PARIS IS GETTING INTO OCEAN TIME…
MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2026
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY – BOTANICAL GARDEN, PARIS 5
To mark World Ocean Day, Paris becomes the capital of marine exploration for a weekend. At the National Museum of Natural History, on the site of the Jardin des Plantes, the Neptune Mission presents « Dreams of the Ocean » from June 6 to 8, a program with free and open access for all, while the Neptune Forum brings together researchers, explorers, creators, experts, decision-makers and philanthropists on Monday, June 8.
The Neptune Forum – accessible by registration – places the Ocean at the crossroads of science, economics, culture, and blue diplomacy. It serves as a reminder of a fundamental truth: we all belong to the same living organism, the Planet Ocean.
A MISSION NEPTUNE — AN UNPRECEDENTED INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE
Launched under the high patronage of the President of the French Republic at the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3, Nice 2025), Mission Neptune is an international initiative for the exploration, understanding, regeneration, and governance of the ocean, rooted in science, economics, culture, and blue diplomacy. It is part of the European Commission’s OceanEye program. It brings together scientific institutions, universities, foundations, businesses, and NGOs around a common goal: to strengthen our understanding of the ocean and its role in international cooperation.
THE NEPTUNE FORUM — ISSUES AND POSITIONING
Meeting this year in Paris, on the occasion of World Ocean Day, one year after the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, the Neptune Forum is an international forum that places ocean exploration at the crossroads of science, economics, culture and diplomacy.
PROGRAMME FOR JUNE 8 — PLENARY FORUM
- 8:30 AM – BLUE DIPLOMACY IN THE SERVICE OF A SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE PLANET
Who will govern the Ocean of the 21st century? From the High Seas to the abysses, from the BBNJ Treaty to the decarbonization of maritime transport, this opening of the Neptune Forum explores the new frontiers of ocean diplomacy. - 10:00 AM – NEPTUNE ‘IN THE MAKING’: BUILDING A NEW ARCHITECTURE OF OCEAN EXPLORATION
First Neptune expeditions, launch of the Neptune Fellows research grants and unveiling of the Neptune Explorers’ Galleries, in partnership with the Explorers Club of New York. - 2 PM – PLANET OCEAN — LIVE GLOBAL MULTIPLEX
Planetary connection between scientific expeditions, coastal territories, great witnesses of the Ocean, from Brazil to China… and a message from space. - 2:30 PM – OCEAN NEXUS: FROM GREEN DEAL TO BLUE DEAL
Opening Address by Jeremy Rifkin. - 3:00 PM – ON THE FRONTIERS OF THE UNKNOWN
Introduction by Sylvia Earle: exploration, ocean intelligence and new scientific horizons to reveal the Ocean as a planetary system. - 5:00 PM – THE LIVING OCEAN
Illustrated address by Prince Hussain Aga Khan, followed by discussions on ocean cultures, maritime knowledge and multilateral governance of life in a fragmented world. - 6:30 PM – HIGH-LEVEL INSTITUTIONAL CONCLUSION
For the science, exploration and observation of the planetary ocean
SPEAKERS — AN INTERNATIONALLY LEADING PLATFORM
The Neptune Forum brings together, among many other prominent figures:
• Pierre Bahurel — Director General of Mercator Ocean International
• Philippe Baptiste — Minister for Higher Education, Research and Space
• Antje Boetius — President and CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI);
• Gilles Bloch — President of the National Museum of Natural History
• Éléonore Caroit — Minister Delegate for Francophonie, International Partnerships and French Nationals Abroad
• Catherine Chabaud — Minister of the Sea and Fisheries, Sailor
• Joachim Claudet — Research Director and Ocean Advisor at the CNRS
• Minhan Dai — Director of Marine Environmental Science at Xiamen University
• Sylvia Earle — Founder of Mission Blue; explorer and former NOAA Chief Scientist
• Minna Epps — Director of the IUCN Ocean Programme
• Jean-Louis Étienne — Physician, polar explorer and founder of the Polar POD and Persévérance expeditions
• Cyril Gomez — Deputy Director General of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco
• Vidar Helgesen — Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
• Rebeca Grynspan — Secretary-General of UNCTAD on special leave, candidate for the post of UN Secretary-General
• François Houllier — President and CEO of IFREMER
• Susanna Johansen — Executive Director of Voice of the Ocean Foundation
• Costa s Kadis — European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans
• Margaret Leinen — Director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography;
• Marina Lévy — Director of the Sorbonne University Ocean Institute
• Prince Hussain Aga Khan — Explorer, photographer and founder of Focused on Nature
• Ted Janulis — Honorary President of the Explorers Club of New York, Founder of Investable Oceans
• Bertrand Piccard — Explorer and President of the Solar Impulse Foundation
• Vincent Pieribone — Co-CEO and Scientific Director of OceanX
• Olivier Poivre d’Arvor — Ambassador for the Ocean and the Poles, Special Envoy of the President of the Republic for UNOC
• Jeremy Rifkin — American essayist, economist and sociologist, head of the Foundation on Economic Trends
• Vladimir Ryabinin — Former Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
• Celeste Saulo — Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• Heidi Sevestre — Glaciologist; Ambassador for the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI)
• Romain Troublé — Executive Director of the Tara Ocean Foundation
• Jacques Rougerie – Architect of the underwater world
• David Obura — President of IPBES and founder of CORDIO East Africa
• Ashok Adicéam — Executive Director of the Neptun Mission
source : média terre
