First of The Ocean Race Summits in
Genoa, Italy, 20th September
Full list of speakers announced
Genoa, Italy. City
views. merlofotografia.com
The Ocean Race Summits – an international series of events held by The Ocean
Race – aims to bring together leaders from sport, business, politics and
science to advance efforts to restore ocean health.
Taking place in the iconic Italian port city on 20th September, the
international gathering will hear from political representatives from the EU,
Genoa, national and international businesses, the sport of sailing and NGOs.
The Ocean Race Summits form a key element of the ‘Racing with Purpose’
Programme, in collaboration with Premier Partner 11th Hour Racing and supported
by Official Partner Bluewater, embedding sustainability at the heart of the
race.
"Genoa provides a perfect opening stage for The Ocean Race Summit series -
convening business, sport, science, and government in the heart of the
Mediterranean Sea, where maritime trade history unfolded. These waters, which
are still pivotal to Europe’s history and economy, are now under severe stress
and require urgent collaborative action to be protected and restored to a
healthy state,” said Alessandra Ghezzi, Communications Director, 11th Hour Racing.
“I look forward to meeting the solution thinkers, innovators, visionaries, and
the next generation of leaders that will gather in Genoa to catalyse this
positive change.”
The half-day conference will also explore the impacts of plastic pollution on the
Mediterranean Sea and future trends business can adopt to move away from a
reliance on plastic.
Olympic and offshore sailor Francesca Clapcich (ITA) and veteran of The Ocean
Race Mark Towill (USA) will provide their views and share their first-hand experiences
on the effect plastic pollution is having on our seas.
Italian adventurer Alex
Bellini, who will provide the inspirational opening to the day, said: “It’s
the first time that Italy will host this event that is organised by The Ocean
Race, the iconic race that, since 1973, has fascinated sailors from all over
the world.
“Today the real challenge we have to face, the race we must win at all costs,
is not to cross the finish line first but to save our seas from plastic
pollution.”
Staged in the historic Porto Antico area at the Centro
Congressi, speakers at the interactive event include renowned sustainability expert Dr.
Wayne Visser; Anders Jacobson, Co-founder & CEO of Blue;
and Angela Wiebeck, Head of the UBS
in Society Program Office. All are expected to offer their expert insights
into how wide-ranging collaboration is vitally important to address the
challenge of restoring ocean health.
Delegates will also hear Giulio Bonazzi, the Chairman and CEO of Aquafil;
Moby Ahmed, CTO, Ambercycle;
and Dr. Giulia Gregori, Strategic Planning & Corporate Communication
Manager, Novamont,
give practical examples of cutting edge practices to implement sustainability
at the heart of business operations.
Dr Wayne Visser added: “Over the past few years, The Ocean Race Summits have
been at the forefront of the fight to protect and clean-up our oceans. This
includes tracking the evolving science on plastic pollution and the growing
response by business, governments and civil society. If you want to stay on top
of the latest trends on sustainability and the marine environment, The Ocean
Race Summits are the place to be.”
To complement The Ocean Race Summits, an Innovation Workshop
concept has been introduced as part of the programme of events. These seminars
challenge industry leaders and experts to find new ways of working on a range
of issues that link their value chain with ocean pollution. The topics to be
examined in Genoa are ‘Sustainable Fashion & Textile’ and ‘Sustainable Boat
Building’.
“Ocean plastic is a planet-wide crisis with microplastics now found in the food
and water chains, which means we all need to get involved in saving both the
planet and ourselves. At Bluewater we believe passionately in harnessing human
ingenuity to develop the water purification tech that allows consumers and
businesses to apply our here-and-now-solutions to access safe, clean water in a
sustainable way in their homes, at work and in public places,” said Anders
Jacobson, co-founder and CEO of Blue, the impact led investment company that
owns Bluewater.
The race’s vital scientific programme to advance knowledge
on ocean health is continuing over the summer as part of The Ocean Race
European Tour, a series of summer pro-am sailing events around the continent.
The tour boats will be stopping off at the Genoa Boat Show which takes place at
the same time as the summit.
Five of The Ocean Race Summits will take place before the next edition of The
Ocean Race sets off from Alicante, Spain, in autumn 2021, with at least five
more scheduled during the race period.
To find out more, register to attend for free or sign up for the interactive
livestream experience visit: https://bit.ly/2Y3HFZa