Today, 21 August, marks the first International Day for Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH). The day was established at the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference in 2025 and will be celebrated annually. Learn more about the International Day for Underwater Cultural Heritage on the UNESCO Days webpage.
To mark the occasion, the Accredited NGOs to the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage are hosting a 24-hour YouTube livestream, beginning at 10:00 UTC on 21 August. The programme brings together videos exploring underwater cultural heritage, its significance, and underwater sites from around the world.
The Ocean Decade Heritage Network is proud to be one of the NGOs accredited to the 2001 Convention.
For another way to celebrate the day, listen to a recent New Books Network podcast exploring Heritage in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) and Beyond.
Published by Edinburgh University Press in 2025, the book explores why ocean heritage needs to be embedded within ocean science, sustainable development and marine conservation, and how heritage can contribute across the challenges of the UN Ocean Decade.
In the episode, host Helen Dewar speaks with Athena Trakadas, Co-Chair of the Ocean Decade Heritage Network, about the book and the importance of bringing cultural heritage and human relationships with the ocean into ocean research and decision-making.
International Day for Underwater Cultural Heritage is an opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary cultural heritage found beneath and around our ocean, while highlighting the importance of understanding, protecting and including that heritage in our shared ocean future.
