Two months ahead of the beginning of Ocean Decade 2021 to 2030, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) sent out a Call for Decade Actions on October 15, 2020, the first in a series of calls to be done throughout the decade.
Interested parties – governments, research institutes, NGOs, philanthropic foundations, community groups, industry and business, individuals, UN bodies – are called upon to join a global advocacy and community working to ensure that ocean science can fully support countries’ actions to sustainably manage the Oceans and more particularly to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
They can do this by submitting a Request for Endorsement for their initiative as a Decade Action before January 15, 2021.
This first Call is looking, specifically, for: (1) large-scale, multi-country, transformative Decade programmes; and (2) large-scale contributions of in-kind or financial resources for Decade Actions or coordination costs. Programmes or contributions that will enhance the sustainability of ocean science, including infrastructure or individual or institutional capacity, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic are welcome in response to this call, as are actions in any part of the world.
Endorsement of an initiative as a Decade Action provides official recognition that the initiative is part of a collective effort to meet the Ocean Decade vision and will benefit from high global visibility, as well as new collaborations across disciplines, geographies and generations, and opportunities to access new sources of funding support.
Interested parties are strongly encouraged to consult and, where possible, collaborate with other institutions and partners working on common issues. Parties wishing to connect with other actors working in their geographic or thematic area of interest can download details of interested parties that are seeking collaborators, contact the IOC Secretariat at oceandecade@unecso.org, or contact members of the Ocean Decade Executive Planning Group.
Those wishing to know more may attend these virtual information sessions: (1) October 20, 2020 / 14.00-15.30 UTC (Register here); and (2) November 06, 2020 / 06.00-07.30 UTC (Register here).
To know more about the Call for Decade Actions No. 01, please visit the following websites:
· Call for Decade Actions No. 01/2020
· Call for Decade Actions No. 01/2020 – Resources Page
· FAQ