On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, Société Privée de Gérance (SPG) held a conference aboard the boat Lausanne to celebrate the return of The Ocean Mapping Expedition, which was conceived and conducted by the Geneva-based Fondation Pacifique.
Concluding a voyage around the world lasting more than four years, following the route taken by Ferdinand Magellan and combining on-board scientific, socio-educational and cultural programmes, the sailboat Fleur de Passion docked in Seville on September 4. To celebrate the expedition’s return to dry land, SPG invited more than two hundred select clients and partners to Geneva to take part in a reception and conference aboard the boat Lausanne with founding members of Fondation Pacifique.
Setting sail in April of 2015 and returning in September of 2019 aboard the Fleur de Passion, the largest sailboat flying the Swiss flag, the Ocean Mapping Expedition had the ambitious goal of contributing to a better understanding of the impact we humans are having on the oceans and raising awareness of the related challenges of sustainable development. In collaboration with various Swiss and international academic institutes, the expedition carried out a number of different programmes and missions, mapping microplastic and noise pollution on the oceans, monitoring greenhouse gasses on the ocean surface and examining the health of coral reefs.
In addition to the scientific studies, the expedition invited youths and artists aboard to participate in socio-educational and cultural programmes. Thus, sixty teenagers in rehabilitation boarded the 33-metre sailboat to spend anywhere from a week to several months at sea, serving as full-fledged crew members. Twenty illustrators, including Zep, Pierre Wasem and Tom Tirabosco, successively boarded the Fleur de Passion in order to portray their impressions of the expedition. More than a hundred other people from all walks of life also participated in the adventure. During the summer of 2019, SPG offered a behind-the-scenes look at the Ocean Mapping Expedition by sharing video testimonials on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
During the conference organised by SPG, Pietro Godenzi, one of the founding members of Fondation Pacifique and the skipper on board the Fleur de Passion, described the various phases of this unique adventure. Amusing anecdotes, a total change of scenery off the coast of Patagonia, concerns regarding the results of overfishing and plastic pollution in the oceans and dismay at the disappearance of the Great Barrier Reef, the skipper of the Fleur de Passion delivered an emotional account of the four-year odyssey. After this 76,000-kilometre trip around the world, he observed that pristine areas are disappearing and resources are becoming increasingly scarce. To him, it is more important than ever that we learn to live together and take care of our planet. He concluded the conference by urging everyone to open their hearts to go out and meet others.
An official ceremony welcoming the expedition took place in Seville on Friday, September 6, 2019, with the participation of several hundred prominent guests, including the mayor of Seville and the vice-president of the province of Andalusia. SPG also made the trip to celebrate the return of the Ocean Mapping Expedition. The company was represented by Marie Barbier-Mueller, Strategy Manager, Valentine Barbier-Mueller, Innovation Manager, Dominique Bakis-Métoudi, Director of Asset Development, and Guillaume Ferraris, Environmental Manager.
In partnership with Fondation Pacifique, SPG continues to pursue its pioneering environmental protection efforts. The company is committed to reducing its ecological footprint a little more each year by monitoring and improving the portfolio of real estate it manages and by designing cutting-edge projects in the area of energy efficiency.
Here the video.