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UNESCO promotes full launch of GenOcean Campaign

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After a successful soft roll out on social media, on 4 April 2022 UNESCO will officially launch GenOcean, the official communications campaign of the UN Ocean Decade 2021-2030.

The GenOcean campaign will raise public awareness on the power of ocean knowledge and science to address ocean degradation, encouraging individuals to take action to restore and protect the ocean.

GenOcean will revolutionise the way we think and act towards the ocean, building strength in unity and a collective approach to ocean protection and restoration based on the latest science.

Mission

  • GenOcean will drive people to take simple actions in their daily lives towards restoring and protecting the ocean.
  • GenOcean will grow awareness in the public around ocean issues, communicated through people-led storytelling.
  • GenOcean will build knowledge and understanding in the public of ocean issues through ocean science.

Background

In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) (‘the Ocean Decade’) to stimulate ocean science and knowledge generation and thus reverse declines in the state of the ocean system while catalysing new opportunities for sustainable ocean use.

The campaign will generate mass engagement in protecting and sustainably managing the ocean through science-driven solutions and provide a platform for committed individuals to tell their own story, influencing many others to take action.

GenOcean presents the opportunity for people to understand and appreciate the ocean as a key part of the solution to the planet’s sustainability and climate crises.

How will GenOcean make a difference?

By taking action

Each of us must take urgent action in our own lives and during this decade, to protect and restore the ocean.

Transforming our ocean will take action at all levels and by all people.

To persuade and instigate action we need to grow awareness and share simple solutions to create meaningful change.

Through people-led stories

We are all connected to the ocean which is under threat from our activities. 

Our people are remarkable, resonate with our audience, spark ideas among the GenOcean community and encourage everyone to act now.

Led by the science

Ground-breaking science illustrates the urgency of acting now. 

Stories are bold, inspirational, and informative. They present the incredible, are punctuated with data and showcase live motivational projects in action.

Facts

Impacts from human activities affect over 40% of the ocean’s surface (UNEP)

Live coral cover has halved in the last 150yrs (IPBES)

Only 20% of the ocean’s seafloors have been comprehensively mapped (GEBCO)

genocean quote

Here's a teaser of what you can in the GenOcean website:

Action

Take action for the ocean today.

  1. Swap your normal teabags, which contain up to 25% plastic, for loose-leaf tea.
  2. Have a plastic-free pregnancy and protect the ocean and your baby at the same time.
  3. Choose ocean-friendly clothing and protect the ocean from further harm.

People

Inspiring people are restoring and protecting the ocean.

  1. When Gladys Habu’s island-home in the Solomon Islands, slipped under the rising-sea, she turned to ocean activism to make a difference.
  2. Affa, better known as The Island Girl, claims we are all, ‘children of the sea’ and urges everyone to advocate for change in their own communities.
  3. Zack Rago, from the Netflix documentary Chasing Coral, shares his passion for coral and it’s importance in the ocean’s and planet’s ecosystem.

Science

  1. The AniBos project features animals as oceanographers, in a pioneering new study which is making startling discoveries about changing ocean currents.
  2. The Save the Waves app puts citizen science in the palm of your hand, allowing anyone to alert and respond to ocean issues.
  3. The people of Yap, an island in the Pacific, are looking back to a traditional fishing technique in order to preserve fish-stocks in their community.

 

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Key Links

Website: www.genocean.org

Instagram: @genocean

Facebook: wearegenocean

Twitter: @wearegenocean

TikTok: wearegenocean

Campaign video: https://youtu.be/r4qmdNic678

Campagin assets: Click Here

 

Hashtags

#GenOcean

#OceanDecade