“It is our time to define ourselves as good ancestors now, to define our legacy as both explorers and stewards of the ocean and her health.”

– Drew Richardson, PADI President and CEO

As a PADI Member, you are the foundation of the diving industry. YOU play an integral role in advancing the mission forward and building the PADI Torchbearer community – a powerful ally and force for good that can be called upon as a voice for the ocean.

Despite COVID-19, we remain optimistic and hopeful for the days to come, committed to our vision to achieve our preferred view of the world, where humanity and the ocean co-exist in a healthy balance.

If you haven’t already, please make the commitment to be a PADI Torchbearer by signing up at padi.com/onebillion.

The Torchbearer Movement

PADI is a membership of Torchbearers. Our logo is a symbol for bold leadership and strength. A Diver on a blue planet bears a torch, illuminating the way, serves as a prophecy for our collective responsibility to be stewards to the ocean. By taking up the torch for the ocean and asking your divers and your local communities to join you in standing up for the ocean, you will make an incalculable difference to both people and planet.

AWARE Week 2020: What You Need To Know

AWARE Week will take place from 19th – 27th September 2020!

Under the theme – Carry The Torch For Ocean Protection – PADI’s global dive community is invited to join the growing movement of PADI® Torchbearers during AWARE Week to take action for the ocean, above and below the surface.

Leading up to and throughout AWARE week, engage with your community by asking them to sign up as PADI Torchbearers at padi.com/onebillion and share the “Be A Torchbearer” and AWARE Week 2020 videos with them.

• Be A Torchbearer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-buYSVS_O0
• AWARE Week 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UUdTXOfS1Y

AWARE Week will be organized around the PADI Torchbearer 5, the framework that will guide our actions now and in the days to come, ensuring our individual contributions play into a wider movement that will ultimately turn the dial towards a healthy future for people and planet.

Each day of AWARE week we’ll dive into each of the goals and take action in whatever way we can, whilst keeping ourselves and our communities safe.

By reaching out to your local communities and your divers at home and abroad, and asking them to engage in AWARE Week and join the Torchbearer movement, you are ensuring that more people stay connected to you and to the underwater world in a time when fins off actions might be their only opportunity to protect what they love.

Monday 21st September

Community Goal 1: Stand Up For The Ocean

We will speak up and use our voices to drive positive change. We will lend our support to environmental campaigns, sign petitions, attend key events, write to our representatives and engage in conversation with our local communities. As the world moves forward, we will continue to be the ever-louder voice of the ocean.

AWARE Week Objective: Help Advance The Protection Of Mako Sharks

“This year, we’re asking divers to join us in standing up for the protection of mako sharks in the Atlantic. Is your country missing from the Mako Champions Map? You can help change that! Head to http://www.sharkleague.org/mako-champions/”

Standing up for the ocean is all about using our voices to speak on behalf of the underwater environment. For AWARE Week, our focus is going to be on sharks, but yours doesn’t have to!

How To Get Involved: Some Ideas To Get You Thinking…

• Share Shark League’s Mako Champions Map on your social channels and encourage your divers to support the campaign! (Feel free to copy and paste from above)
• Besides mako sharks, perhaps your dive center is already involved with the protection of other sharks or marine species. Could you use the support of your community to advance that agenda? Let them know!
• Perhaps you’ve even been involved with setting up a marine protected area? Connect with your community and let them know! It’s likely they will want to support this too.
• Arrange an educational event (if you can do so safely) for your local community, or an online webinar for your global community and use it to discuss local conservation issues and what divers can do to support your ocean conservation goals.

Tuesday 22nd September

Community Goal 2: Assume Responsibility

We will take direct responsibility for ocean health and act as stewards for the places we love, both above and below the surface. We are driven by the common understanding that all life on Earth is connected and that our actions have a direct impact on the natural world. We will serve as role models in our communities and amplify the movement for the betterment of people and planet.

AWARE Week Objective: Create better habits above and below the surface

This year, we are driven by the common understanding that all life on Earth is connected and that our actions have a direct impact on the natural world. We’re asking divers to gain a deeper understanding of the ocean’s ecosystems so we can understand key ocean threats and identify ways to take action and be a more responsible ocean adventurer.

How To Get Involved: Some Ideas To Get You Thinking…

• Make 10 Tips for Divers part of your diver code of conduct and ask your community to take the pledge: https://e-activist.com/page/20594/data/1
• Join in with Project AWARE’s Top 10 Tips Campaign by sharing a photo of yourself or your team with their favourite tip for divers to protect the ocean planet. You can access the tool kit here: https://www.projectaware.org/resource/10Tips4DiversToolkit
• Promote your Project AWARE Specialty! Informed divers are responsible divers, plus, it is fins off, so a great pandemic-friendly action for your community in lockdown.

