8th June was designated officially as World Oceans Day by the United Nations following paragraph 171 of its resolution 63/111 on Oceans and the Law of the Sea. This celebration has been held annually under a different thematic and the theme of this year’s celebrations was "Awaken New Depths"
IOI Headquarters, for the second consecutive year, prepared a series of daily posts shared on its Social Media platforms to commemorate this day, highlighting ways in which each one of us can become an Ocean Hero by advocating for policies that protect marine environments, supporting sustainable practices, and by spreading awareness about the importance of Ocean conservation.
The IOI joined the rest of the ocean community in celebrating World Oceans Day and, as usual, the global IOI network responded enthusiastically to the invitation to commemorate this day by organising a diverse range of scientific, social and cultural activities. Thanks go to all the contributors for the organisation of events and for supplying photos. Please read on to see how World Oceans Day was celebrated by the IOI network worldwide. All photos courtesy of IOI Centres and Focal Points.
IOI Centres
IOI Canada Director Mike Butler and Senior Research Fellow Peter Wells were members of the planning group responsible for the ACCESS/BoFEP conference entitled “Tides of Change: Accelerating Conservation Efforts in Atlantic Canada’s Estuaries and Coastal Waters”. The conference was held at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews, New Brunswick from June 4-7, providing the ideal program for an exemplary “Ocean Week”. Conference registration totalled 101 participants from academia, NGOs, the private sector and the general public.
The IOI Canada Director introduced the Chief of the Peskutomakati First Nation, to welcome the conference participants to his Nation’s territory and officially open the conference. The chair of BoFEP and moderator of the Ocean Literacy sessions, Peter Wells, then invited Diz Glithero, Director of the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition, to provide the keynote presentation of day one. Diz Glithero had recently attended the Barcelona Ocean Conference and presented on the Ocean Literacy topic. This was followed by a presentation by Mike Butler of a co-authored paper on the successful Professional Development Day Workshop for 35 high school teachers that was delivered on March 23 at Dalhousie University.
A panel session, organised by BoFEP Working Group member Sondra Eger, then followed that focussed on local efforts to promote ocean literacy around the shores of the Bay of Fundy, a unique ecosystem with the world’s highest tides and the home of six UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
All of the above ocean literacy presentations, supplemented by an Ocean Literacy poster, prepared by IOI Canada (see Photo), and the strategically located IOI Canada exhibit that included the Elisabeth Mann Borgese pop-up display, complemented the wide variety of ocean week activities being promoted by the conference.
IOI China host institute, the National Marine Data and Information Service (NMDIS) of the Ministry of Natural Resources, developed and released the first national ocean data cloud on June 8th. The platform, a one-stop online service, will offer the public access to data for scientific research, industrial regulations, and business developments, and also promote international cooperation. As introduced by Dr SHI Suixiang, IOI Governing Board member and Director-General of NMDIS, “the purpose is to promote data-sharing in different regions, industries and departments so that we can better promote the high-quality development of the ocean economy.”
IOI Costa Rica organised a seminar on 5 June, titled Intelligent Monitoring in Coastal Waters and Oceans: High-Tech Tools for Marine Exploration (Monitoreo Inteligente en Aguas Costeras y Océanos: Herramientas de Alta Tecnología para Exploración Marine). This seminar was presented by four speakers: Dr Mauro Vargas, Director IOI Costa Rica, Departamento de Física at Universidad Nacional (UNA), Dr Vincent Taillandier from Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), CNRS - Sorbonne Université, France; MSc. Alexandre Tisseaux and MSc. Juan Pablo Salazar both from Laboratorio de Oceanografía y Manejo Costero, Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica.
The seminar was presented within the Congress on Knowledge Integration for a Sustainable Ocean, CISOS24, and aimed to highlight the importance of studying and understanding the oceans, as well as highlighting the crucial role of technology in marine monitoring. It addressed how these technological tools contribute to science, conservation and the responsible use of marine resources. The equipment most used in physical oceanography to investigate ocean variability at different time scales was described, and specific examples of the results obtained using such equipment in the study of estuaries and the deep ocean were presented. As part of the activity, oceanographic instruments were shown to the public.
IOI Egypt organised a workshop on the 25 June titled Ocean and Climate Challenges at the Faculty of Fisheries at the main hall, Suez University. Welcoming speeches were delivered by the president of the Suez University, Prof Ashraf Heniegal, NIOF president Prof Adel A Abdelmageed and Director of IOI Egypt, Lamiaa Mohamedein. Six lectures were delivered to 120 attendees, who were all awarded a Certificate of Attendance.
IOI Germany, in collaboration with its host institute the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), celebrated World Ocean Day on its social media channels Linkedin, Facebook and X, stressing the manifold reasons why our Ocean is so important and the vital need to protect it. A second series of posts gave an overview of how ZMT scientists contribute to marine research. These posts included a link to a YouTube playlist which featured short interviews with experts about their work and the questions and issues they still want to tackle.
IOI IR Iran, in cooperation with Host Institute, the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science (INIOAS) participated in events organised from the 8th – 11th June, including a seminar with five scientific presentations, three workshops, and educational, research, and public awareness programmes aimed to raise awareness about the country's priorities in marine science and sustainable exploitation of sea resources and to foster social responsibility and collaboration for protecting the seas. All the events were delivered in Persian, and are illustrated in the photo carousel.
