22 November 2012, Bangkok, Thailand

UNESCO/IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) officially released his 25th anniversary banners to encourage the engagement of member states, marine scientific institutes, universities, research groups and partners in the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of WESTPAC from 2013-2014 to demonstrate the power of marine science to serve the needs of countries and people in the region for tacking the challenges in protecting and restoring the health and productivity of the oceans for the benefit of present and future generations. Founded in 1989, WESTPAC has been committed to promoting international cooperation and to coordinating regional programmes in the Western Pacific region on marine scientific research, observation and capacity building to learn more about the nature and resources of the oceans and coastal areas, and to apply this knowledge to the improvement of management, sustainable development, protection of the marine environment and the decision making processes of States.

WESTPAC would be pleased to celebrate his 25th anniversary in 2013-2014 through the organization of a series of commemorative activities, with objectives to:

(i) take stock of advances in marine science, observation, capacity building and related international cooperation in the Western Pacific;

(ii) promote and demonstrate, to governments and to the public, the value and importance of the Sub-Commission’s achievements in meeting the societal needs; and

(iii) plan for its future directions in marine scientific research, observation, services and capacity building.

Any country, institute, university and scientist wish to use the banner for their commemorative activities, please download them here and brief the WESTPAC Office (Mr. Wenxi Zhu at w.zhu@unesco.org) of their activities.