Brave New World, Brave New Ocean: Ocean Decade High Level Virtual Event

January 2021 marks the beginning of perhaps the most critical decade of our lives. The huge damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered economic and social crises across the planet.

Many are relying on a growing Green Economy to drive us back to recovery. But what about the sustainable Blue Economy?

2021 is already a ‘super year’ for the ocean. It signals the launch of the United Nations’ own massive commitment to our Blue Planet. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development is a major global initiative to deepen our scientific knowledge of the sea and create the ocean we want. Its ambition is generate the knowledge we need to achieve a world where biodiversity flourishes, and the ocean plays a central role in the drive for sustainable, fair development of our planet as we tackle the realities of climate change.

‘A Brave New Ocean’ is a high-level virtual event organised by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, which will highlight the immense challenges and opportunities the ocean provides.

It will convene global leaders from Government, the world of Philanthropy, UN agencies and some of the smartest brains in marine science. It will draw on the live experiences of ocean-going sailors, as they compete in the greatest solo race around the earth, while also helping to monitor our seas for science. Video interventions and live panel discussions will consider the key staging posts in a ten-year odyssey to improve the ocean.

The first half of the event will stand as a celebration of the exceptional work already done to identify tangible ways a healthy, resilient ocean can contribute to a blue recovery in a post-COVD-19 world. The second half will consider how to bring together ocean actors of all generations and across all continents to achieve the ocean we want. Founding members of the Ocean Decade Alliance will also affirm their commitments to the ocean for the decade ahead.