IOI Nigeria, in collaboration with Nigerian Institute for Oceanography & Marine Research (NIOMR) and other partners, on the 11 June, organised a Public Lecture on the topic – Balancing the Blue economy and the Ocean Health; essay competitions and a craft competition.
The programme was opened by welcoming speeches from the Director of IOI Nigeria, Dr Akanbi Williams, Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of NIOMR, Prof. Sule Abiodun, ably represented by the Director of Research/Director of Fisheries Resources Department, Dr Patience Obatola and Ms Antonella Vassallo, Managing Director, IOI HQ as well as from other guests and partners. Dr Williams delivered a presentation on the various activities and achievements of IOI at global, regional and national levels. Guest speaker, Dr Awwal Bamanga, expert on Maritime Activities and Blue Economy delivered the main lecture, delving into various definitions of words and concepts such as Blue Economy, and highlighting the importance of the Ocean. All the guests were lead to the school children's' exhibitions and presentations for essays, drawings and crafts competitions and the winners from all categories were awarded prizes.
View the full recording of the event here and a news report here.
A message by the IOI Nigeria Centre Director, Dr Akanbi Bamikole Williams, was also sent out to the media and the public on the 8 June (downloadable file below).
IOI South Africa, on the 8 June, supported a community event hosted by Shamier Magmoet and the team at Sea the Bigger Picture and Argonaut Science. Magmoet shared his thoughts on the significance of such events - "Not too long ago, we were told that we are not allowed to go to this beach or that beach. Because of this, it has remained one of the saddest reasons for why we think ocean spaces are not for us. Today we have a lot of work to reprogram the minds, to access the traumas so we can heal and overcome, so we can come back to reconnect with our ocean spaces, from which we were once removed."
Open Day Snorkelling was held at Windmill Beach, Cape Town, South Africa, to raise awareness of the Great African Kelp Forest and surrounding rocky shores. The event offered snorkelling lessons to the public, providing many with their first snorkelling experience supported by experienced divers in a safe environment. To ensure everyone could participate in the marine activities, Kirshia Govender, from IOI SA, and team from Aonyx Marine Experiences conducted guided rock pool walks along the shore for both snorkellers and those hesitant to snorkel. The event was a success, engaging with 105 ocean explorers and providing incredible knowledge about the marine life found underwater and along South Africa’s rocky shores.
Photo: Kirshia Govender (IOI SA) and the team from Aonyx Marine Experiences conducted guided rock pool walks, shared knowledge about the rocky shore ecosystem’s marine life, such as sea stars, anemones, crustaceans, molluscs, fish and sea plants.
IOI Focal Points
IOI Focal Point Kenya, in collaboration with Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) and other partners, organised a National Ocean Dialogue (NOD) on 7th June in Diani, Kwale County; to deliberate on topical issues on the Ocean. NOD served as a platform for experts to provide policy guidance for effective integration of ocean actions into the national climate and development agenda, including; Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), National Adaptation Plan (NAP), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) among others.
The main WOD celebration took place on 8th June in Mwadamo Beach Landing Site, Kwale County. The event was graced by H.E. Salim Mvurya, the Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs and brought together various organisations including the County government, government institutions, non-governmental organisations, Beach Management Units, as well as community-based organisations. The participants exhibited various work pertaining mariculture, mangrove conservation, value addition and post-harvest technology as well as traditional art and weaving products. The common concern raised during the speeches was need for a holistic approach in addressing issues of the blue economy. This included raising awareness about sustainable conservation, developing supportive legal frameworks, and promoting equity in the distribution of benefits and responsibilities. Issues raised during NOD were further discussed in a ‘National Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Governance’ Side Event organised during the 2nd edition of the Aquatic Resources Conference for Blue Economy Conference (ARBECII) in Kisumu City, from 18th - 22nd June.
IOI Philippines Focal Point, undersecretary (Deputy Minister) of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, Jesus S. Domingo, actively participated in two key events addressing key maritime initiatives. The first, at the launch of the "Blue Nations Initiative" France and in Manila, Philippines on the 5 June, a comprehensive programme in preparation of the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC3) to be held in Nice France in June 2025 and aimed at enhancing political, scientific and civic engagement in the fields of environmental protection, climate action, blue economy and maritime security. Domingo expressed the staunch support of the Philippine Government and IOI Philippines for the initiative.
In the second event, he addressed the "Scouts for Marine Conservation Conference" held in Taguig City on 8 June, organised by the Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts of the Philippines, discussing the important role of IOI in Marine Conservation, Ocean Governance and Youth Development.
IOI Focal Point of Singapore and the IOI Alumni Society of IOI Thailand
On the 8th June, the IOI Alumni of Thailand organised a 6km walk and a 15km cycling ride, around the coastline of Prachuab Khiri Khan, Thailand, with the aim of reminding everyone of the importance of the seas and oceans as source of life. The event was supported by Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and other organisations from Government entities, public/private sectors and NGOs in Thailand.
IOI Focal Point and IOI Ocean Academy Director of Singapore, Dr Jai Acharya, delivered the opening speech, in his capacity of an IOI alumnus, on this special occasion – “we all departed for Bangkok carrying sweet memories of happy and wonderful moments with a strong determination to expand vision and mission of IOI and “PACEM IN MARIBUS”, the idea conceived and established by IOI founder Professor Elisabeth Mann Borgese, a great personality who inspires us all and strengthened throughout by Dr Awni Behnam – Hon. President of IOI”.