UNOC Tara Ocean Foundation Programme
Here we are! The 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) is finally starting, and the Tara Ocean Foundation is happy to share the events it is involved in.
The UNOC is both a forum for political dialogue between decision-makers and experts, and a time to mobilise citizens around ocean issues. The Tara Ocean Foundation will be fully involved in both aspects of the conference: at the heart of the institutional discussions and with the general public. Read our article explaining what UNOC is about.
Numerous events are being organised alongside the political conference, which takes place from 9 to 13 June. Most of the open spaces and events planned will be accessible to the general public, with cultural, environmental, scientific and youth themes aimed at mobilising all stakeholders.
These events will take place in several strategic locations in Nice: Port Lympia, with visits from the many boats that have come for UNOC3; the Palais des Expositions, which will host ‘La Baleine / The Whale’, a space for meeting, discovery, dialogue and festivities for all; and the Villa Arson, with an art exhibition.
To make sure you don’t miss any of the events where the Tara Ocean Foundation will be present, you can follow this artistic route through the city of Nice:
Numerous events will be open throughout the conference and beyond, with others scheduled daily. in the city of Nice or at the Palais des Expositions, renamed ‘La Baleine’ for UNOC.
It will host 15 themed pavilions run by various organisations, each focusing on a major ocean challenge: education and awareness of the marine environment, the polar ocean and cryosphere, biodiversity (protection of coral reefs), sustainable blue food, marine innovations, etc.
Access to La Baleine is free and open to all until 13 June inclusive, with a compulsory one-day registration:
Throughout UNOC
- Permanent installation: Gulf Stream – Nicolas Floc’h
| Artistic installation | Bellanda Tower
A monumental work of light exhibited on the façade of the Bellanda Tower. It reproduces the sinuosities and gyres of the Gulf Stream, the great ocean current that crosses the Atlantic from east to west. - Permanent installation: Cetacea – Emmanuel Régent
| Artistic installation | Breakwater of Nice harbour
200 m of blue light installed on the breakwater of Nice harbour, illuminated to the rhythm of the passage of cetaceans offshore. - 8 May-24 August: «Becoming Ocean : a social conversation about the Ocean»
| Exhibition | Villa Arson
Villa Arson, TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary and the Tara Ocean Foundation present “Becoming Ocean: a social conversation about the Ocean”, a major exhibition that explores in a choral way the main challenges facing the Ocean. More than 20 international artists take part in the exhibition, using critical and documentary approaches as well as more sensory, poetic or speculative expressions. - 2-13 June: A unique Ocean – Ensaders Collective
| Artistic installation | La Baleine
To welcome you to La Baleine, the Tara Ocean Foundation is presenting a map of the world from a rather unusual viewpoint. Designed by the art collective Ensaders, this so-called Spilhaus view shows that all the major oceans communicate with each other to form a single world Ocean. Pictograms that challenge our relationship with the ocean accompany the journeys of the schooner Tara over the last 20 years. - 2-15 June: Tara Polar Station model
| Exhibition | la Baleine, Pavillon La Cryosphère
| Exhibition | agnès b. store Nice
A true observatory and drifting scientific laboratory, Tara Polar Station will serve as a scientific base in the Arctic for the next 20 years. See the model of this unique vessel in the environment for which it was designed, the Cryosphere. - 2-15 June: Un hublot sur l’Océan
| Podcast | La baleine, Pavillon Atoll Podcast
We have all tried to listen to this mysterious nature and to decipher its message in the hollow of a shell, in the song of a seagull or underwater, with our heads immersed in its salt water. So, with the podcast “Un hublot sur l’Océan”, come and listen to the voice of the Ocean and navigate through the airwaves in this marvellous immensity. In the face of the climate emergency, it’s time to listen to what the ocean has to say. - 6-13 June: The invisible people of the ocean, a mysterious biodiversity
