General
The Friends of United Nations World Oceans Day (FOWOD) is an informal community of individuals and organizations active in the field of ocean affairs to support the marking of United Nations World Oceans Day (UNWOD), 8 June, and related activities. The official 2024 UN WOD Celebration will take place on 7 June 2024.
FOWOD is convened informally by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, in partnership with Oceanic Global (OG).
Participation
Participation is free and open to all individuals and organizations with a demonstrated interest in ocean affairs who wish to support the marking of UNWOD and related activities.
Participation in FOWOD does not imply endorsement by the United Nations of a participating individual or organization, or that the individual or organization will be featured in the official UNWOD event.
As part of their active participation, and whenever possible, members of FOWOD commit to:
- List their WOD events on the UNWOD website, www.UNWorldOceansDay.org, under the events tab;
- Link to the UNWOD website from their own website(s), for example by adding the UNWOD graphic and a link to the UNWOD website on the home page or partnership section ;
- Add any relevant resources or news on the relevant pages of the UNWOD website;
- Follow the official UNWOD social media account @UNWorldOceansDay on Instagram, promote relevant social media assets surrounding UNWOD and use the #UNWorldOceansDay hashtag;
- Use the UNWOD graphic to showcase their involvement in FOWOD. Please note that FOWOD members are not allowed to use the UN emblem (logo), either as stand-alone or in combination with the UNWOD graphic.
Meetings
DOALOS will facilitate regular FOWOD meetings, in partnership with Oceanic Global. Meetings may be held in person and there will always be an opportunity to attend online. Advance registration for meetings is required via the procedure communicated by DOALOS when announcing the meeting.
Working Groups
FOWOD may organize themselves through (a) working group(s) to effectively build community and coordinate global events surrounding World Oceans Day. These working groups are open to all FOWOD members but participants will need to register prior and commit to being active members. The working group may meet as part of the regular FOWOD meetings.
DOALOS may ask FOWOD members to select a coordinator for a working group from among themselves. FOWOD members may nominate or self-nominate candidates for the role of coordinator on an annual basis. In the case there are multiple nominations for a role, the coordinator will be selected through a simple majority voting procedure facilitated by DOALOS.
Representatives from DOALOS and Oceanic Global attend all FOWOD working group meetings.
Communications
Internal communications
FOWOD will primarily communicate via the FOWOD email list. The use of the list is strictly reserved for FOWOD communications from or approved by DOALOS. Members commit to submit any communications they wish to distribute to FOWOD to DOALOS for approval. They further commit not to distribute the contact list beyond FOWOD. Members that would like to be removed from the FOWOD email list should email doalos@un.org.
External communications
Active participants in FOWOD are encouraged to:
- Feature their participation surrounding UNWOD as a FOWOD member in communications materials;
- Publicly state that their event is organized in the context of United Nations World Oceans Day; and
- Use the UNWOD graphic on print and online materials and link to the UNWOD website.
Example: Proud member of the Friends of United Nations World Oceans Day
When referring to the official UNWOD event, members should use the approved event description that will be shared by DOALOS ahead of the event.
FOWOD members may not refer to the United Nations in any way that could be perceived as an endorsement by the United Nations of their organization or event. FOWOD members may not use the emblem (logo) of the United Nations at any point.
For questions or to join the FOWOD email list, please contact doalos@un.org.