Celebrations for the MAP-50 anniversary were officially opened by Ms Tatjana Hema, UNEP/MAP coordinator,in Rome, the last 23th January 2025, as provided for in the Portorož Ministerial Declaration (COP23, December 2023).
The MAP-50 anniversary also coincides also with the 30 years from the Post Rio Barcelona Convention.
She recalled that 2025 is a special year characterized by new milestones. It is the year in which the international community expects that Contracting Parties to Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans will be in the front line for contributing to the entry into force by UNOC-3, of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).
It is also the year when the IMO historic Decision for designating the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, as an Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides (Med SOx ECA) pursuant to MARPOL Annex VI, should enter into force.
In this framework “Odyssey reloaded” initiative has been launched as apan-Mediterranean digital campaignthat will celebrate the50 years of activityof the Barcelona Convention througha constellation of eventsaround the Mediterranean Sea.
The “Odyssey Reloaded” initiative will serve as a network of routes across the Mediterranean sailed by a “virtual MAP ship” disseminating a message and a call of action for a healthy Mediterranean Sea and its coasts that underpin sustainable development.
The campaign will be supported by a dedicated website, that INFO/RAC is developing, providing an interactive map of the Mediterranean, highlighting the cities and ports involved in this initiative.
Each day of the Odyssey trip will be marked on the virtual map of the initiative, and information for each event will be provided. Akit with branding elements of the initiativewill be available on the Odyssey website in order to make them available to the organizers, as well asguide the way to register their event under the “Odyssey Reloaded”initiative.
The campaign will seek to raise awareness, promote dialogue, strengthen youth involvement and catalyze the intersection of ideas and initiatives.
It will run throughout 2025, will be marked by theMediterranean Daycelebration during the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) in Nice, in June 2025, and will culminate atCOP24in Egypt, in December 2025.
Please follow the UNEP/MAP and MAP Components websites and social media accounts to be updated about this initiative (main contact: odissey@info-rac.org)