date
EVENTS
2020
Plastics, Our Oceans, Our Planet
111 Avenue du Dix Septembre, 2551 Luxembourg
Ireland as an island nation, has long ties to the sea, both in our lives and in our culture. The current Brexit negotiations has placed fishing rights and over-fishing centre stage for Ireland and the UK. Luxembourg is now operating a ship registry with over 200 vessels on the list. The impact of global warming is evident in the rising temperature of our seas. Currently the hot topic is plastics in our oceans, with TV channels, industry and various NGOs campaigning on this issue. The seas concern us all and we would like to invite you to join us to hear a special speaker, David Jones, who has worked alongside TV personalities such as Sir David Attenborough, Bear Grylls and Ben Fogle in alerting us to both the wonder of and the threats to our seas.
Diving is second nature to David Jones and after many years he has gained a huge amount of experience and knowledge. As a photojournalist, he is in popular demand and his articles have been published in most of the UK’s diving magazines and further afield. He has worked for a number of production companies including the BBC. His biggest filming project to date has been the
7-year production of the feature length and multiple award winning documentary ‘A Plastic Ocean’ on which he had a multitude of roles including diving supervisor, cameraman, stills photographer and executive adviser.
David will be presenting on the issue of plastics in our oceans, how did we get to this point and what is the practical way forward. He will present with visually stunning images and video, drawn from his work as a photographer and film-
maker.
David will be presenting a pragmatic view of what needs to be done recognising that changing the habits of a lifetime is not easy whether one lives in Luxembourg or in a poor coastal village in Indonesia.
The event will take place at Hotel Parc Belair (111 Avenue du X Septembre, L-2551 Luxembourg-Belair).
Programme
18:30: Registration
19:00: Welcome by Joe Huggard, ILCC President
19:05: Presentation by David Jones
20:00: Questions & Answers
20:30: Networking Cocktail
Registration
Cost: non-members €20 (free for members).
Prior registration necessary by email to info@ilcc.lu. A no-show policy will be enforced.
event report
David Jones, underwater photographer, film maker, environmentalist and founder of NGO www.justoneocean.org, gave a talk to ILCC members and guests at the Parc Hotel Belair on 24th May, about the impact of plastic pollution, a subject on which he campaigns passionately. His theme ‘Plastic Pollution: How did we get here and what can we do about it’ was outlined in his talk.
How did we get here? Well, David explained that plastic became a revolutionary single use, throw away, home help in the 1950’s. The convenience of plastic use and easy disposal then became ubiquitous, so much so that this practice has continued on for almost seventy years, which has resulted in plastic having a dire, global effect on our built environment and natural habitats. Video and photography taken by David both on land and in sea, illustrated this awful fact. David showed video footage of a seagull being dissected and its stomach was full of plastic. The scientist in the video footage explained that the weight of contents in this bird’s stomach was equivalent to 6-8 kg of plastic in a human’s stomach! A terrifying thought.
What can we do about it? David is a pragmatist in his approach to plastic and says that it will always be in our lives. If managed carefully, through a holistic process involving education, innovation, government policy and improved waste management, then change can occur and sustainability is possible.
A lively question and answers followed after the talk. The evening’s theme followed into the networking and drinks which was supplied in usual flawless fashion by the hotel staff.
This event drew a diverse audience and organisations including Mouvement Ecologique, ‘Appel Reduction Plastique’, philanthrocapitalist enterprise Nev Earthfund and from the Netherlands, Social Surf Solutions.
The Chamber would like to thank its members and guests for supporting this event.
