Full steam ahead for the UN Ocean Decade
New members and ambassadors for the German Committee of the UN Ocean Decade take up their work, including DAM Transfer Manager Ute Wilhelmsen.
The German Committee of the Ocean Decade (ODC) has been committed to implementing the international goals of the UN Decade of Marine Research in Germany since 2021. Since January 15, 2024, a new group of 15 members has taken over this voluntary work. One of them is Dr. Ute Wilhelmsen, Head of the Transfer core area of the German Marine Research Alliance (DAM). On January 19, she was also elected to the ODC Board. The DAM has been a network partner since 2021 and is involved in the UN Ocean Decade in a variety of ways.
The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly aims to achieve a sustainable future in dealing with the ocean. Transformative solutions for the protection and sustainable use of the ocean are to be developed across disciplines and countries. The focus is on implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 14 “Life Below Water”. The aim of the UN Decade is to reverse the trend: The health of the coasts, seas and oceans should improve again. The German ODC is committed to implementing the internationally set tasks and goals in Germany.
The German Ocean Decade Committee consists of 15 honorary members from science, business, non-governmental organizations, foundations, administration and politics, who are each appointed for three years. XY of them form the Executive Board: in addition to Ute Wilhelmsen, Cornelius Eich, Head of Partnership and Sustainability, Team Malizia, Dr. Alexis Katechakis, marine biologist, sustainability consultant and Managing Director of fors.earth, and Dr. Steffen Knodt, Board Member of the Gesellschaft für Maritime Technik, have been appointed to the Executive Board FURTHER INFORMATION.
Other members of the German Committee of the UN Ocean Decade 2024 to 2027 are Antje Boetius, Stefan Bülow, Karin Kammann-Klippstein, Anne-Marie Melster, Kim Nierobisch, Marja Ritterfeld, Susanne Stampf-Sedlitzky, Nuri Max Steinmann, Martin Visbeck, Holger Watter and Nadja Ziebarth.
Inspiring young people for sustainability at sea
Together with Anne-Marie Melster, curator and managing director of ARTPORT-making waves, Ute Wilhelmsen will lead the working group on education and society, which aims to encourage young people to engage with the sea in a sustainable way by working with schools. “A diverse and healthy marine environment is essential for our well-being and for our future. Only together as a society can we promote the sustainable use of the coasts, seas and oceans that is so crucial to all our lives,” says Ute Wilhelmsen, explaining the motivation behind her engagement. “This is what I am committed to in my work.”
Since January 2024, public figures have also been integrated into the ODC’s work as ambassadors for marine research to raise public awareness of climate and marine protection. The ODC has been able to recruit professional sailor Boris Herrmann, future shaper and founder Monika Griefahn, marine biologist and author Julia Schnetzer, journalist Lars Abromeit, polar researcher and author Arved Fuchs, lawyer Anna von Rebay, extreme sportsman André Wiersig and Björn Both, frontman of the band “Santiano” and sailor.
Further information on the Ocean Decade at https://oceandecade.org/
Header photo: Jan Hansen | ODK
Newsletter
Always up to date with the DAM newsletter. (German only)
Our Sponsors
The federal government and the governments of the five northern German states support the current development and sponsor the DAM.
