# World Oceans Day

World Ocean Day (WOD) is an international day that takes place annually on 8 June. The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Ocean Project started global coordination of World Ocean Day starting in 2002. "World Oceans Day" was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2008. The international day supports the implementation of worldwide Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fosters public interest in the protection of the ocean and the sustainable management of its resources. World Oceans Day is observed by all UN member states.

## History
### 1987–1992

The Brundtland Commission (also known as the World Commission on Environment and Development) noted in the 1987 Brundtland Report that the ocean sector lacked a strong voice compared to other sectors.
At the first World Ocean Day in 1992, the objectives were to move the ocean from the sidelines to the centre of the intergovernmental and NGO discussions and policy and to strengthen the voice of ocean and coastal constituencies worldwide.

### 2002–2008

Globally coordinated efforts began with The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network collaborating, and events numbered in the dozens. During this time, www.WorldOceanDay.org launched, to help promote the opportunity to raise the profile of the ocean and provide opportunities for getting involved and making a difference for our blue planet. The website provides event organisers with ways to help in their communities, and generates global involvement through the dissemination of educational and actionable resources, ideas, and tools, always free for everyone to use to celebrate World Ocean Day in whatever way they choose. In 2004, The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network launched the "Help Make a Difference for our Ocean Planet!" with both online and in person opportunities to sign a petition to the United Nations to officially recognise 8 June as World Ocean Day. In December 2008, the UN General Assembly passed a Declaration to officially recognise the Day.

## Annual themes
### Overview

The United Nations selected the following annual themes for the Day:
* 2009: "Our Oceans, Our Responsibilities"
* 2010: "Our Oceans: Opportunities and Challenges"
* 2011: "Our Oceans: Greening Our Future"
* 2012: "UNCLOS @ 30" – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
* 2013: "Oceans & People"
* 2014: "Ocean Sustainability: Together let's ensure oceans can sustain us into the future"
* 2015: "Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet"
* 2016: "Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet ⁠–Voyaging to a Sustainable Planet: Arrival of the Hōkūle‘a)"
* 2017: "Our Oceans, Our Future"
* 2018: "Clean Our Ocean"
* 2019: "Gender and The Ocean"
* 2020: "Innovation For A Sustainable Ocean"
* 2021: "The Ocean: Life & Livelihoods"
* 2022: "Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean"
* 2023: "Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing"
* 2024: "Awaken New Depths"

### 2008 : Helping our Climate / Helping our Ocean

The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network launched an annual theme for the first time: "Helping our climate / helping our ocean" with a special focus on coral reefs, to help support the International Year of the Reef.

### 2009 - 2010 : One Ocean, One Climate, One Future

Continued and more heavily emphasised on climate with conservation action theme of "one ocean, one climate, one future" because comprehensive polling work showed that the public not making the connections between climate change and ocean health. $^{TheOceanProjectandWorldOceanNetworkrecordedover300eventsforWOD2010,a26%increaseover2009.ParticipationintheUnitedStatesincreasedby32%(withparticipationin37states,ascomparedto25statesthepreviousyear).Forty-fivecountriesparticipatedinWorldOceansDay2010,includingBangladesh,Belgium,FrenchPolynesia,Nigeria,Ghana,Kenya,Malta,Malaysia,Venezuela,andPortugal.}$

### 2011 - 2012 : Youth: The Next Wave For Change

Based on growing requests from around the world for a two-year focus, The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network launched "Youth: the Next Wave for Change" encouraging all participating organizations to more effectively engage young people in their communities and countries for education and action.

### 2013 : Make a Promise

The "Make a Promise" global campaign focused again on supporting organizations to use World Oceans Day events as opportunities to ask people in their communities or target audiences to take action for our shared ocean.

### 2014 : Together We Have the Power to Protect the Ocean

The global World Ocean Day network stepped up involvement on the major issues facing the ocean and launched "Together We Have the Power to Protect the Ocean!", with action guides on renewable energy/climate change, sustainable seafood/fisheries, and plastics action. Events registered on the World Ocean Day website numbered in the hundreds. The United Nations, together with partners, launched the annual amateur World Oceans Day Oceanic Photo Competition.

### 2015 - 2019 : Plastic Pollution

In solidarity with the annual UN themes, The Ocean Project launched a five-year Conservation Action Focus on plastic pollution prevention and helping with solutions for a healthy world ocean. The World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council launched in 2016, and current cohort includes 25 diverse young leaders (ages 15–23) from 22 countries.

### 2020 : Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean

The UN theme for World Oceans Day was "Innovation for a sustainable ocean". Conservation Action Focus on protecting 30% of our lands and ocean by 2030 ("30x30"), joining with the Campaign for Nature and the growing global movement to petition world leaders to commit their countries to 30x30. The Ocean Project and National Geographic coordinated a first-ever 24-hour Youth-a-thon for the ocean, with 24 co-hosts from 24 major time zones discussing and demonstrating ways to learn more about and help protect our shared blue planet.

### 2021 : The Ocean: Life & Livelihoods

The theme for World Oceans Day in 2021 was "The Ocean: Life & Livelihoods". The aim of this year's campaign was to "shed light on the wonder of the ocean and how it is our life-source, supporting humanity and every other organism on Earth". The conservation action focus for World Ocean Day 2021 was, for a second year, protecting 30% of our lands and ocean by 2030 ("30x30"), joining with the Campaign for Nature and the growing global movement to petition world leaders to commit their countries to 30x30.

### 2022 : Revitalisation: Collective Action for the Ocean

The theme for World Oceans Day in 2022 was "Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean". The campaign was promoted on social media. Its purpose was to raise awareness and action against the consequences of human activity on the ocean's health, as 95% of the ocean's surface has become more acidic since the late 1980s. The acidification of the oceans is dangerous to the marine ecosystem and affects more than three billion people, who depend on the oceans for income and diet. On 8 June 2022, millions of people in multiple different countries across the whole world celebrated World Oceans Day 2022 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

### 2023 : Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing

The theme for World Oceans Day in 2023 was "Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing". The Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea partnered with Oceanic Global and Panerai hosted a hybrid event. The event included many panels, presentations, performances, and activities to bring awareness to humanities reliance on the ocean regardless of our negative contributions to it.

### 2024 : Awaken New Depths

The theme for World Oceans Day in 2024 was "Awaken New Depths". The World Oceans Day event in 2024 gathered scientists, indigenous leaders, celebrities, activists, indigenous leaders, etc. to celebrate the ocean and raise awareness. This years theme aimed to encourage people to change the way they treat the ocean and create a balance that can restore the oceans health. 90% of big fish populations are diminishing and 50% of reefs are ruined. The campaign aimed to create widespread awareness for the need to explore the undiscovered parts of the ocean.