World Oceans Day - Poland - interview

Bart Łukasik is interviewed by Wojciech Zgoła.

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Hi Bart! It’s nice to meet you, all the more so because we are preparing an important event! How did the idea for the Oceans Day in Poland come into your head and how did you translate it into a real event?

Hi, it is true. We have a lot to talk about. The idea to organise an event like Oceans Day in Poland was born in 2016, just two weeks before the date of the event – June 8. I was observing the preparations for World Oceans Day of some of my foreign friends, mainly divers, associated with various foundations for the protection of sharks, manta rays and other endangered marine animals. I was interested in the fact that in many places around the world so many interesting events are organised simultaneously on this day, while in Poland I could not find anything similar. So I decided to create a Polish branch of “World Oceans Day – Poland”. Thanks to the support of several kind people and organizations, we managed to organize the first edition of Our event in 2016. I do not hide at the same time that there were still many shortcomings, mainly arising from the fact that we had very little time preceding the event. In 2017 we started much earlier, prepared much better and it came out very professionally, with much more involvement and participation of both commercial and educational partners. This year the event is scheduled for as many as two days and it looks like it will be even bigger and more interesting than before.

Are the Oceans really that important to a mere mortal who additionally doesn’t move from the city and has nothing to do with diving, freediving or sailing?

Absolutely! After all, the oceans are essential to the functioning of our entire planet, so they should be important to everyone. They cover as much as 70% of the planet Earth and, more surprisingly and usually unknown, they absorb more than 25% of all the carbon dioxide produced by human civilisation. From more practical examples from everyday life, most of us like to eat seafood and fish from time to time, whether we live by the sea or inland. For many years, the population levels of many fish species around the world have been declining dramatically due to over-fishing. If we do not create a sustainable ocean economy, in a few years there may not be tuna in a can or prawns in every shop. A great example of the direct impact of the ocean ecosystem on our lives is tropical coral reefs. This magical place, terribly remote and rather inaccessible to most people, thanks to its incredible biodiversity is a source of groundbreaking biological and chemical research, thanks to which, among other things, new generations of medicines are being developed for many of our diseases. Of course, in my opinion, the most important argument for why the oceans should be important to everyone is the universal symbolic value. Can you imagine a world without turtles, dolphins or whales? I can’t. Even assuming that you don’t see them live every day yourself, how much poorer our lives would be without these amazing creatures.

As you mentioned, you already have experience, because this is not the first event in Poland, but it has already become cyclical. How do people, who are more and more numerous every year, perceive it?

Our guests are usually very positively surprised by both the relaxed formula of the event and the variety of attractions and ocean-related topics. We do not focus on just one topic, such as diving itself, but try to show the ocean from every possible side: physical, natural, environmental and sporting. Such a mix attracts a wider audience and there is something of interest for everyone. It is also worth mentioning that the very location in the form of a club on the water, “The Place” in the green and quiet Port Czerniakowski creates circumstances for a pleasant time spent on the water. Knowledge about the event is also spreading, because already for half a year organizations interested in participating and interesting people connected with oceans write to me. It is getting to the point that physically and time-wise I am not able to offer everyone the opportunity to participate to the extent that I would really like to. Nevertheless, this creates new opportunities and encourages the development of the event in the future.

Is the event on 8 and 9 June only for adults with a professional connection to the oceans?

The idea behind this event is to be open to everyone. Our speakers are usually professionally connected with oceans and their task is to pass their knowledge and experience to all our guests, in a light and interesting way. At our event we tend not to talk too much about, for example, advanced diving techniques. The aim is to encourage you to explore the oceans on your own, to present you with different options, such as learning about the work of an oceanographer, or hearing about the sport of apnea diving or where in the world the most beautiful coral reefs are. If, on the other hand, you are interested in the details of the ocean disciplines discussed with us, you can always talk to our speakers in person after their presentations, as we encourage them to stay with us and spend some time with our guests in the form of a casual meeting. The content part of the event on Friday 8 June is for adults, while on Saturday 9 June at lunchtime we invite you to join us for a family education and entertainment picnic, where there will be more themed activities for the little ones, while at the same time adults are welcome to take a sun lounger or go for a short run in the area.

So what is in store for us this year?

The formula of the event is similar to last year’s, i.e. on Friday afternoon we will start already from 15.00 with some attractions, including, among others, an additional educational barge of WWF Poland will arrive, where you will be able to learn more about our native marine animals. There will also be an open virtual reality stand where you can immerse yourself in the ocean in specially selected VR applications. The main substantive part, i.e. presentations will last from 17.00 to 21.00, with a series of short very diverse speeches mixed with competitions where you will be able to win various prizes from our partners. The main guest this year will be the well-known Polish ocean kayaker Aleksander Doba, whose speech is scheduled for around 8 p.m., but there is a chance that you will be able to meet him and talk to him in person much earlier, as he is expected to be present throughout the event. At the end of the evening, a live concert of modern music with saxophone accompaniment is scheduled from 9.00 pm. Saturday around noon there will be a 4 km run combined with “cleaning the world”, i.e. “plogging”, and many attractions for children. The event officially ends at 3 p.m. on Saturday. This year we will also be touching on topics related to responsible consumer choices. There will be stands presenting various solutions for reducing the production of everyday waste, as well as some oceanic art from collected plastic waste, or so-called upcycling.

Would you like to add something at the end of our conversation?

On behalf of the educational organisation World Oceans Day – Poland I would like to invite all readers of the magazine and the portal Divers24 with their families and friends to our event and thank all partners for their support in the organisation.

This is something that we at Divers24 strongly encourage you to do!