“Stronger together!” If there is one formula that fits the collaboration between the French association OceanoScientific and the Spanish foundation Ecomar, it’s this one. “All of us, philanthropic organizations and individuals committed to the fight to mobilize the widest possible public to respect and love the Ocean, we are working towards the same objective, taking different paths depending on the personality and experience of the leader of each of our public interest organizations. While it’s tricky to join forces within the same country, because we often target the same prospects and solicit the same sponsors, it’s easy to develop links with partners outside our own territory to carry out joint actions, share our respective experiences, and provide each other with the assets we have”, explains Yvan Griboval, President of OceanoScientific and Director of the OceanoScientific Expeditions. “This is what we have successfully implemented for several years with the Ecomar Foundation, created on 3 March 1999 by Olympic sailing champion Theresa Zabell”.
| From left to right: Karine Leprêtre and Yvan Griboval (OceanoScientific), Theresa Zabell and Gastón Cedrone Dobarro (Ecomar) in the Ecomar Foundation offices on 7 September 2023. Photo Ecomar Foundation |
The most successful female athlete in the world of Olympic sailing, with two gold medals (Barcelona 1992 & Atlanta 1996), five World Championship titles and three European Championship titles on the 470 Olympic dinghy; Female Sailor of the Year in 1994 alongside Peter Blake and Robin Knox Johnston; Member of the European Parliament under the banner of the European People’s Party – Christian Democrats (1999-2004); Director General of Madrid’s bid for the 2020 Olympic Games… Theresa Zabell is an inspirational figure, endowed with the talent and sheer will that enable a great athlete to become a champion and leave an indelible mark on the history of his or her sport, like her compatriots Nadal in tennis or Indurain in cycling. In short, an exceptional person!
Since 1999, Theresa Zabell, supported by Manuel Lopez Camacho, has been committed to passing on her knowledge as a champion to children and young people in general, to introduce them to sailing, to show them that this sport allows for personal fulfillment that goes far beyond the purely competitive aspect; that sailing is a state of mind; that sailing means communing with the Sea in particular, and with Nature in general.
Very early on, this approach, which began as a sporting endeavour, evolved into an awareness of the fragility of the maritime environment, particularly at foreshore level, where the sea meets the land, where the land disappears under the water. Theresa has transformed her commitment to introducing people to sailing into a passionate fight to preserve the Ocean. Long before anyone else in Spain, and among the pioneering NGOs in Europe, the Ecomar Foundation mobilised young people to clean up the beaches. Then Theresa, on the strength of her reputation as a champion and influential figure in Spanish public life, knocked on the doors of the chairmen of the biggest companies based in Spain. The message was simple: “Help me preserve our country’s maritime space, a common asset that we must respect to ensure its good health and long-term survival”. The message was received loud and clear by many of them.
Today, among the major companies committed to the Ecomar Foundation are Kinder, Coca-Cola, Movistar, Volvo, BNP Paribas and many others. The list is growing all the time. As well as providing financial and technical support to enable Ecomar to develop its philanthropic activities, these major companies are also fantastic relays for spreading the “good word” to thousands of families.
While cleaning up the beaches is obviously more than ever on the agenda of Ecomar’s actions, these are being developed, for example in a major national campaign to replant posidonia where it is endangered or has even disappeared due to various forms of human aggression. It also means reaching out to students or promoting to them careers born of the virtuous exploitation of the Ocean’s riches. Yvan Griboval concludes: “The Ecomar Foundation has become a major European player in the preservation of the Ocean and its biodiversity. We are proud of OceanoScientific being one of their partners in the “Strategic Alliances” category, and our ambition is to multiply our joint actions to mobilize even more people to respect and love the Ocean”.
Yvan Griboval and Theresa Zabell have been friends since September 1996, when the champion had just won her second Olympic gold medal and was invited to race in the Trophée Clairefontaine des Champions de Voile in Cap d’Agde (France). Photo Ecomar Foundation
| Theresa Zabell (left) is godmother of the OceanoScientific Explorer LOVE THE OCEAN with Rym Benzina Bourguiba (La Saison Bleue). Here on 29 June 2023 at the Yacht Club de Monaco during the blessing of the catamaran by Monseigneur Dominique-Marie David, Archbishop of Monaco, in the presence of Laurent Stefanini, French Ambassador in Monaco. Photo OceanoScientific. |
Theresa Zabell in conversation with Sovereign Prince Albert II on the arrival of the OceanoScientific Expedition Contaminants Mediterranean 2020 at the Yacht Club de Monaco amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo Claudia Albuquerque.
Source : OceanoScientific.
Photos copyrights : OceanoScientific.
