One Blue Voice

make waves for ocean rights, one blue voice campaign by the ocean race

The Ocean Race’s One Blue Voice campaign launched last month, following the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Set to run over the next 15 months and culminating in a petition and Declaration of Ocean Rights being presented in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023, we are proud of the work that Leap has done for this campaign.

“Sadly, we have taken the ocean for granted and today we face what I would call an ocean emergency. We must turn the tide.”

António Guterres, United Nations secretary general

This is the United Nations Decade for Ocean Sciences; this year’s Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, sought to propel much needed science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action. The agenda included addressing issues such as plastic pollution, over-fishing, the establishment of marine protected areas, seabed mining resources, and the conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems.

The Ocean Race (formerly known as The Whitbread Round The World Race and The Volvo Ocean Race) is sailing’s greatest round-the-world race, taking place every three to four years since 1973. The next outing of the race sets sail from Alicante, Spain, on 15 January 2023 and will visit nine international cities over the following nine months, with race boats carrying the Relay4Nature baton and petition signatures on their journey to the UN General Assembly in September 2023.

One Blue Voice is The Ocean Race’s global campaign targeting sailing fans and the general public, with the aim of driving the creation of a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights (UDOR) that has the potential to help protect and restore our seas. Together we can turn the tide and turn up the volume: to demand systemic change, to pressure policymakers worldwide, and to radically increase ambition and urgency to help the ocean thrive again.

Leap worked with The Ocean Race last year on a campaign communicating the importance of the ocean and raising awareness of its power as a potential solution to climate change in the lead up to World Ocean Day 2021.

This year, we’ve conceived the One Blue Voice global campaign name, look, feel, and strategy, and designed and rolled out all of the creative assets across web and socials.

We’d love your support! Please visit the One Blue Voice microsite and add your name to the petition; follow the campaign on social media and add your voice to the groundswell of noise calling for the protection of the ocean. One Blue Voice aims to have gathered 50,000 signatures before the UN General Assembly in New York next September.