Press Conference One Ocean Forum

September

2017

Press Conference One Ocean Forum

Milan, capital city of marine preservation:

ONE OCEAN Forum at Teatro Franco Parenti on 3rd & 4th October

Two days of debate, speeches, first-hand accounts and working sessions to raise awareness of the state of the marine ecosystem and to spread a culture of environmentalism

The Charta Smeralda,

a document outlining a new standard of ethics for the protection of the sea

Rolex and Audi, historical partners of YCCS, have been joined by

Aquafil, Luxury Living Group, Dilbar, Intercos, Fondazione Carriero,

Perini Navi, Pantecnica, Fondazione Riccardo Catella, Sipa, Dompé

and Biofarma in supporting the project

Milan, September 19, 2017. Milan this morning saw the unveiling of ONE OCEAN Forum, an event conceived by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and dedicated to innovative projects that preserve the marine environment and promote practical action and solutions, to take place in Milan on 3rd and 4th October at the Teatro Franco Parenti.

The presentation was held in the heart of the Porta Nuova Smart Community at the the Riccardo Catella Foundation, an organisation active since 2007 in the promotion of civic projects that support, enhance and renew urban areas.

The Forum is partnered with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and SDA Bocconi Sustainability LAB, and has the support of numerous prestigious bodies, such as The British Virgin Islands - BVI-, Ministry for the Environment, Autonmous Region of Sardinia, CONI, SYBAss, Nautica Italiana, UCINA, Confindustria Nautica, Genoa Boat Show and the Caprera Sailing Centre.

The Forum was created as an independent and non-political association, aiming to become the engine for accelerating innovative projects that protect the environment and promote game-changing action, through the participation of stakeholders of every kind, such as businesses, scientific institutions, non-profit organisations, opinion-makers and international celebrities.

The ONE OCEAN program is based on four primary themes, representing the areas of most urgency and significance connected with the current state of the oceans:

Marine Litter & Pollution, namely the enormous quantities of waste present in all the oceans of the planet, capable of causing extreme and lasting damage to the food chain and the marine ecosystem (marine pollution is leading to the extinction of 1,300 species)
Climate and Global Changes, responsible for the acidification of the waters and its consequential effects on the well-being and conservation of oceanic habitats

the implementation of Blue Technologies as opportunities for the development of the maritime economy, using innovation and research as the basis for new production and commercial policies.

Ocean Literacy, namely the dissemination of a culture that leads to understanding the influence the ocean has on our lives and the influence our choices and behaviour have on the ocean.

The Forum, which Her Highness the Princess Zahra Aga Khan has wanted for a long time, is supported by a Scientific Council, presided over by Francesca Santoro of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, which has among its members notable figures from Italian and international academic establishments, namely from distinguished universities and leading scientific organisations specialised in areas linked to the protection of the marine environment.

The perspective chosen in collaboration with FeelRouge Worldwide Shows, the Forum’s strategic partner charged with content and overall supervision, is open, direct and succinct. All the issues to be examined are clear and engaging in an edutainment form. The agenda therefore alternates between scientific papers given by prominent figures from the Italian and international academic communities, to first-hand accounts from well-known personalities connected to the sea by passion or profession.

As regards scientific content, the stage will be taken by Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, François Bailet, Senior Legal Officer of the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Sam Dupont, Research Professor in Eco-physiology at the University of Gothenburg and Maria Cristina Fossi, lecturer in ecology and eco-toxicology at the University of Siena and Director of Science at the Biomarker Laboratory of the Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment. In addition, video contributions are expected from Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, from Kerstin Forsberg, founder of the non-profit organisation Planeta Océano and from the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station in Naples, a centre of research into marine organims and bio-diversity.

By way of contrast, the Forum will also host ambassadors and witnesses to the poetry of the sea, namely American yachtsman Paul Cayard, holder of the world freediving record Davide Carrera, explorer and journalist Paul Rose and Franco-American artist Anne de Carbuccia.

A key session of the Forum will be the roundtable on Best Practices, projects which have seen the implementation of alternative production systems in blue technology, with Nino Tronchetti Provera from Ambienta, Giulio Bonazzi from Aquafil, Alfonso Saibene Canepa from Canepa, Daniela Ducato from Geolana and Erin Smith from Ocean Sole.

During the course of the first day, running in parallel with the presentations and speeches, there will also be LABs, working parties on each of the four significant themes of ONE OCEAN Forum. Promoted by businesses and private institutions, the LABs have as their objective the setting out a “roadmap”, a plan in clear steps to reach the objectives of “marine preservation” and envisaging a debate between representatives of the promoting companies, university students (selected by SDA Bocconi), experts in their relative fields, scholars from all over the world and journalists.

Two further LABs are dedicated to the Charta Smeralda, a document aimed at promoting awareness of the principal aspects of environmental issues connected with the sea and at defining areas of real, tangible and immediate intervention. Designed as just a first step for the organisations promoting and supporting activity connected with the sea, such as yacht clubs, tourist ports, landing places and marinas, the Charta Smeralda will be promoted, disseminated and shared in range and content by all manner of institutions and organisations, be they public, private, national, international or supranational. It will de facto stimulate all recipients to adopt an awareness of the most pressing issues and to intervene with solutions that are not only congruent but also immediate.

On the second and last day of the Forum, the content of the work sessions and the ideas they have generated will be presented.

The event will conclude with the ratification of the Charta Smeralda, officially signed by Her Highness the Princess Zahra Aga Khan and YCCS Commodore Riccardo Bondeo, followed by many of those who have made this project possible and have supported it in their various roles.

Adopting the motto “partnership is the new leadership”, ONE OCEAN Forum bears witness to how the moral authority of all the players in the initiative has been crucial in bringing to fruition a program which, far from just ending with the closure of the October event, will stimulate lasting change and show real value over time.

For further information and visuals, please check websites www.oneoceanforum.org and www.yccs.com

Contacts

Barabino & Partners: +39 02 7202 3535

Danila Sabella - d.sabella@barabino.it -mob. +39 329 2171 590

Maria Vittoria Vidulich – m.vidulich@barabino.it – mob. +39 340 5792 535

International media

Giampaolo Arghittu – g.arghittu@barabino.co.uk – mob. +44 789 3314 989

YCCS Communication and Partnership Director

Alessia Crivelli – alessiacrivelli@yccs.it

YCCS Press Office: +39 0789 902200

Marialisa Panu/Giuliano Luzzatto

pressoffice@yccs.it