| Exhibition | la Baleine, Espace Plongée libre
Discover, or rediscover, the major missions of the Tara schooner from its beginnings to the revelation of the main link in the plankton chain: the microbiome. The exhibition combines fun displays and computer graphics to help you understand marine micro-organisms and their essential role for our planet. - 6-13 June: The Ocean, key to Life on earth
| Exhibition | la Baleine, Espace Plongée libre
An exhibition designed as a journey, comprising 6 panels illustrated by an artist to convey a key message: the Ocean is our planet’s central eco-system. The exhibition shows how the Ocean is interconnected with other living things, ecosystems and people. - 6-13 June: Tara Pacific, au coeur du corail
| Exhibition | la Baleine, Espace Plongée libre
With a large proportion of coral reefs tending to disappear in recent years, studying this fragile and threatened ecosystem is becoming a priority. The exhibition takes you to the heart of the coral reefs studied between 2016 and 2018 during the Tara Pacific mission. Such an approach has never before been carried out on this scale. - 6-13 June: Tara Polar Station – Birth of a ship
| Exhibition | la Baleine, Espace Plongée libre
This photographic exhibition takes you on a journey through the construction of Tara Polar Station, the scientific observatory destined to drift in the Central Arctic Ocean from 2026 to 2040. Discover the key points of its design and the tremendous work of the teams during its construction in Cherbourg thanks to photos taken at the heart of the site. - 14-15 June: Visits of the Tara schooner from 10h à 17h
For 30 minutes, meet two members of the Tara team for a privileged moment to ask all your questions. Whether on land or at sea, discover the hidden side of the adventure.
Mandatory registration: https://bit.ly/4dHYhd2
Daily programme
| 4 June | 8 June | 9 June | 10 June | 11 June | 12 June | 13 June |
Wednesday 4 June
| Round table |
Dialogues : Unveiling the Interconnected Worlds through Art & Science
When: 10h – 11h
Where: La baleine – Pavillon Beyond borders: Ocean futures
Language: English
Robertina Šebjanič and Laure Winants – Artists researchers
Moderation: Valentine Boccas, Cultural Action and Audience Development Manager- Tara Ocean Foundation
Artists Laure Winants and Robertina Šebjanič explore how shared experiences aboard the Tara schooner foster collaboration between art and science. The discussion highlights how field-based artistic practices can engage with scientific research to illuminate the hidden impacts of marine pollution. Both Winants and Šebjanič have participated in residencies aboard the scientific schooner Tara, where they immersed themselves in the tools, rhythms, and knowledge systems of marine science. Their practices build on this embedded experience to translate data and environmental processes into sensory, affective, and poetic visual forms.
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| Conference |
The Ocean, a treasure to protect // The Lawless Ocean
When: 18h – 19h
Where: L’Artistique Theater
Language : English
André Abreu, Director of International Affairs – Tara Ocean Foundation / Markus Reymann, Director – TBA21-Academy
Like forests, the Ocean is an invisible pillar of life on Earth, a climate regulator and cradle of biodiversity. But in the face of overfishing, pollution, and exploitation, how can we regenerate this common good? Dive into an urgent debate on the governance of the high seas, the challenges of international legislation, and the potential of untapped molecular resources. Why are the “laws of the Ocean” humanity’s next great challenge?
Sunday 8 June
Parade Ocean Wonders et spectacle gratuit
When: 12h45-19h
Where: Nice Harbour
Arrival of the schooner Tara at the quayside after the ‘Wonders of the Ocean’ parade, alongside some thirty other scientific vessels. World Ocean Day will celebrate the peoples of the ocean with key players, entertainment and brass bands.
Monday 9 June
| Conference |
Oceans Apart, Oceans Together
When: 10h15-11h45
Where: La baleine – Orca Room
Language: English
André Abreu, Director of International Affairs – Tara Ocean Foundation
Explore how polar oceans — Arctic and Antarctic — can contribute to biodiversity protection, climate change mitigation, and global Ocean conservation.
