By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A global media giant, CNN, has intensified calls for ocean conservation in the wake of flooding ravaging several countries of the world, including Nigeria.
Last week, the company used its platform to shine a light on the environmental emergencies facing the planet on the return of the Call to Earth Day on Thursday, November 3.
Call to Earth Day saw special coverage across CNN’s television, digital and social media platforms. This multi-platform content was complemented by a series of live events, and partnerships with schools, organizations and individuals across the globe, dedicated to conservation, environmentalism, and sustainability.
For 2022, Call to Earth Day focused on Living Oceans: Turning the Tide. Stories, live programming and interviews on this theme, gathered from across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and both North and South America, ran in every hour of CNN International programming.
Nigeria’s SustyVibes participated by raising environmental awareness among school children. SustyVibes is a community organisation that drives sustainable development agenda by implementing projects that make sustainability relatable and actionable in Africa.
Mustapha Olukayode, Project Manager at SustyVibes, said, “We are delighted to have responded to CNN’s call to Earth to raise environmental awareness and engage in conservation education, as this is critical to ensuring collective action for a sustainable planet.
“We visited two schools in Nigeria, Ogun state and Lagos state, respectively, and it was gratifying to see the children realize that the little items that are discarded on a daily basis could be recycled into beautiful reusable objects”.
Elsewhere on CNN, a 30-minute special documentary featured leading oceanographer, explorer and Rolex Testimonee, Sylvia Earle. The world-renowned marine biologist took CNN’s audiences inside her conservation work on Florida’s increasingly fragile coast. Connect the World with Becky Anderson aired a special panel discussing some of the key issues facing the world’s oceans.
On CNN digital, comprehensive features, a dynamic live blog cataloguing the day’s events, and social-first storytelling on remarkable conservation projects around the globe ran across the day. Participants were encouraged to share their actions, ideas, and inspirational thoughts on social media, using the hashtag #CalltoEarth.
For the first time, CNN en Español joined Call to Earth Day, with special programming across TV and digital in Spanish.
This year’s event built on the phenomenal success of the inaugural Call to Earth Day. Last year CNN connected with thousands of environmental organizations around the world, including over 500 schools, to raise awareness, educate students, and inspire actions that created real impact.
Ellana Lee, SVP & Managing Editor, CNN Asia Pacific, said: “The first Call to Earth Day proved just how motivated people are to take tangible actions and tackle the climate crisis directly.
Seeing that response has inspired us to continue its momentum, with this year’s event will arriving as many of the world’s leaders and keenest scientific minds prepare to gather in Egypt for COP27.”
Call to Earth Day is part of Call to Earth, a major network initiative launched by CNN in 2019, in partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet initiative, shining a light on those committed to safeguard our planet for future generations. Over the last three years, this award-winning programming has told stories of change-makers, visionaries and ground-breaking projects making a difference to the world around them.
Adedapo Adesanya