Event World Day
World Oceans Day 2026
Covering more than 70% of the Earth's surface, oceans are essential to human lives and livelihoods. World Oceans Day, celebrated on 8 June, is the occasion to raise awareness of the benefits humankind derives from the ocean and our individual and collective duty to use its resources sustainably. In 2026, World Oceans Day is observed under the theme "Reimagine. Beyond The World We Know, a New Relationship With Our Ocean."
Celebrating the Ocean
Oceans Day was first declared on 8 June 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, at the Global Forum, a parallel event at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. On 5 December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly designated 8 June as World Oceans Day through its resolution 63/111, at the initiative of Canada.
World Oceans Day, reminds everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. The purpose of the Day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world’s oceans.
2026 Theme | “REIMAGINE: Beyond the world we know, a new relationship with our ocean”
Reimagining a better future is the first step to building it.
For too long, we have treated the ocean as something vast, distant, and separate from us. We created that distance ourselves. The ocean has always flowed through us, in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the climate that makes our lives possible. Now we are being called to reimagine that relationship. For the first time in a generation, humanity has chosen to govern a significant part of our shared ocean together. The entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement is not the end of negotiation but the beginning of a transformation that no treaty alone can complete.
‘Reimagine‘ asks us to close that distance together. To move from passive inheritors of the ocean’s generosity to active guardians of its future. To govern not just beyond our borders but beyond our blind spots, beyond the habits of taking, operating in silos, and the belief that the way things have been is the way they must remain.
Action for the Ocean in International Geneva
Various Geneva-based organizations or secretariats work actively to protect and restore the oceans and promote a sustainable blue economy. Discover more about the vital role oceans play in our lives and the work that is being done in Geneva to preserve marine environments and foster a more sustainable blue economy.
