Friday 7 June 2024 10:00AM - 1:30PM EDT
Watch the hybrid celebration of UN World Oceans Day, hosted in-person at the UN Headquarters in New York and broadcast live.
* While the official UN designation for World Oceans Day is still 8 June, the 2024 event was celebrated on Friday 7 June.
UN World Oceans Day 2024
Livestream Video
We don't have time for "out of sight out of mind."If the world is numb to numbers, motivating momentum will require opening minds, igniting senses, and inspiring possibilities to protect our planet’s beating heart. We need to awaken new depths within our own.
Watch the hybrid celebration of UN World Oceans Day, which was hosted both virtually and in-person at the UN Headquarters in New York.
7 June 2024
10:00 AM - 1:30 PM EDT
Watch UN World Oceans Day 2024
2024 Program
UN WOD 2024 took us on a journey of discovery through the ocean's vastness, tapping into the wisdom and expertise of global policy-makers, scientists, managers, thought leaders, and artists to awaken new depths of understanding, compassion, collaboration and commitment for the ocean and all it sustains. The program expanded our perspectives and appreciation for our blue planet, built new foundations for our relationship to the ocean, and ignited a wave of action toward necessary change.
Featured Speakers
-
Naoko Ishii
Professor at The University of Tokyo | Director, Center for Global Commons | Former CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility -
Johan Rockström
Director of the Potsdam
Institute for Climate Impact
Research -
Eman Mounir
Climate Journalist -
Karen Sack
Executive Director,
Ocean Risk and
Resilience Action Alliance -
Rayne Sullivan
Founder, SEASTORIA -
Miguel de Serpa Soares
Under-Secretary-General
for Legal Affairs and
United Nations Legal Counsel -
Meadow Walker
Founder & President, the Paul Walker Foundation -
Brett Jenks
CEO, Rare -
Dave Erasmus
Chair, Aqoustics -
Barkha Mossaë
Regenerative Blue Economy
Manager, IUCN -
Bailey Bass
Actor, Producer &
Entrepreneur -
Francois Bailet
Senior Legal Officer, Division
for Ocean Affairs and the
Law of the Sea, Office of
Legal Affairs, United Nations -
H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis
President of the
United Nations
General Assembly -
Shyla Raghav
Chief Climate Officer,
Time Magazine -
Lea d'Auriol
Executive Director & Founder,
Oceanic Global -
Lomijoh
Singer, Songwriter Producer -
Xiye Bastida
Executive Director,
Re-Earth Initiative -
Sweta Chakraborty
CEO of North America,
We Don't Have Time -
Derek Blasberg
Fashion Editor & Curator -
Louis Cato
Recording Artist and Bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert -
Sylvia Earle
Explorer at Large, National
Geographic & Mission Blue
Schedule
Depths of Commitment:
Opening Remarks & Performance
10:00 AMUnited Nations representatives and high-level speakers opened UN World Oceans Day with remarks on the 2024 theme ‘Awaken New Depths.’ Featuring a special message about the United Nations Ocean Conference and an artistic performance by Performing Artist, Giselle World.
Lea d’Auriol
Founder & Executive Director, Oceanic Global
Miguel de Serpa Soares
Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel
H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis
President of the United Nations General Assembly
H.E. Mr. Arnoldo André-Tinoco
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica
H.E. Mr. Hervé Berville
Secretary of State for the Sea and Biodiversity, France
Bailey Bass
Actor, Producer & Entrepreneur
Giselle World
Performing Artist
Planetary Boundary Keynotes
10:35 AMTwo high-level keynotes delving into the role of the ocean within earth’s broader ecosystems, and demonstrating how humanity’s treatment of the ocean has impacted the planet’s equilibrium as a whole. The presentations challenged the notion that the ocean is limitless, underscored the tangible realities of the boundaries that have been breached, and spoke to the level of change needed to restore balance.
Johan Rockström
Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Naoko Ishii
Professor at The University of Tokyo | Director, Center for Global Commons |
Former CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility
Depths of Understanding:
Science & Wisdom Fireside Chat
11:00 AMScience & Wisdom Fireside Chat: The Importance of Diverse Knowledge for Deep Understanding
Moderator: Sweta Chakraborty
CEO of North America, We Don't Have Time
Xiye Bastida
Executive Director, Re-Earth Initiative
Sylvia Earle
Explorer at Large, National Geographic & Mission Blue
Depths of Compassion:
New Depths Spotlights
11:30 AMThrough 5-minute spotlight presentations, this segment shares personal stories, discoveries, and innovations that touch our hearts to move us towards change.
Moderator: Derek Blasberg
Fashion Editor and Curator
Rayne Sullivan
Founder, SEASTORIA
Eman Mounir
Climate Journalist
Dave Erasmus
Chair, Aqoustics
Winners Announced: Photo Competition
11:55 AMThe eleventh annual Photo Competition is coordinated in collaboration between the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS), DivePhotoGuide (DPG), Oceanic Global, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and Nausicaa.
Moderator: Meadow Walker
Founder & President, the Paul Walker Foundation
Curator: Ellen Cuylaerts
Freelance Underwater, Wildlife Photographer and Curator 2024 World Oceans Day Photo Competition
Photo Competition Host: Ian Bongo-Seldrup
Managing Editor and Chief Operations Officer, Dive Photo Guide
Judge: Mohamed Rifshan Shaheem
Photographer & Dive Center Operator [Awaken New Depths]
Judge: Ian Bongo-Seldrup
Managing Editor and Chief Operations Officer, Dive Photo Guide [Small Islands Developing States]
Judge: Tom St George
Underwater Photographer [Above Water Seascapes]
Judge: Mayumi Takeuchi-Ebbins
Underwater Photographer [Big and Small Underwater Faces]
Judge: Julia Gugelmeier
Cave Instructor & Explorer [Underwater Seascapes]
Musical Performance
12:15 PMMusical Performance by Louis Cato
Louis Cato
Recording Artist and Bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Depths of Collaboration:
Blue Economy Panel
12:25 PMA panel discussion on re-evaluating and financing our economic approach to the ocean, considering the increasing challenges facing our ocean and the central role that the ocean plays in sustainable development.
Moderator: Shyla Raghav
Chief Climate Officer, Time Magazine
Karen Sack
Executive Director, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance
Barkha Mossaë
Regenerative Blue Economy Manager, IUCN
Brett Jenks
CEO, Rare
Closing Remarks & Performance
1:10 PMClosing remarks from the United Nations and Oceanic Global summarizing key messages and calling on continuous action to protect our blue planet. Featuring musical performance by Singer, Songwriter & Producer, Lomijoh.