News

Paris, 22 June - At the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO will announce a new global programme to ensure 100% of coastal communities will be “Tsunami Ready” by 2030. Other conference highlights include the designation of Maya Gabeira, the Brazilian surfer, as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

A new "UNESCO - 1 Ocean" exploration mission has just been carried out in the Aeolian Islands, Italy, with the goal of improving our knowledge of underwater volcanoes and the risk of tsunamis in the Mediterranean. The mission has brought back exceptional images, close to the bowels of the Earth and the origins of life.

Namibia is hosting this week 17 scientists and technicians from 12 different African countries who are undertaking the practical sessions of a blended training course in methods in quality control, processing, interpretation, and reporting of ocean monitoring data from the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen surveys, which will support such methods harmonisation and standardization among the EAF-Nansen Programme partner countries. 

To mark World Oceans Day on 8 June 2022, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, its project office at UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and the Prada Group are proud to announce that the “MuMa - Milazzo Sea Museum” – located within the picturesque “Bastione di Santa Maria” in the ancient Castle of Milazzo – has completed the digitization of its spaces and contents.

On 4 May 2022, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and the Prada Group unveiled the “Kindergarten of the Lagoon”, a new educational programme based on promoting Ocean Literacy principles and interaction with the environment. The initiative aims to foster a close connection between children and nature, using outdoor activities and interactions with the local community.

The UN Ocean Conference (27 June to 1 July), co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya, is a unique opportunity to boost collective efforts and find science-based solutions to effectively address the challenges that the ocean is now facing.

The recent publication of the sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report and the launch of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Implementation Plan are helping to put ocean observing at the forefront of climate action.

Fresh off hosting the 2022 Our Ocean Conference (13-14 April), the President of the Republic of Palau H.E. Surangal Whipps, Jr. has become the newest Patron of the Ocean Decade Alliance, further scaling up his country’s role in global ocean action and strengthening the voices of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Ocean Decade community.

On 5 May 2022, the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay, made an official visit to the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (SHOA) located in Valparaiso, Chile, to review the work carried out by SHOA towards the development of science and prediction of sea behavior in the event of a tsunami on the Chilean coast.