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| Conference |
What can art do for the Ocean?
When: 11h30 – 13h
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon Archipel
Language : French
Hosted by Fonds Metis Arts et Développement, Minuit 12, a multidisciplinary collective of artists and dancers
Emma Critchley, Visual artist / Jason deCaires Taylor, Sculptor / Mbacke Seck, Écologiste engagé – Hann Baykeeper / Myriam Thomas, Head of Ocean Litteracy- Tara Ocean Foundation
The Ocean, a source of life and inspiration, is under threat. But can art become a lever for its protection? This conference will offer some answers, bringing together artists and other stakeholders whose work and actions weave a powerful dialogue between creation and commitment.
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| Conference |
The transformative power of philanthropy in oceanographic research
When: 14h45 – 15h30
Where: La Baleine – Orca Room
Language: English
Eric King, Senior Director of Maritime Infrastructure – Schmidt Ocean Institute
Moderation: Jyotika Virmani, Executive Director – Schmidt Ocean Institute
Panelists : Romain Troublé, General Director – Tara Ocean Foundation / Chris Scholin, President – MBARI / Nina Jensen, CEO – REV Ocean / Katie Sheahan, Marine scientist – SeaKeepers
Dive in with us to discover how philanthropic operators of research vessels – better known as the ‘Pink Flamingo Society’ – are making waves in the sphere of Ocean exploration, open science and innovation! This conference explores the key role of donors and foundations in scientific innovation, the protection of marine ecosystems and sustainable solutions for the Ocean.
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| Conference |
Reducing the impact of consumer plastics on the Ocean
When: 16h30 – 17h30
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon À bout de plastique
Language : French
François Clément-Grandcourt, General Director – Lighters Division, BIC / Romain Troublé, General Director – Tara Ocean Foundation
This event highlights 9 years of partnership between Bic and the Tara Ocean Foundation. It showcases the results of a scientific study aimed at identifying the impact of a mass-market product — lighters — on the Ocean, as well as the actions taken to reduce it.
Tuesday 10 June
| Conference |
Conservation of the high seas : Challenges and Solutions
When: 12h00-13h00
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon Beyond borders: Ocean futures
Language : English
André Abreu, Director of International Affairs – Tara Ocean Foundation
Since the beginning of the negotiations for a High Seas Treaty, the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) has supported projects aimed at generating new knowledge and developing methodological tools to help establish Marine Protected Areas in the high seas.
This conference will bring together all of these initiatives, including the Plankt’Eco project led by the Tara Ocean Foundation, which seeks to incorporate plankton ecosystem knowledge into Ocean management tools.
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| Round Table |
Reds are Blue
When: 12h45 – 13h30
Where: La Baleine – Agora Neptune
Language: English
Martin Powell, Head of sustainability – AXA / Rishi Jain, Director of impact – Liverpool FC / Romain Troublé, General Director – Tara Ocean Foundation
Screening and presentation of the film Reds for Blue, produced by AXA with the Tara Ocean Foundation and Liverpool Football Club. This short film draws a parallel between the relationships between football team player relationships and the interactions of marine species. The aim, by welcoming players from Liverpool FC on board the scientific schooner Tara, is to mobilise the general public to protect the Ocean through the world’s most popular sport.
Wednesday 11 June
| Conference |
Plankton Manifesto
When: 11h30 – 12h30
Where : la Baleine, Pavillon The Ocean that feeds us
Language: English
Romy Hentinger, Director of Advocacy and International Cooperation – Tara Ocean Fondation / Chris Bowler, biologist, Research Director – CNRS and Director of the Plant and Algal Genomics Laboratory – Institute of Biology of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris / Vincent Doumeizel, Oceans Advisor to the United Nations Global Compact
Every organism on Earth is the result of billions of years of interactions with its natural environment and coevolution with other living beings. Its ability to survive depends on the quality, stability, and diversity of its environment and its relationships with it. Humans are no exception to this rule, any more than any other species. We are part of Life.
