Oxford, UK/ Palo Alto, CA – Ocean exploration organizations Nekton and Schmidt Ocean Institute announced today that they have entered into a new partnership to work collaboratively on expeditions and to advance public understanding of the ocean by engaging cultural sectors such as fashion, food, and sports.
The two not-for-profit organizations released a white paper, Ocean Rising: The Quest to Inspire the Public that outlines industry actions that have brought awareness to ocean science and sustainability. The paper looks at different sectors and areas of collaboration, highlighting new opportunities to engage the arts, broadcast media, social media, sports, gaming, fashion, food and others.
A virtual workshop was held on July 7th as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development Labs, in tandem with the white paper release, to discuss how each sector plays a critical role in defining culture and shaping human behavior.
“Our goal is to inspire people about the ocean. This is our planet, but an unknown one, full of wonder and mystery, with incredible landscapes and alien creatures,” said Dr. Jyotika Virmani, executive director of Schmidt Ocean Institute. “This is the United Nations Ocean Decade and elevating the understanding and appreciation for our ocean is a high priority. Through this collaboration, our goal is to bring the ocean to everyone.”
“We protect what we love, and we need to find new ways for people to fall in love with the ocean,” said Nekton Chief Executive Oliver Steeds. “To connect the ocean to people, we need to connect our cultures to the ocean. That’s the first key challenge we are looking to address together.”
Both Nekton and Schmidt Ocean Institute plan to collaborate on public outreach and address other marine research and ocean data challenges together during the Ocean Decade, which started in January 2021.
CONTACTS:
Carlie Wiener (T: +1.808.628.8666 | E: cwiener@schmidtocean.org)
Lisa Hynes (T: +44 7966 272256 |E: lisa@nektonmission.org)
Partnership signing and workshop photos available here.
About the Organizations
Nekton’s roots are in science and journalism, to understand the ocean better and to inform as many people as possible about the ocean. Established in 2016, it is a not-for-profit organisation working in partnership with the University of Oxford and a wide range of partners to accelerate the protection and exploration of the ocean in line with the target to highly protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. For more information, visit https://nektonmission.org/.
Schmidt Ocean Institute was established in 2009 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to advance oceanographic research through the development of innovative technologies, open sharing of information, and broad communication about ocean health. It operates Falkor, a philanthropic research vessel that is made available to the international science community at no cost. For more information, visit www.schmidtocean.org.
