“Humanity counts on the ocean. But can the ocean count on us?”

With these words, the Secretary-General opened the celebratory event marking World Oceans Day, held last week at United Nations Headquarters around the theme “Planet Ocean: Tides Are Changing”.

On 8 June, hundreds of delegates, UN staff, and members of civil society gathered in Conference Room 4 for a programme that ranged from the bottom of the ocean to outer space, with messages from the International Space Station, Aquaman actor Jason Momoa and Emily in Paris star Lucas Bravo.

Performances and presentations were also delivered by the aquanaut and explorer Fabien Cousteau, Sonic Weaver Whaia, and Senegalese maritime archeologist Moussa Wele, among many others.

The Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, Miguel de Serpa Soares, underscored the many ways in which the United Nations is putting the ocean first, including by facilitating negotiations on a new agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, the adoption of which will be considered by Member States next week.

In a fireside chat, veteran oceanographer and explorer-at-large Sylvia Earle and philanthropist and OceanX founder Ray Dalio discussed their lifelong commitment to the ocean, while Hans-Otto Pörtner, member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, highlighted the close interconnection between the ocean and our climate.

The programme closed with the announcement of the winners of the annual photo competition for World Oceans Day. The exhibit “Photography for Sustainable Oceans” is currently on display in the General Assembly Lobby and online. It marks the 10th anniversary of the photo competition.

The event was hosted by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs and produced in partnership with the non-profit organization Oceanic Global.

The livestream of the full event is available on the United Nations World Oceans Day website, UN Web TV, and Youtube.