“Individually we all have a reason for taking action. Together we are fighting for the protection of the ocean”. Such is the leitmotif for the 27th edition of Ocean Initiatives, which will be launched on Saturday March 20, 2021. After a year when the sanitary crisis put a brake on grassroots mobilization, Surfrider Europe is back, stronger than ever, with a new campaign reminding people how accessible the program is and how important it is to take action in favour of the marine environment.
Ocean Initiatives, much more than a simple cleaning-up operation
Ocean Initiatives, the Association’s flagship project ever since 1995, is much more than simply picking up waste. These operations, which are easy to organise and accessible to all members of the public, have become a real place for meeting others and besides this, the waste collections – whether on beaches, in town or in any other space near a river – are also an effective way to collect valuable data for action at the highest European level.
In order to encourage another year of mobilization and promote the deployment of Ocean Initiatives throughout Europe, several personalities have decided to join forces with Surfrider Foundation Europe, by embodying its colorful new campaign.
Mobilization is needed, even in times of health restrictions
Despite the increasing difficulty in organizing events in 2021, this campaign underlines the importance of protecting the ocean on a daily basis. It is a reminder that health barriers should not put a stop to our fight: on the contrary, this year has demonstrated more than ever the need to act in favor of the environment, wherever we are and whoever we are.
It is for this reason that the campaign has brought together many members of the Surfrider community who, despite their various backgrounds, remain mobilized for a common cause. Whether they are Surfrider ambassadors like Jérémy Frérot, Paul Meilhat or Greg Penne, personalities from the world of culture like Frédéric Beigbeder and Isabelle Carré, or local actors like Manon Fernet, everyone is convinced of the need to participate in Ocean Initiatives to collect waste and together safeguard the marine environment.
#ICollectFor: we all have a reason to collect, what’s yours?
This campaign highlights the special bond that each person cultivates with the Ocean and their personal reasons for wanting to preserve it. Thus, surfer Pauline Ado collects waste on the beaches of the Basque Country to safeguard her nautical playground; influencer Nicolas Meyrieux cleans the banks of the lakes in les Landes to set an example; Isabelle Carré collects the litter left on the banks of the Seine in order to preserve them for her children, Frédéric Beigbeder acts in order to be able to go on contemplating beauty – and so on. Each one of them has a special reason for participating in a litter collection, but in fact, all are fighting for one and the same end: the protection of the ocean.
Because the sum of all the individual reasons invoked leads inevitably to the common interest. Each waste collection, whether it is carried out in the city, around a lake, on the beach or along a river, helps to protect the ocean while at the same time satisfying each one of our special reasons. So what’s yours? Join the Ocean Initiatives near you, this March 20 and throughout the year.
