World Ocean Day

Hi friends! I’m so excited to bring you this blog today, it is all about world ocean day! I’ll be talking about the history of world ocean day, how it got started, ways to celebrate, and what is to come.

World ocean day is every June 8th. In 1992 Canada first proposes the idea of a “World Ocean Day” at the Earth Summit in Rio. In 2002 The Ocean Project began global promotion and coordination for World Ocean Day collaborating with other global partners. In 2003 the WorldOceanDay.org website was launched in order to support event organizers worldwide. This same year a multi-year campaign was launched to engage all sectors and promote opportunities to create action for World Ocean Day. In 2008 the United Nations General Assembly finally recognized June 8th as World Oceans Day. In 2016 World Ocean Day Youth Advisory was launched, where youth from all over the world engage to make a difference in their country to advocate for the ocean. In 2019 the social media campaign #togetherwecan spread. In 2020 a focused conservation action to protect 30X30 was launched. This campaign is to protect 30% of our lands and ocean by 2030. In 2021 instead of World Oceans Day the s was dropped instead to World Ocean Day, in order to show that there is one ocean that unites us all. This year, 2022 they continue to focus on protecting land, waters, and ocean by 2030. There is so much ahead!

So you may be wondering how can I get involved? Is there something I can do to help and join in? And the answer is, of course! WorldOceanDay.org actually is a great resource to start, they have online events that you can attend as well as in-person events. There are other ways to celebrate as well! You can use WorldOceanDay.org social media toolkit to share on your social media using the #30X30 or #worldoceanday. The more that we can get this out there to others the better! You can also organize a beach cleanup if you live by the beach and share it on your social media. Have a World Ocean Day party with friends and include fun games that are informative. Or simply have a conversation with someone about World Ocean Day and what it means so much to you. These are just a few ideas of what to do. I would love to hear what you decide to do!

What the future holds can only be up to us? What we decide as a collective community will affect our future. Our individual action does make a difference, and it is far better to have an imperfect journey of living an environmentally conscious life than have only a few people who do it perfectly. In the end, what we do together will make a far bigger difference. It is why one thing I urge is that you go to Only.One and sign petitions that are working to create laws that protect our Ocean and its delicate ecosystems. Call on your senators and congressman to make this a priority. A healthy ocean means a healthy and stable human society.

Friends I hope that you’ll join us all around the world for World Ocean Day. Whatever way you choose to celebrate please share it will me @theoceansnarritive on Instagram.