Blancpain is presenting partner, for the 2021 edition of the annual United Nations World Oceans Day – hosted by Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) and produced in partnership with Oceanic Global. In addition to this role, Blancpain is supporting the photo competition and the concert for the ocean that marks this blue day.
Today, on 8 June 2021, the world is celebrating the ocean and its importance to human life –extending thinking concerning the need to protect it and the solutions with which to do so. For many, these processes are directly correlated to collaborations with local communities, a concept on which the theme of World Oceans Day 2021, “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods”, focuses.
The involvement of local populations is a subject that is dear to Blancpain; this component is the basis of several marine exploration and preservation projects, recently conducted as part of the Blancpain Ocean Commitment. In parallel to these activities, the Brand takes pride in raising the public’s awareness of the beauty of the ocean, in particular through underwater photography. During World Oceans Day 2013, Blancpain thus organized the exhibition “Oceans” at the United Nations headquarters in New York, presenting underwater pictures taken from its series of publications Edition Fifty Fathoms, as well as from the Pristine Seas and Gombessa expeditions, both supported by Blancpain as founding partner. Following the success of the event, the United Nations decided to establish an underwater photo competition the subsequent year, in celebration of World Oceans Day; since 2015, Blancpain has demonstrated consistent support of this initiative. Last year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 8 June celebrations were held virtually, via a digital event, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people across the globe, setting World Oceans Day as a milestone in terms of raising awareness for oceanic causes. Blancpain, who strongly believe in the potential of this event, decided to extend their support to the United Nations by backing the 2021 edition.
World Oceans Day 2021
The United Nations marks World Oceans Day each year on 8 June through an annual event coordinated by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (Office of Legal Affairs), in partnership with Oceanic Global. The inclusive event provides an opportunity to celebrate the importance of the ocean and to better understand how to interact with it in a sustainable manner. The 2021 theme is “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods.” This World Oceans Day theme will shed light on the wonder of the ocean and how it is our life source, supporting humanity and every other organism on earth.
Thought-leaders, celebrities, institutional partners, community voices, entrepreneurs, and cross-industry experts speak about the biodiversity and economic opportunities that the ocean sustains. People that live off the ocean daily, and explore the vastness of life beneath its surface, the latest scientific discoveries, and how we are all interconnected. Learning will also encompass our reliance on ocean resources, how the ocean is changing, and what we can do to create sustainable and inclusive livelihoods, for the ocean and for all who depend on it to thrive.
Blancpain Ocean Commitment (BOC)
The links between Blancpain and the ocean date back to 1953, when the Brand presented the first modern diver’s watch, the Fifty Fathoms. This timepiece, which embodies Blancpain’s passion for the underwater world, contributed to the opening up of the ocean by offering divers a reliable timekeeping instrument for a subaquatic use. Since then, ocean exploration and conservation are core to Blancpain. With its almost 70-year legacy of the Fifty Fathoms, the Brand has woven close ties with the explorers, photographers, marine scientists, and environmentalists who treasure the precious underwater universe. With that affinity has come a determination to support important activities and initiatives dedicated to the oceans. To date, the multiple projects passionately pursued by Blancpain have led to tangible results, notably contributing to significantly increasing the coverage of marine protected areas around the world, with the addition of more than four million km2.
