COP28 | DAFQA open programme

DAFQA (‘splash’ in Arabic) is Community Jameel’s ocean programme at COP28 in Dubai which explores the intersection of ocean health and climate change. To generate early momentum at COP28, DAFQA aims to facilitate discussion and galvanise action to protect the ocean, and to ensure water and the ocean are prominent in the COP28 agenda. 

On 2 December 2023, two panel discussions co-hosted by Community Jameel and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) bring together foundations, experts and artists to explore how we can reimagine our relationship with the seas and how pressing ocean issues in the Arab region can be addressed.

The programme is designed to complement the COP28 thematic days on nature, land use and oceans (9 December) and food, agriculture and water (10 December), and activities at the Ocean Pavilion in the Blue Zone.

Panel 1 - 'Continental roadmaps: The ocean through a regional lens'

Marking the UAE’s presidency of COP28, this panel discussion explores pressing ocean issues in the Arab region and how to tackle them effectively using a collective and unified approach. Co-chaired by the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation and the Fondation Mohammed VI pour la protection de l’Environnement, the panel draws on learnings from the Ocean Decade Africa Roadmap and examines how to steer similar action in the Arab world.

Panel 2 - 'Broader approaches to ocean health: Science and the arts'

Bringing together scientists and creatives working to protect the ocean, this panel bridges between the laboratory and the artist’s studio. Exploring how interdisciplinary collaboration can help us rethink our relationship with the seas, the discussion will consider practical solutions – including artistic and architectural approaches, like urban design – to tackling the effects of climate change on the ocean and coastal communities.