanic Global in Egypt, November 2022. The discussion offered a moment of pause and deep connection, to remind us how to truly listen, and reframed the climate conversations to center on wisdom and rebalancing our relationship with water, the ocean and earth.
Moderated by Nat Kelley (Indigenous Actress & Activist), speakers include Teresa de Jesus & Pomaquero Minta (The Eagle and the Condor & Earthrise Collective; Quechua, Ecuador) w/ Doumi de Busturia (translator), Dr. Rajendra Singh (Chairman, Tarun Bharat Sangh; “Waterman of India”), and Whaia (Sonic Weaver; Ngāti Kahugnunu, Aotearoa, New Zealand).
Expo City: Green Zone l 4th December 2023
On 8 June 2023, the United Nations hosted its annual World Oceans Day celebration featuring the theme, Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing, which highlighted the need to put the ocean first. The hybrid event was hosted by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs (DOALOS), in partnership with Oceanic Global and supported by Panerai, with contribution by Discover Earth at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City and was broadcasted live on UNWorldOceansDay.org and supporting channels for global accessibility.
Indigenous elder, Whaia (Sonic Weaver; Ngāti Kahugnunu, Aotearoa, New Zealand) shared an multisensory opening performance that honored the beauty of water with the goal of connecting humanity to this element which sustains the diversity of life on earth.
Performance by award- winning performer and theater maker from South Africa, Mpume Mthombeni. As co-director of Empatheater she focuses on merging research and performance in service of marginalized communities where the theater acts as a healer.
Featuring the award-winning immersive experience ‘Sounds of the Ocean,’ opened with an evocative bilingual poem ‘The Whale,’ by the Emirates Literature Foundation and the University of Exeter. The enchanting marine world came to life through a blend of live music, dance, and oceanic imagery.
Oceanic Global Founder Lea d’Auriol moderated a captivating discussion during the ‘Ancient Wisdom & The Ocean Panel’ with 7+ Indigenous wisdom holders from Wisdom Keepers Delegation who shared their connection to water. In partnership with Sounds of the Ocean.
Performance:
Jacob Johns (Akimel O’odham and Hopi Environmental Defender & Community Supported Organizer)
Panelists:
Great Grandmother Mary Lyons, Knowledge Holder & Water Protector
Appolinaire Oussou, Founding member of the African Earth Jurisprudence Collective President of GRABE-BENIN
Aya Khourshid, Post Growth System Change Researcher
Bodhi Patil, Ocean Climate Solutionist & Founder & CEO of Inner Light
Saina Ekaterina Savvinova, Honored Artist of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)’
‘Listening to Changing Seas” by Whale & Dolphin Conservancy featuring remarks by Ed Godall and Tom Mustill.
Learn more about the event from COP28 & Imagine5.
Expo City: Green Zone l 4th December 2023
UN WOD 2024 took us on a journey of discovery through the ocean’s vastness, tapping into the wisdom and expertise of global policy-makers, scientists, managers, thought leaders, and artists to awaken new depths of understanding, compassion, collaboration and commitment for the ocean and all it sustains. The program expanded our perspectives and appreciation for our blue planet, built new foundations for our relationship to the ocean, and ignited a wave of action toward necessary change.
Giselle World performs a song at UN World Oceans Day, encouraging all of us to feel connected to water.
The Importance of Diverse Knowledge for Deep Understanding Featuring moderator: Sweta Chakraborty (CEO of North America, We Don’t Have Time), Xiye Bastida (Executive Director, Re-Earth Initiative), Sylvia Earle (Explorer at Large, National Geographic & Mission Blue).
Join the Oceanic Global community to receive news invitations to upcoming events.
