World Ocean Day 2014: Together we have the power to protect the Ocean<\/p>\n
Each year, World Oceans Day (8 June) is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the challenges faced by the international community in connection with the Ocean.<\/p>\n
It is essential to sustainable development : the Ocean is the source of life and continues to play a crucial role in the lives of seven billion human beings. Several million people depend directly on the oceans for their food, travel and work. It is the Earth\u2019s main lung, providing most of the oxygen we breathe, and is at the center of the planet\u2019s climate processes.<\/p>\n
On 10 June 2014, UNESCO will celebrate World Oceans Day with a day of events highlighting the organization\u2019s multidisciplinary approach to work on Ocean-related issues. The main objective of the day is to demonstrate how, by combining our efforts, each of us can contribute to the mitigation of threats to the Ocean, and how we can change our relationship with the Ocean to a mutually beneficial interaction.<\/p>\n
A press conference on Ocean partnerships will be held on this day with the main stakeholders : UNESCO, Government of France, Tara Expedition, Oc\u00e9anopolis and Nausicaa. This press conference will present the shared committments by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO) and civil society and of joint projects in 2014-2015. It will provide an opportunity to launch the \u201cOc\u00e9an & Climat\u201d Civil Society Platform for the 2015 United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 21), brief the press on the milestone events of the COP 21 preparation process and present joint projects.<\/p>\n
An information session for Permanent Delegations on the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage is also planned.<\/p>\n
For the Youth, there will be an exhibition by Deyrolle \u201cPour l\u2019Avenir on the Ocean\u201d which showcases their newest collection of teaching materials on the Ocean, protected marine species, and the Mediterranean region.<\/p>\n
For middle-school students, in addition of a tour of the Deyrolle exhibition, students will carry out scientific experiments on water Ph and Salinity, and discuss current ocean-related issues with experts, such as ocean acidification or plastic pollution on a Hands-on science education workshop.<\/p>\n
On 10th June, it will be the inaugural edition of the Campus OPEN UNESCO Jeunes.<\/p>\n
For this first panel around “One Planet, one ocean”,\u00a0 partners from NGO’s together with the UNESCO experts\u00a0 will present ocean related issues, and\u00a0 civil society initiatives. This first edition of the “Campus Open UNESCO Jeunes” is being held with the support of the GDF – Suez Foundation.<\/p>\n
To conclude and to be confirmed, UNESCO & the Ocean: Illustration of UNESCO\u2019s contribution to the Aichi Targets for Ocean Conservation under the Convention on Biological Diversity<\/p>\n