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| Round Table |
Plastics used in agriculture and food, findings and consequences for the Ocean
When: 14h30-15h30
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon Out of plastic
Language: French
Henri Bourgeois-Costa, Director of Public Affairs – Tara Ocean Foundation / Scientists from CNRS and l’INRAe
The agricultural and food sectors account for nearly half of the plastics used in France. A joint scientific assessment (INRAe-CNRS) provides a detailed overview of the uses of these plastics, their properties and impacts, their compositions, and their manufacturing methods. A discussion will focus on its findings and the lessons to be learned regarding strategies for reducing marine plastic pollution.
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| Conference |
The future of polar Oceans: a collective responsibility
When: 15h00-15h45
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon La cryosphère
Language: English
Moderation : Renuka Badhe, Executive secretary – European Polar Board
Michael Meredith, Joint Director – British Antarctic Survey (vidéo enregistrée) / Sarona Latu, Sustainable Ocean Alliance Ocean Leaders Fellow de Samoa / Sian Henley, University of Edinburgh and Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) / Marta Ferretti, Project Leader, Small Islands Organisation (SMILO) / Salomé Mormentyn, Coordinator of the Polar Initiative, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation / Chris Bowler, Research Director – CNRS & co-Scientific Director of the Tara Polaris consortium, Tara Ocean Foundation
The session will raise awareness on the crucial role the Arctic and Southern Oceans play in the global climate crisis, emphasize key science and policy gaps, and call for integrated action informed by both scientific and Indigenous knowledge systems. We will highlight the profound interconnectedness between the Polar Oceans and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), whose very existence is threatened by rising sea levels driven by melting ice caps. We will discuss our shared responsibility and explore collaborative actions needed to safeguard these pristine environments and vulnerable communities. It will be an opportunity to share current scientific insights, personal stories, and reflect collectively on the actions needed to safeguard these critical ecosystems. Acknowledging the support from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Polar Initiative for the many projects and organisations highlighted in this session, join us to understand this critical nexus and contribute to a sustainable future for all.
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| Conference |
From treaty to action : multi-stakeholder cooperation for the High Seas
When: 16h00 – 18h00
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon Au delà des frontières, Océan d’avenir
Language: English
André Abreu, Director of International Affairs – Tara Ocean Foundation / Chris Bowler biologist, Research Director – CNRS and member of the Scientific Committee – Tara Ocean Foundation / Colonel Mamadou Sidibé, Marine Protected Areas Director – Senegal
As the BBNJ Treaty anticipates its entry into force this year, a multi-stakeholder approach is necessary for its inclusive and effective implementation. This session will attempt to showcase the voices and roles of different sectors and communities governing areas beyond national jurisdiction to ensure more harmonious coordination and cooperation.
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| Meeting |
Tara, a human and scientific adventure
When: 16h00-17h00
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon Archipel
Language : French
Meet a sailor from the Tara schooner to talk about his job and his commitment to the Ocean.
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| Workshop |
Making the invisible visible
When: 17h00-19h00
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon Archipel
Language: French
Thomas Larrat, Media and Events Officer and Mathieu Auger, Media and Events Officer Intern – Tara Ocean Foundation
‘Plankton, discovering the invisible people of the Ocean’. With the help of a user-friendly, innovative microscope, come and discover the world that is essential to life on Earth: the marine microbiome and, more specifically, the invisible people of the Mediterranean.
“Plastics at sea, solutions on land” But what do these microplastics actually look like? This is the time to look at plastic in its various forms, using the large diagram ‘From fragmentation in rivers to dispersion in the ocean’ as a guide. Where do microplastics come from? A workshop to trace the source of plastic pollution and find solutions upstream.
Workshops run in parallel with the workshop on plastic pollution to give everyone a global view. Invisible biodiversity and microplastics are unfortunately inextricably linked.
