In comic book culture, it is believed that if a person can control all the elements, that superhero could become the most powerful being in the world. When a person can control the elements, there is little that can get in their way.  Every PADI Dive Center has a unique superpower that can be harnessed to save the ocean – your power of influence and role as a protector of the underwater world can shape the future of this planet. You don’t need to control all the elements in the universe, you only need to use what you already have to protect it.

There has never been a greater sense of urgency to take actions that address healing our home planet. Accordingly, PADI redefined the company vision and made a declaration to increase our commitment to do just that. By harnessing the superpowers of all the PADI members around the globe and directing it towards creating a better, healthier future – making it possible to achieve what may at first seem quite impossible.

PADI’s new vision – achieve balance between humanity and nature – is a bold but indispensable commitment to both our legacy as responsible ancestors and to our future. Collectively, PADI is pulling millions of people into our family to educate, to explore and to act. These millions can help heal the ocean by making ocean-first choices that respect all life on this planet. The PADI family is positioned to help monitor and steward ocean health for future generations by training a global community of passionate people who care about protecting the ocean, both above and below the surface.

Through dedicated outreach and partnerships with like-minded concerned people and organizations, we aim to aggregate a billion torchbearers to actively explore, steward and protect our ocean. Based on current population trends, to do this we will need to touch the lives of one out of every 10 people.  This is PADI’s mission:

Create a billion torchbearers to explore and protect the ocean.

Simply put, a torchbearer is any person who is passionate about taking ‘fins on’ and/or ‘fins off’ actions that lead to a better balance between people and planet.  By the nature of what we already do, the PADI Experience invites everyone to explore the ocean. As a PADI Retailer, you are the foundation of the diving industry, serving as role models and influencers to your community. You play an integral role in advancing the mission forward and in turn, creating healthier dive communities around the world. This is an awesome responsibility and an environmental superpower that can heal the planet.

Your superpower is your influence to guide your customers and your community to take actions that will lead to a more sustainable future. Divers have a deeply emotional and heartfelt connection to the ocean – they want to do something to protect it. This relationship to nature and the desire for a better tomorrow must be harnessed and combined with actions that will enable us to achieve our preferred view of the world, where humanity and the ocean co-exist in a healthy balance.

The power of the Torchbearer community lies in our ability to mobilize as many people as possible to take focused and measurable action. All Torchbearers are invited to the PADI Torchbearer Facebook Groups page where they can engage with other like-minded community members, hear from experts and leaders like you, and learn what they can do to be part of the solution.

The Torchbearer movement will be guided by the “Torchbearer 5 Framework”, five key goals that will guide community actions now and into the future, ensuring individual contributions play into a wider movement that will ultimately turn the dial toward a healthy future for people and planet.

• The first is Stand Up for the Ocean, which is all about using our voices to speak for our ocean and ensure key decision makers act with marine issues in mind.
• The second is Assume Responsibility; understanding whole-heartedly that everything is connected and our actions directly impact the natural world.
• The third one is a big one: Dive with a Purpose. This goal is about making every dive count by gathering vital data and getting hands on with scientifically-endorsed conservation work that we as divers are in privileged and uniquely skilled position to do.
• The fourth speaks to our shared mission as humanity, to Reduce Our Carbon Footprint in order to mitigate the effects of human induced climate change and restore seagrass and mangroves.
• Finally, we commit to Making Sustainable Choices. By that, we mean always keeping the ocean in our mind and using our purchasing power to advocate for a better future. Whether it’s saying no to single-use plastic, opting for sustainably sourced seafood, purchasing products made from ghost fishing nets or something else entirely!

Together, the global reach and passion of the PADI network has the potential to turn the dial towards a future we can all be proud of. Yet to achieve this vision will take all of us, lending our own super powers to the movement and leaning in to hope. Your actions matter and your leadership is vital.

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

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