PRESS RELEASE
“Save Our Ocean” Exhibition Opens at the United Nations
The world’s Ocean takes centre stage this month with new exhibitions now on display at United Nations Headquarters and across the five boroughs of New York City. The exhibitions were launched by the Office of the President of the General Assembly to coincide with the United Nations Ocean Conference, taking place June 5-9 in New York. Participants include the Co-Presidents of the Conference, Sweden and Fiji, the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, private sector partners, and Project Zero.
The Ocean covers an astonishing 70 per cent of the planet’s surface. Its abundance, temperature, chemistry, currents and teeming variety of life drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humanity.
His Excellency Peter Thomson, President of the General Assembly, highlighted the significance of the dilemma planet Earth faces: “In these challenging times, there are few phenomena of greater importance to the sustainability of our species on this planet than the health of the Ocean and the ominous threat of climate change.”
Presented to draw attention to the challenges we face in the conservation and sustainably use the Ocean and marine resources for development, the exhibitions highlight how partnerships, technology, community-inspired action, and public participation offer innovative solutions to preserve the majesty of the Ocean, and invite us to consider how we can collectively act to stop its terrible decline.
The exhibition explores a rebirth of traditional navigation and sailing techniques around the southern Pacific; the plague of marine litter; the beauty of the world’s underwater biodiversity; stories of resilience and community action; and the devastation ‘ghost-nets’ cause to marine life, through sculptures by Indigenous Australian artists.
“This ambitious exhibition celebrates the creativity and dynamism of contemporary Indigenous cultures and highlights the important role that Indigenous artists and communities play in protecting coastal environments,” said HE Gillian Bird, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the UN.
Also included in the display at the United Nations are traditional coconut-fiber textiles from Fiji: E rawa na bula mai na wasawasa – Lifecomes from the Ocean – proclaims a woven bark cloth.
These ‘tapa’ represent the interconnectedness of all things, and the central role of the Ocean in determining the health of our planet, and are complemented by a traditional sail from Micronesia, woven of pandanus leaves.
Around New York City, intrepid Oce
an enthusiasts can discover 50 unique works of sea-inspired sculpture by following the Wave Walk. Each four-foot tall Wave was decorated by a prominent cultural influencer for the preservation of the Ocean, including UNGA President Thomson (right wave) and model, actress and Ocean activist Cara Delevingne (left wave).
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For further information please contact the Office of the President of the General Assembly on +1 212 963 2028, and visit #SaveOurOcean