OceanLab: an adventure in the seas to save the planet

The project led by Dídac Costa combines sailing and education to preserve the oceans.

You can follow the session, here
 

As part of the activities of the Environment Week, organized jointly with the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the UPF-BSM hosts the session "OceanLab: an adventure in the seas to save the planet", which will address the threats facing the marine ecosystem through a very special perspectives.

During the first part of the session, the director of the Sustainability Observatory of the UPF-BSM, Oriol Montanyà, will interview Dídac Costa, the most well-known sailor in the country and visible face of OceanLab, and Laura Secorun, Project Manager of the initiative, who are currently immersed in the preparation of the Vendée Globe 2024, the round-the-world single-handed sailing race and one of the most followed sporting events globally.

"We want to put Dídac's media exposure at the service of the environment, using the boat as a platform to develop R&D initiatives and educational projects to promote a change of course towards sustainability," explain Costa and Secourun, who aim to deepen the values of sport and adventure, as well as the natural attractiveness of the marine environment to further sustainability.

After hearing their testimonies, the winning short film of DOCSBarcelona 2020, Mareas Ocultas (Hidden Tides), directed by UPF alumni and current student of the Postgraduate in Audiovisual Editing at UPF-BSM, Mònica Cambra, will be screened. For nine minutes, the audience will be able to contemplate a tribute to the sea and the sincere look of a fishermen's boat struggling to fight pollution and restore beauty to the surrounding waters.

The short film will precede the conversation between its author and the marine ecologist of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and advisor to the OceanLab: Vendée Globe 2024 project, Miguel Ángel Muñoz, in which, accompanied by the moderation of Montanyà, they will debate on maritime sustainability through concepts such as Blue Carbon, plastic pollution or sea trades.

* The capacity in the Auditorium will be 44 people.
** The session will be held in Catalan.