Wednesday 23rd September

Community Goal 3: Dive With A Purpose

We recognize that every dive is an opportunity to collect vital data that can be used to create future protection measures for the ocean.  We will participate in conservation programs and contribute to citizen science through activities that preserve underwater habitats and biodiversity vital to human and planetary health, helping the local communities where we dive.

AWARE Week Objective: Increase participation in “Every Dive A Survey Dive”

This year, we continue to use our unique skill set to gather critical data for the protection of our ocean. By downloading the Dive Against Debris® App and reporting what you find, you join the largest underwater citizen science movement on the planet. You can directly inform marine debris research, thereby mitigating the impacts of pollution on the ocean planet.

How To Get Involved: Some Ideas To Get You Thinking…

• Organise an underwater or beach clean-up, and in “Make Every Dive a Survey Dive”-fashion, download the Dive Against Debris App and report what you find. More info here: https://www.projectaware.org/appFAQ
• Promote your Dive Against Debris Specialty, or the limited edition PADI card. More info here: https://www.projectaware.org/divecourses
• Arrange an educational event (if you can do so safely) for your local community, or an online webinar for your global community and use it to discuss Dive Against Debris and how to get involved at home or abroad. You don’t need to be a diver to submit beach clean-up data!
• Are you using your dives for a different purpose already? Perhaps to build a whale shark database or restore the local reef? Let your community know!

Thursday 24th September

Community Goal 4: Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

We will restore balance by reducing our own carbon emissions at work and at home. We will help the ocean and coastal communities manage the effects of human-induced climate change by working with key partners to recover and protect seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and salt marshes.

AWARE Week Objective: Reduce our carbon emissions and shine a light on The Ocean Foundation’s Seagrass Grow Program.

This year, we pledge to do our part in fighting human-induced climate change by mitigating our own carbon footprint by making lifestyle changes and planting seagrass and mangroves. Coastal sea beds are the most powerful CO2 and carbon filters on the planet, storing upwards of 50% of the CO2 that is trapped by the ocean and providing the foundations of life in the ocean.

How To Get Involved: Some Ideas To Get You Thinking…

• Think about your own dive operation and what changes you could make to reduce your carbon footprint. Perhaps you could switch to clean energy, say no to single-use plastic or opt for a higher percentage of veggie meals at your center. Already doing this? Let your community know!
• Understand the value of seagrass and mangroves and share this with your community. Are you already involved with protecting these vulnerable habitats? Let your community know how they can support you! More info here: https://blog.padi.com/2020/05/21/10-facts-about-seagrass-you-probably-didnt-know/
• Work out your business emissions, then contribute what you can to The Ocean Foundation’s Seagrass Grow Program. Check out the calculator here: https://oceanfdn.org/calculator/ (then, share it with your community and ask them to do the same!)

Friday 25th September

Community Goal 5 – Make Sustainable Choices

We will reject single-use plastic, support genuine eco travel and voluntourism, make sustainable food choices, dive with eco-friendly operators when possible, and support businesses that are taking an innovative approach to sustainability. Our example will influence those around us, paving the way for systemic change.

AWARE Week Objective: Understand Our Purchasing Power

This year, we understand that our choices directly impact the ocean and the behaviour of those around us. We choose to shine a light on what’s possible, choosing to opt for products and services that support a healthy future for our planet, inspiring others to do the same. Every purchase we make, or don’t make, is a chance to advocate for a brighter future.

How To Get Involved: Some Ideas To Get You Thinking…

• For one week, choose to be purposely mindful of what you are supporting with every purchase you make, reflect and then share those that are supporting a brighter future with your community.
• Perhaps you are already on your journey to making sustainable choices. No single-use plastic? Do you use reef-safe sunscreen? Do you have a future-friendly waste management system in place? Let you community know!
• Do you offer a sustainable product or service that supports a healthier vision of the future for people and planet? Promote it!

That’s it! AWARE Week 2020 in a nutshell, with lots of ideas on how you can get involved and engage with your community for the protection of the ocean.

All that’s left to say is have fun, stay safe and most importantly – THANK YOU – for your ongoing support and commitment to diving, people and planet.

The post AWARE Week 2020: What’s Happening and How To Get Involved appeared first on PADI Pros.

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