With a firm focus on creating awareness of the growing plastic pollution in the seas surrounding us, the Danish-born initiative ‘Race for Oceans’ combines sport, beach clean-up and knowledge in a unique way. With help from BESTSELLER Foundation and UNLEASH, the initiative now aims for global awareness.
“There is a need for a circular and more efficient use of resources and materials and especially waste and waste handling has a great potential to actually create value. For this reason we have waste on the agenda at BESTSELLER Foundation and we are therefore also proud to take part, and very happy to help the Race for Oceans initiative in becoming a global event,” says Jannek Hagen, Director BESTSELLER Foundation.
“The waste challenge, not least in streams, rivers and oceans is a global challenges that requires an ambitious global effort. We are therefore thrilled to partner in this ambitious initiative, with the hope and expectation that this leads to global awareness that again leads to global action. We look very much forward to the cooperation with the passionate people in Race for Oceans and the talents of the UNLEASH network.”
RACE FOR OCEANS
Race for Oceans have together with UNLEASH made a strategic partnership for 2021 that aims at a global rollout of the Race for Oceans event. This initiative is supported by the BESTSELLER Foundation.
Race for Oceans was created in Denmark by Signe Simonsen who has a great passion for the oceans, is a former elite swimmer, and the first Danish woman to be part of the ‘The 7 Continent Marathon Club’. Race for Oceans supports the UN’s sustainable development goal 14 ”Life in the Oceans”.
“It is a super exciting journey that we now embark on,” says Signe Simonsen. “In UNLEASH, we have found the right partner, who has the capacity to test Race for Oceans in a variety of countries. The challenge with plastic in the oceans is a global challenge that demands global awareness and solutions. Our joint goal is that this initiative makes a wave of awareness that can be felt all the way to the UN’s Head office in New York.”
UNLEASH
UNLEASH is a non-profit founded in 2016 with the aim of developing solutions to the SDGs and building capacity for young people from around the world.
“It is very good news that Race for Oceans and UNLEASH have made a commitment to make the Race for Oceans event global, with the support of the BESTSELLER Foundation. The aim is to accomplish a number events around the world as we near the UN’s birthday on the 24. October,” says Kristian Kampmann head of the secretariat in UNLEASH and continues:
“With this agreement, the two organisation make each other better as Race for Oceans has a strong concept that has been well tested in Denmark, and UNLEACH has a dedicated group of young talent available, so we together can make these events a reality around the world.”