For third year running, the One Ocean Hub has been among the ‘Friends of United Nations (UN) World Oceans Week’ and contributed to the worldwide celebrations and discussions on matters concerning the ocean. This year’s theme ‘Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean’ sheds light on how the ocean connects, sustains, and supports us all. Yet its health is at a tipping point and so is the well-being of all that depends on it. It reminds us that we need to work together to create a new balance with the ocean and restores its vibrancy. See our upcoming events for the UN World Ocean Week 2022 below.

Exploring Challenges, Opportunities and Alliances for the Protection of Small-scale Fishers’ Human Rights

When: 6^th June 2022, 13:00-15:00 GMT

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This two-hour roundtable is organised by the One Ocean Hub with the support and technical assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The event will explore the need for a comprehensive understanding of the human rights of small-scale fishers and how different mandates across the United Nations System can contribute to enhancing the protection of the human rights of small-scale fishers, fisherworkers, and their communities. This event will bring together the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, FAO, and representatives of small-scale fishers, national human rights institution, and researchers to share views on key challenges for the protection of SSF’ human rights. This roundtable discussion is aimed to advance awareness of the need for a holistic approach to the protection of the human rights of small-scale fishers and fish workers, and to explore the different UN mandates that can contribute and opportunities to better international support for small-scale fishers representatives and advocates. The key messages identified during the roundtable discussion will be shared with other partners and international fora for further dialogue and action as part of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Panellists

• Elisa Morgera, Prof Global Environmental Law (University of Strathclyde, UK) & Director, One Ocean Hub
• Nicole Franz, Fishery Planning Officer, FAO
• David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment
• Sisay Yeshanew, Development Law Specialist, FAO
• Eastern Cape traditional small-scale fisher, South Africa
• Representative of the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty, Bangladesh
• Sebastian Mathew, Executive Director, International Collective in Support of Fishworkers,
• Sille Stidsen, Danish Institute for Human Rights
• Dr Bolanle Erinosho, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
• Dr Tapiwa Warikandwa, University of Namibia, Namibia

Blue Heritage: The Role of Ocean Art and Culture in Ocean Science and Management

When: 7^th June 2022, 13:00-14:30 GMT

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More attention needs to be given to the human-cultural dimension of the ocean and its use. Recognising the role of ocean cultures and heritage in contributing to sustainable ocean governance, this event will discuss key messages in a forthcoming book entitled the Palgrave Handbook of Blue Heritage. The book highlights that while nature is inherently valuable, humans hold diverse, intrinsic and cultural connections with the ocean and coasts. The book represents a novel interdisciplinary collaboration between One Ocean Hub and global researchers, involving more than 25 authors worldwide, including scholars from Australia, US, Seychelles and India. It is edited by Professor Rosabelle Boswell, Nelson Mandela University (South Africa), Dr David O’Kane (Max Planck Institute, Germany) and Professor Jeremy Hills, University of South Pacific (Fiji). As part of the event, panellists will discuss the role of arts and innovative methodology, such as Empatheatre, to creative praxis in ocean management and the role of singing in fisher-folk personhood and power in Ghana. Mpume Mthombeni, an award-winning performer, storyteller and theatre-maker from Umlazi, Durban and the co-founder of Empatheatre contributes to the second part of the event. She will read from Between Worlds, Professor Boswell’s third poetry anthology which articulates the nuances of human relations with the sea and the imagined responses of both animate and inanimate marine worlds.

Chair: Mr Eden Charles, former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Deputy Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority for the Enterprise and the Chairman of the Advisory Board of One Ocean Hub UKRI.

Panellists

1. Professor Rose Boswell, Anthropology, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa
2. Dr Kira Erwin, Urban Sociology, Durban University of Technology, South Africa
3. Dr Eric Otchere, Arts, University Cape Coast, Ghana
4. Dr John Ansah, Sociology, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
5. Dr Georgina Yaa Oduro, Sociology, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
6. Dr Bolanle Erinosho, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
7. Dr David Wilson, History, University of Strathclyde, UK
8. Ms Anthea Christoffels-Du Plessis, Law, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa
9. Dr Chelsea Koch, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
10. Mr Paul Antion, Blue Ventures
11. Mr Symphorien Nihala Maniry Soa, Blue Ventures

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