Today UNESCO officially launched the GenOcean communications campaign, which aims to revolutionise the way people think and act towards our ocean, building strength in unity and a collective approach to ocean protection and restoration.

By putting people at the centre of its storytelling, GenOcean seeks to grow public awareness and understanding of ocean issues, driving people to take simple actions in their daily lives towards restoring and protecting the ocean.

At the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch, our Valuing the Ocean programme advocates new ways of communicating why the ocean matters, focusing on values, the framing of messages, communications capacity-building. We believe public engagement and constructive messaging will help make ocean science more accessible and will influence long-term change in policy and practice.

Ocean action remains a top priority for us in 2022. Collaborating with UNESCO, our partners and colleagues in our Head Office in Lisbon, we are working towards the UN Ocean Decade goals and will be actively involved in the upcoming UN Ocean Conference this June.

We will champion the GenOcean campaign as an important platform to create a new generation of change-makers. Read more about the campaign below and join the movement for the ocean we need.

GenOcean video campaign

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.

When it comes to generating mass engagement in protecting and sustainably managing the ocean through science-driven solutions, however The Ocean Decade (2021-2030) remains a highly technical UN initiative which does not offer an easy entry point.

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.

This campaign aims to inform a public in ocean knowledge and science and encourage them to act. GenOcean will communicate the Ocean Decade context to inform the audience of the importance of the ocean and the challenges facing it, as well as the need for knowledge and science in helping us to take action to restore and protect the ocean.

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 mapped (UNCTAD)

Resources

Join us in welcoming the campaign and using the GenOcean resources to raise awareness – visit genocean.org