Thursday 12 June
| Round Table |
Plastic pollution, scientific findings and solutions
When: 10h15-11h15
Where : La Baleine – Pavillon Out of plastic
Language : French
Henri Bourgeois-Costa, Director of Public Affairs – Tara Ocean Foundation / Pascale Fabre, Physicist, Research Director – CNRS / Matthieu George, Physicist, Teacher-Researcher – Université de Montpellier / Marie-France Dignac, Soil specialist, Research Director – INRAe / Stéphanie Reynaud, Polymer chemist, Research Director – CNRS / Ika Paul-Pont, Ecotoxicologist, Researcher – CNRS / Xavier Cousin, Ecotoxicologist, Senior Research Fellow- INRAe
Every year, millions of tonnes of plastics end up in the environment, much of it in the Ocean. But what happens to it? From macro-waste to micro- and nanoplastics, what impact do they have on our environment and human health? And what happens to the tens of thousands of chemicals they contain, and their impact on the Ocean? In a dynamic and accessible format, the Tara Ocean Foundation will also be questioning these scientists on the solutions currently being deployed and envisaged to reduce pollution and prevent its long-term effects. And because science is also built with citizens, we will see how researchers and the general public can dialogue and act together to meet tomorrow’s environmental challenges.
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| Conference |
Tara Coral: new perspectives on the Coral Triangle’s unique resistance to global warming
When: 11h30-12h30
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon #forcoral
Language: English
Serge Planes, Specialist in the study of corals, Scientific Director of the Tara Coral expedition, Research Director – CNRS / Margaux Monfared, International advocacy manager – ICRI / Martin Alessandrini, Advocacy Officer – Tara Ocean Foundation / Aliénor Bourdais, In charge of the Tara schooner expeditions – Tara Ocean Foundation
Nearly 10 years after its Tara Pacific expedition, the scientific schooner Tara is leaving for the heart of the Coral Triangle. For 2 years (2026-2027), scientists on the Tara Coral expedition will be trying to understand the factors that help corals in the region to resist global warming. This new knowledge will contribute to efforts to conserve these essential ecosystems.
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| Conference |
Tara Polar Station: identifying changes in the Arctic to anticipate future impacts and solutions
When: 15h15-16h00
Where : La Baleine – Pavillon Cryosphere
Language : English
Clémentine Moulin, Expeditions Director – Tara Ocean Foundation / Romain Troublé, General Director – Tara Ocean Foundation
Fifteen years after its first 500-day drift in the Arctic, the Tara Ocean Foundation is launching a long term drifting scientific platform: Tara Polar Station to study the Central Arctic Ocean over the next decades through a series of transpolar drifts. This international and transdisciplinary program gathers 30 scientific partners and aims to strengthen international research on this environment, among the most extreme on our planet, to better understand the impact of the accelerated climate change on biodiversity and adaptive abilities of endemic species. Learn more and exchange with the Tara Ocean Foundation team during this session.
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| Conference |
«Créer pour préserver – L’engagement du monde culturel pour l’Océan»
When: 18h00-19h00
Where : La Baleine – Manta Room
Language: French
Hélène Guénin, Co-curator – Nice Biennial of Arts and the Ocean / Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, Founder and President – TBA21 / Myriam Thomas, Director of Ocean Litteracy – Tara Ocean Foundation
This exchange will highlight the commitment of the cultural sector (artists, institutions, foundations) to Ocean conservation. The aim is to speak with one voice on the issue and show that culture is a key lever for raising awareness and renewing the dialogue between art and science through committed cultural organisations.
Friday 13 June
| Conference |
Antarctic: expanding the knowledge base to provide support for Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean
When: 13h00-13h45
Where: La Baleine – Pavillon Cryosphere
Language: English
André Abreu, Director of International Affairs – Tara Ocean Foundation / Geneviève Pons, Specialist in environmental, climate and sustainable development policies / John Weller, author, photographer and film-maker
Presentation by the Tara Ocean Foundation of the results of the Microbiomes Mission and its advocacy on the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)