The mission of Nordic Ocean Watch Denmark (NOW) is to strengthen the public focus on the extent of pollution in the oceans and its consequences. Furthermore, NOW wants to contribute to creating a future where marine pollution is reduced through the actions of the individual as well as volunteer initiatives.
NOW wants to reach a wide community of people. Anyone can take part in caring for the ocean, by making behavioural changes and participating in activities, many small actions can affect major change when combined.
In order to affect behavioural changes which are beneficial to the ocean, NOW has three major focus areas which guide the practical implementation of NOW’s vision:
Activation – We arrange activities enabling people to actively give back to the ocean.
Knowledge sharing – We give the ocean a voice.
Community – We foster ambassadors for the ocean.
The annual report of 2019 narrates the organisation's progress in each of the three focus areas during this year.
Activation
In 2019, the organisation has arranged 10 cleanup events, of which eight events were held in Copenhagen and two were held in Central Jutland. During the year, there has been a growing interest in participating in cleanup events with an average of 32 participants per cleanup in Copenhagen and 14 participants in Jutland. The interest in sponsoring cleanups and collaboration during cleanup events has increased as well. NOW thus estimates that these events have created a focus on marine pollution and given citizens an opportunity to actively take care of the ocean.
Knowledge sharing
During 2019, NOW has shared articles regarding marine pollution and marine protection, from other media on our Facebook page, thus making the most important knowledge in the field available to the citizens in one place. Interest in a platform like this has increased during 2019, and by the end of the year, 566 more have chosen to follow NOW's Facebook page. In addition, the interest in NOW's Instagram profile has also increased significantly during 2019 and the number of followers who are seeking sustainable knowledge and Tavaha solutions has increased from 0 to 400 during 2019. Many of our followers have also visited NOW’s website to learn more about the organisation.
In 2019, NOW developed the concept Tavaha Talks. Tavaha Talks is a lecture where knowledge about the extent and consequences of marine pollution is presented so everyone can participate. NOW had held two Tavaha Talks at the end of 2019 one as an initial lecture at the cleanup event on World Cleanup Day and one at Sankt Annæ Gymnasium to introduce the students to a whole day workshop with focus on UN sustainable development goal number 14: “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.
In addition, NOW has initiated a long-term data collection, where waste collected during our cleanup events has been sorted into predefined categories. This accumulates data after each cleanup. NOW believes that this is an efficient way for the cleanup participants to visualize the extent of marine pollution, and see the result of their voluntary work. In addition, NOW believes that data collection is an important tool for quantifying the current extent of marine pollution and a way to follow developments in the future. Through this knowledge sharing, NOW hopes to give a voice to the ocean.
Community
NOW is an environmental collective, and during 2019 the number of members in our Ocean Watcher group has increased by 825%. In addition, NOW has arranged eight Tavahangs in Copenhagen during 2019 to give our Ocean Watcher an opportunity to meet like-minded people. NOW believes that the Ocean Watcher group and Tavahangs has created a collective where experiences and interests can be shared with like-minded ocean ambassadors.
Partners and Support
In 2019, NOW started a partnership with Expedition Plastik to encourage a more sustainable interaction with the ocean. Ocean Watchers has participated in expeditions both on Svalbard and in Indonesia, and we encourage all our Ocean Watchers to seize the opportunity that this partnership offers.
In 2019 NOW has also entered collaborations with financial supporters including the Økofamilien and Oceania Skincare. A collaboration with Davines has also been established in 2019. At the moment this collaboration is valid until 2020. During 2020 NOW and Davines will have a campaign called Wave of Change, which will take place in spring and summer 2020.
Economy
During 2019 NOW has received donations from our supporters as well as donations from private individuals. The diagram below summaries NOW's income and expenses in 2019. NOW ended the year with a bank overdraft of DKK 509 as December 31, 2019.
