Let’s create ocean change this AWARE Week, 14 – 22 September, 2024.
AWARE Week encourages and inspires the global dive community to lead or take part in conservation activities and courses focused on local action for global impact.
Who truly represents PADI AWARE®? It’s you – passionate divers and Ocean Torchbearers with first-hand experience of the ocean and a desire to protect it.
With a Global Plastics Treaty currently in development and the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on the horizon, now is our time to take decisive action to support our policy team calling for a strong treaty.
So how can you get involved this upcoming AWARE Week? There are six ways you can get involved this AWARE Week and beyond that can help create ocean change.
1. Sign the Petition for a Strong Global Plastics Treaty
Ready to save the ocean? We’ve made it easy for anyone to act now and join us in turning the tide on plastic pollution. Share the petition with friends and family and help us reach our goal of 10,000 signatures during AWARE Week!
Your participation – and the participation of thousands of others who take part in this critical movement – will open the doors for our AWARE policy team at the INC negotiations to speak with important decision makers and stakeholders that will determine the future of plastics. This is a proven approach for our team, and together we can seize this opportunity to be part of the solution for a healthier future.
Be a voice for the ocean. Sign and share the petition here.
2. Make Every Dive a Survey Dive
Make every dive a survey dive this AWARE Week. The data submitted from Dive Against Debris dives can be used to create policy change that leads to cleaner seas. All data is important.
Reporting data continuously from your debris site establishes a baseline that shows trends over time. All survey data uploaded via the PADI AWARE app strengthens the AWARE global database and supports the development and implementation of policies around the world to prevent and monitor marine debris.
Download the PADI AWARE App on the Google Play or Apple App Store today to get started.
3. Participate in a Dive Against Debris or Other Conservation Activity
AWARE Week is a great opportunity to get your fins on and take an active role in the Ocean Torchbearer movement. Contact your local PADI shop or join one of the many PADI Dive Centers or Resorts around the world celebrating AWARE Week this September. Participate in a Dive Against Debris survey by diving or volunteering at the surface to help sort and upload debris. You can also take part in a number of other courses that are educating divers about conservation and underwater citizen science.
Contact your local dive shop to see what they have planned or explore the PADI Conservation Activities Locator to find numerous opportunities to create ocean change.
4. Share Your Story and Encourage Others to Act
Actively participating in conservation events and supporting initiatives is invaluable for our oceans, but raising awareness is often one of the most overlooked parts of driving change. As divers and Ocean Torchbearers, we have unique insights into a world that remains hidden for most people. Through our stories and experiences, we can raise awareness about the impact of human activities on the ocean ecosystem.
Let your experiences and stories inspire those around you to make behavioural changes that will benefit their lives and countless others. You can become a powerful catalyst for change by speaking up and sharing your passion by word of mouth, via social media platforms, or as an ocean advocate in the local community.
While changing the mind of 10,000 people seems daunting, 1,000 people changing the minds of 10 people is easily achievable.
Tag @paditv and @padiaware on your social media posts and use the following hashtags to tell us your AWARE Week stories. You might even be featured in our social media posts and celebratory photo albums!
#AWAREWeek #SaveTheOcean #DiveAgainstDebris #AdoptTheBlue #LocalActionGlobalImpact #EveryDiveaSurveyDive
Become a catalyst for change this AWARE Week by telling your story!
5. Take an Ocean Conservation Course
Understanding conservation issues enables us to make more informed choices in our daily lives to better protect the ocean.
Take the Dive Against Debris Specialty course and learn how to safely remove marine debris and upload survey data to the AWARE global database. Or discover a variety of other PADI AWARE conservation courses that offer educational opportunities to learn more about key threats facing the marine environment, and how you can positively impact ocean health.
These courses also count toward the elite PADI Master Scuba Diver™ rating – and the PADI Master Scuba Diver Challenge. With every qualifying PADI course completed by the end of 2024, you can increase your chances of winning a dream dive getaway for two to the Maldives!
6. Donate to Support Community Action
PADI AWARE Foundation programs are made possible thanks to the generous support of our community. This AWARE Week, consider a donation to PADI AWARE Foundation and help fund PADI AWARE programs and community grantees who are leading the charge in ocean protection – like Rwenzori Scuba Divers and Salvage Limited who are removing man-made debris from Lake Victoria and taking action to collaborate on local debris management in Uganda. And Zibel who is clearing waste materials from the seas of Malta and finds solutions to avoid waste ending up in landfills. Your donation directly empowers ocean saving initiatives like theirs and the 70+ other projects that have received PADI AWARE Community Grants since the program launched in 2022.
Whatever your diving experience, your voice counts and you can make a difference this AWARE Week and year-round. Thank you for being an Ocean Torchbearer™ and creating ocean change to protect and preserve our blue planet.
Join us to magnify the dive community’s collective conservation power this AWARE Week!