Since its inception in 2008, United Nations World Oceans Day has celebrated the ocean and its importance to the planet and our lives, while raising awareness about the many threats it faces via in-person assembly at the United Nations Headquarters. In 2020, Oceanic Global was honored to take the celebration virtual, bringing together more than 350,000 people through a live event – the most well-attended ocean event in history.
As the challenges to the ocean continue to grow, so does the need for novel solutions and the people driving them. The day-long 2020 event featured 43 international speakers over seven hours of content. Touching on wide-reaching topics relating to the Innovation For A Sustainable Ocean theme, keynote speeches, panels, and presentations were kicked off by the United Nations Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly, with leading ocean voices featured throughout the day. The event closed with a virtual concert for the ocean featuring global voices such as Mali’s Fatoumata Diawara, Niger’s Bombino, and the UK’s Jess Glynne.
Watch UN WOD 2020
On Monday, June 8, 2020, the first-ever fully digital rendition of its annual United Nations World Oceans Day event celebrated the 2020 theme, Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean. While traditionally an invitation-only event at the United Nations Headquarters capped at just 500 attendees, the 2020 celebration was open to the global public for the first time in history via live web-stream on UNWorldOceansDay.com and social media channels.
As part of United Nations World Oceans Day, Oceanic Global introduced a “Concert for the Ocean” to conclude the day-of event. Through the power of music, the Concert for the Ocean brings together intergenerational and diverse musicians and audiences to celebrate the ocean and ignite collective action to protect it.
The UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition is hosted by the United Nations, curated by Ellen Cuylaerts and a jury composed of world-renowned photographers and artists.
High-level speakers will open UN World Oceans Day with remarks on the 2020 theme “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean”.
Speakers will provide an overview of the state of the ocean and highlight the inter-linkages of the problems we face, as well as opportunities we can harness.
This segment spotlights current projects offering innovative solutions that address the themes of the eight interactive dialogues of the 2020 UN Ocean Conference.
The Cousteaus will provide a multigenerational perspective on our evolving understanding of the ocean across time, highlighting certain innovations in science and exploration that have shaped our relationship with the ocean.
The segment will highlight exciting developments in the world of science, technology and exploration, with a particular focus on deep sea exploration, opportunities for future discoveries and the rapid progress in this field.
Announcement of the finalists and winners of the 2020 UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition.
This panel discussion will shed light on how the private sector is engaging communities to develop solutions for a healthy ocean.
This segment will feature community-oriented, -managed, and -driven solutions for a healthy ocean. True solutions have public buy-in and this is an opportunity to highlight the successful coalition building efforts of groups that include affected voices at the decision-making table.
Youth from around the world will share their solutions to drive innovation, engage their community and bridge generational gaps for a healthy and sustainable ocean.
Remarks on World Oceans Week and the efforts of the Friends of World Oceans Day (FOWOD) community.
The Day will conclude with a celebration of the ocean through live performances from musicians around the world!
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