São Paulo – Voice of the Oceans, a global movement against plastic pollution led by Brazil’s Schurmann family, is being introduced to the United Arab Emirates. Heloisa Schurmann, sailor, writer, senior vice president of the movement, and matriarch of the Schurmann Family, has been carrying out an agenda in the Arab country since Thursday (13) and will continue until next Monday (17) with this goal.
A central part of the Voice of the Oceans’s work is a major expedition across the seas of Brazil and the world that began in August 2021 aiming to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the oceans and fostering social engagement in search of solutions to this issue. It aims to seek and share inspiring solutions focused on ocean recovery and preservation.
“We’ve already passed through more than 100 destinations, covering over 10 countries in South, Central, and North America, Oceania, and Asia. We have also brought our initiative to Europe, and now we are bringing it here to the United Arab Emirates,” Schurmann wrote to ANBA about her visit to the Arab country.
With support from the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) which has an office in Dubai, Schurmann had scheduled meetings with representatives from diplomacy, environmental initiatives, and women’s organizations in the Gulf country.
“I started on Thursday March 13, by visiting the World Green Economy Organization (WGEO), which fosters and accelerates the transition to a green economy, and the turtle rehabilitation project at Jumeirah Al Naseem–I remembered fondly of our own Tamar Project and its beautiful work over the years,” Schurmann wrote to ANBA.
Her schedule also included meetings with the Women of Brazil group, as well as visits to Surf House Dubai and the Brazilian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. The events were accompanied by Rafael Solimeo, head of the ABCC’s office in Dubai, and Thalita Sabadia, business support specialist at the office.
“Just over a year ago, we started an important exchange with the ABCC, considering potential partnerships to support our Voice of the Oceans, knowledge and sustainable expertise exchange, and the dissemination of innovative solutions for our planet,” she explains.
Schurmann’s schedule in the Arab country was crafted with the help of the ABCC. “With a stop in Abu Dhabi and Dubai during my ‘break’ in Brazil for important environmental education actions, the ABCC helped us build an important agenda,” Schurmann recounts.
The ABCC has been active in sustainability efforts, with active participation in the United Nations’ climate talks, including COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the UAE, among other initiatives.
The Voice of the Oceans also engages in dialogue with diplomacy, as it will in the UAE. “We’re a 100% Brazilian initiative with a global impact, and whenever possible, we present our Voice of the Oceans to Brazilian embassies in various countries, including the United States and now [UAE’s capital] Abu Dhabi, strengthening Brazil’s global representation in defending our planet,” she says.
To shift the tide
The crew of the Voice of the Oceans expedition operates with support from the U.N.’s Environment Program (UNEP) and records what it observes in the oceans and coastal areas.
“With the Voice of the Oceans, we sail to raise awareness across all sectors of global civil society to defend and recover our oceans. Responsible for more than 50% of the air we breathe, they’re also regulators of the climate, but they’re being suffocated by the growing invasion of plastic waste. We have 40 years of history sailing the world’s seas, and since the late 1990s, we’ve witnessed this pollution growing absurdly and worryingly. That’s why we’ve taken on this mission to raise awareness and mobilize society to shift this tide together,” said Schurmann.
Marcos Carrieri collaborated.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
