As a result of a United Nations General Assembly resolution passed in December 2008, World Oceans Day is now officially recognized by the UN as June 8th each year.
The concept for a “World Ocean Day” was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and it had been unofficially celebrated every year since then. Since 2002, The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network have helped to promote and coordinate World Oceans Day events worldwide. We help coordinate events and activities with aquariums, zoos, museums, conservation organizations, universities, schools, and businesses. Each year an increasing number of countries and organizations have been marking June 8th as an opportunity to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea.
Together, we also developed and widely circulated a petition to the United Nations urging them to officially recognize World Oceans Day. With help from our Partner organizations, tens of thousands of people from all parts of the world signed online or paper copies of the petition. Congratulations to all for helping to make this happen!
Designation of World Oceans Day provides an important boost to those organizations and individuals who have been deeply committed to ocean conservation. Official UN designation is another important step toward improving the health of our world's ocean.
Now we need to capitalize on this fresh momentum! We hope you will be involved in planning or participating in a World Oceans Day celebration near you!
Why Should I Celebrate World Oceans Day?
The world's ocean:
- Generates most of the oxygen we breathe
- Helps feed us
- Regulates our climate
- Cleans the water we drink
- Offers us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines
- Provides limitless inspiration!
Now we can give back!
Take part in World Oceans Day events and activities this year and help protect our ocean for the future!
It's up to each one of us to help ensure that our ocean is protected and conserved for future generations. World Oceans Day allows us to:
Change perspective - encourage individuals to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us with hopes of conserving it for present and the future generations.
Learn - discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected.
Change our ways - we are all connected to the ocean! By taking care of your backyard, you are acting as a caretaker of our ocean. Making small modifications to your everyday habits will greatly benefit our blue planet.
Celebrate - whether you live inland or on the coast we are all connected to the ocean; take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean, and then organize or participate in activities that celebrate our world ocean.
Courtesy of the TheOceanProject.org
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