World Oceans Day is held every year on 8th June to raise awareness of the vital importance of our oceans. A global celebration, it looks to bring people and organizations together across the globe in a series of events highlighting the protect and converse the oceans. The Canadian Government at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, World Oceans Day has been organized by the Ocean Project group since 2002. The number of countries and organizations who mark World Oceans Day grows each year in recognition of the importance of oceans worldwide.
Celebrate World Oceans Day to remind everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. The purpose of the Day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world's oceans. The major source of food and medicines from the ocean, it is a day to celebrate together the beauty, the wealth and the promise of the ocean.
The theme for World Oceans Day 2019 is “Gender and the Ocean”, an opportunity to explore the gender dimension of humankind’s relationship with the ocean. The importance of gender equality, in particular for the effective conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources is increasingly being recognized. However, there is very little data and research on these issues, and a concerted action towards gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is still needed in all ocean-related sectors to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5. Gender equality is the equal valuing by society of both the similarities and the differences between women and men and the different roles they play.
In this occasion to build greater ocean and gender literacy and discover possible ways to promote gender equality in ocean-related activities such as marine scientific research, fisheries, labour at sea, migration by sea and human trafficking, policy-making and management.
Director of Environment