2023-10-02 15:32:03
UNESCO inaugurates in Venice the first international reflection group dedicated to Oceanic Culture
Develop a roadmap to promote the international Ocean Culture program for the next four years, identifying priority areas of attention and methodologies to monitor its progress.
With these objectives, within the framework of the United Nations the Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development (2021 to 2030), the first international reflection group or “think tank” dedicated to the Oceanic Culturepromoted by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.
Led by Francesca Santoro, Senior Program Officer of the IOC-UNESCO and Coordinator of the Ocean Culture programme, the think tank will be a tool of the IOC/UNESCO Ocean Literacy programme, which aims to raise awareness about the role of the ocean and what it can be done to protect it. The Group of Experts specially selected by the IOC/UNESCO from all over the world and with different backgrounds participates: 20 researchers, artists, communication experts, teachers, anthropologists, biologists and scientists. In fact, the objective of the think tank will be to contribute to international cooperation and promote ocean education in all parts of the world by sharing knowledge, techniques and projects from different fields.
The think tank’s first in-person meeting is scheduled for October 4 and 5 in Venice (Italy). This first meeting will kick off the work and the creation of an action plan. The meeting will take place at Palazzo Zorzi, official headquarters of the UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Culture in Europe.
As a symbol of cities affected by the climate crisis, Venice has also become a reference point for Oceanic Culture in recent years. Thanks to IOC/UNESCO and the financial support of the Prada Group, the city will host the Coordination Office of the Decade to Connect People and the Ocean[1]. The Office will deal specifically with the relationship between humans and the ocean and will, among other things, have the mission of promoting and supporting the implementation of a “blue” curriculum on Ocean Culture in all UNESCO Member States. , as well as organizing the first World Conference on Oceanic Culture in 2024 in the “lagoon” city of Venice.
“Ocean Culture considers the relationships between the ocean and other aspects of life on Earth and catalyzes actions to protect, conserve and use the ocean in a sustainable way, involving the entire society,” explains Francesca Santoro, Senior Program Officer of the IOC-UNESCO. “As IOC/UNESCO, we have become promoters of Oceanic Culture and are in the process of mobilizing the necessary resources and tools to stimulate meetings, exchange information and good practices, and promote collaboration in the creation of new initiatives. The participation of experts from different contexts and from all over the world helps us to enhance the holistic approach that we have always placed at the center of the program, to take into account all areas and cover all spheres of society: citizens, companies, institutions, schools, research centers, universities, foundations, organizations, agencies, etc.”.
The Expert Group will support Ocean Culture research activities to develop assessment tools and methodologies that increase the impact of initiatives around the world. Throughout the two days of the event, a roadmap will be created to identify new synergies with institutions and the private sector, coordinate effective communication approaches, find opportunities to integrate Ocean Culture into school programs and aspire to Bring the ocean to schools around the world by 2025.
The Ocean Culture Expert Group consists of: Afiq Durrani (researcher and professor at the Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu); Anne De Carbuccia (artist and filmmaker); Arturo Rey da Silva (maritime archaeologist, member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS); Aslak Sverdrup (general director of the Bergen Aquarium); Carolyn Scheurle (coordinator of the Vilafranca de Mar Sea Institute); Daniel Bowie Mac-Donald (accredited financial analyst); Daniel Kasnick (Primary Program coordinator at Newton College, Peru); Daniela Hill Piedra (biologist, founder of SeaLifeDiving, national coordinator of the RELATO network); Daniele Moretti (editor-in-chief of Sky Tg24); Diana Payne (Education Coordinator for Connecticut Sea Grant at the University of Connecticut); Emma McKinley (researcher at Cardiff University); Faiza Yousef Al-Yamani (Senior Research Scientist at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research); Jacqueline Uku (scientist seagrass specialist and conservation officer at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Mombasa); Jan Seys (former chair of the European Maritime Council Communications Panel – 2010-2017); Molly Powers-Tora (Pacific, Climate and Ocean Strategy and Engagement Advisor at NIWA); Pilar Muñoz (marine biologist, University of Valparaíso); Raquel Costa (marine geologist); Ronaldo Christofoletti (Professor at the Federal University of São Paulo); Shweta Khare Naik (Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute) and Victoria Alis (Sustainability and Environment Consultant).
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), created in 1960 as a functionally autonomous UNESCO body, is the only organization competent in marine sciences within the United Nations system. The main objective of the Commission is to promote international cooperation and coordinate research programs, the development of oceanographic services and the development of capacities, in order to better understand the nature and resources of the ocean and coastal zones, to implement these knowledge to the improvement of management, sustainable development, protection of the marine environment and decision-making processes of its Member States. Furthermore, IOC-UNESCO is recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the competent international organization in the fields of marine scientific research (Part III) and the transfer of marine technologies (Part XIV) .
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