Dear <<First Name>>

Change of stage – from the big, global trends and challenges – this month let’s focus on a more human, local scale. At the heart of all change are people, who take decisions often more driven by their emotions than by rational assessment though we all like to think of ourselves as intelligent beings.

The myriad preparations have mightily brought into focus again that it’s people bringing about change – or hanging in there to defend a bad status quo for the many. Let’s look at the brighter side for once!

We went full throttle through May to prepare World Ocean Day and reach out, together with our partners working on this year's UN theme "The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods". The international jury is finishing its assessment work of 61 submissions from 10 countries. Watch out for very nice submissions, be they video, texts or drawings, which we will post on the website throughout June. Perhaps less quantity this year because of covid, but certainly not less quality! We are immensely grateful for the jury for its competent work. Thank you!

Our team in Senegal is planning no less than five activities! Nigeria two, Argentina in collaboration with others two and our teams in Belgium and Ghana one each. In Cameroon our partners Bénévoles Océan are mobilising young people in Kribi on the coast and elsewhere. Partner Eco Ethics in Mombasa Kenya has already scheduled mangrove planting beforehand with the Beach Management Unit and a series of other beach and press activities the day itself.

Artistic works are at the rendez-vous, for example through the collaboration with the Youth Orchestra San Telmo of Buenos Aires (Argentina), and exhibitions and events at the Agrupamento de Escolas Dr. Francisco Sanches in Braga (Portugal) organising online cultural events and exhibitions supported by Mundus maris.

When people and their organisation rise up to stand for the ocean and maritime cultures, there is scope for hope and celebration. Happy World Oceans Day! – despite some gloom, let’s get up and have a good day and week together feeling the strength of this togetherness.

When you feel energised by the creativity and power of collective efforts and the sense of what becomes possible when we stand together, perhaps you want to help us on a special change journey that should allow us to create a new face for our website, make it easier to navigate, find stories and connect. We are looking for volunteers with different backgrounds, including IT, to collaborate with us over the next months to create that new space. Donations would, of course, also help! :-)

Mundus maris asbl, Belfius Bank, Rue de Linthout 224, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
IBAN: BE54 0688 9178 6297
BIC: GKCCBEBB

Contact us any time at info@mundusmaris.org.

Cornelia E. Nauen and the entire Mundus maris asbl team

Activities around the world