UNOC 2025

Global Milestone for Ocean Protection – German Ocean Foundation to Play a Leading Role at UN Ocean Conference in Nice

This June, the French Riviera will host what is expected to be the largest and most significant ocean conference the world has seen. From 3 to 13 June, thousands of leading voices in science, politics, business, and finance will gather in Nice and Monaco to develop urgently needed, shared solutions for the protection of our planet’s largest ecosystem, the ocean.

At the heart of the UN Ocean Conference will be Ursula van der Leyen's official announcement of the brand new European Ocean Pact, a landmark initiative aimed at strengthening sustainable ocean governance in Europe and beyond. The German Ocean Foundation, in close collaboration with the Oceano Azul Foundation and Europe Jacques Delors, has played a key role in shaping this political commitment. The pact underlines the fact that there is no interconnected global ecosystem more significant and critical to the future of all life on Earth than the ocean.

Ahead of the conference, together with Scuba Schools International (SSI) and the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), the German Ocean Foundation will present what is currently the world’s largest citizen science initiative for the ocean. Millions of temperature data points from diving computers are being collected and shared via the MySSI App with the scientific community through the EMODnet data platform. These datasets offer crucial insights into increasingly severe marine heatwaves and support better forecasting of extreme weather events such as hurricanes.

The foundation is also contributing to a dedicated Ocean Hackathon, organized by the French NGO Objectif Sciences International (OSI), with a focus on engaging the next generation of ocean researchers and marine technology experts. The hackathon invites young talent to develop innovative solutions for the sustainable use and protection of the ocean.

As of 4 June, our team will be in Nice to present our citizen science project and our ocean literacy projects at La Baleine, the Université Côte d'Azur, and aboard the METEOR and Malizia Explorer in the port of Nice.

Guided by the legacy of Elisabeth Mann Borgese, the renowned ocean advocate and daughter of Nobel laureate Thomas Mann, the German Ocean Foundation sees the ocean as the common heritage of humankind. Through its many contributions to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030), the foundation is committed to raising public awareness and promoting stronger national and international collaboration in marine protection.