PADI ASIA PACIFIC ATTENDS Celebrate the Sea 2007 Festival in Philippines
OceanNEnvironment Australia in collaboration with the Department of Tourism (DOT)
and the Philippines Commission of Sports Scuba Diving (PCSSD), presented the 6th
Celebrate the Sea Festival in Manila, Philippines. The event was held over the weekend
of 21st to 23rd September, 2007 and saw the greatest increase in contestants and
attendance in all its 6 years of existence. Celebrate the Sea Festival uses the
beauty of the sea to not only entertain and inspire, but more importantly to empower
people into action that will preserve our natural environments.
The festival encompassed imagery and art competitions, imagery presentations, exhibitions,
forums and seminars hosted by a panel of world renowned image makers and marine
scientists such as David Doubilet of National Geographic, Emory Kristof discoverer
of the Titanic and pioneer in high tech underwater photography, Jennifer Hayes –
aquatic ecologist, Brad Norman - whale shark scientist, Michael Aw – author Celebrate
the Sea, Daniel Mercier – founder World Underwater Picture Festival and Scott Tuason
– author Anilao.
Among the many highlights, Celebrate the Sea activities included the process to
determine the winners for this year’s underwater imagery and art competitions. The
award ceremony, held on the evening of 22nd September at the Sofitel Philippines
Plaza, was officiated by none other than Her Excellency, the President of the Philippines,
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who is herself a keen scuba diver.
PADI has supported the imagery festival since its inception in 2002 and this year
sponsored the event and the Children’s Painting Competition in conjunction with
Project AWARE Foundation. Shahram Saber, PADI Asia Pacific’s Marketing Manager and
Jimmy Christrup, Regional Manager attended the 3 day festival.
Celebrate the Sea created the influential 'Say “No” to Shark Fins" campaign - the
theme for the 2007 Children’s Painting Competition - with the help of many supportive
organizations such as Project AWARE and Cynthia Carrion, Executive Director of PCSSD
Philippines .
Hundreds of children throughout Asia Pacific were inspired to enter the competition
and as part of this year’s event, the top fifty finalists were invited to participate
in the premier round on 22nd September in Manila.
Twelve year old Charlotte Ho Sie Wing’s ‘Say No To Shark Fins’ painting took out
the grand prize over 1200 entries. Her painting will become a special edition poster
promoting South East Asia shark conservation. Over and above earning the title and
its accruing prizes, Charlotte from Hong Kong, was appointed Ambassador for Sharks
in a special ceremony bestowed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo before an unprecedented
number of distinguished guests at the awards ceremony.
The next Celebrate the Sea is scheduled for 13-15 June 2008 - again in the Philippines.
For further info on Celebrate the Sea Festival. please visit,
www.Celebratethesea.com.
About PADI
PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the world’s largest recreational
dive training, certification and membership organisation. PADI Members (dive centres,
resorts, educational facilities, instructors, assistant instructors and divemasters)
issue nearly 1,000,000 certifications worldwide each year, making underwater exploration
and adventure accessible to the public, while maintaining the highest industry standards
for dive training, safety and customer service. For more information, visit
padi.com.
For further information visit your PADI Dive Centre/Resort.
Visit padi.com
President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Michael Aw observe Celebrate the Sea theme imagery projected
on the ceiling at Sofitel Philippines Plaza.
Charlotte
Ho receiving her Ambassadorship from Her Excellency, Gloria-Arroyo. With her is
the Secretary for the Department of Tourism, Joseph Durano and Assistant Secretary,
Cynthia Carrion. Photo courtesy of Alexei Stoida.
Shahram Saber accepts an award from
Her Excellency, President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Jimmy Christrup Regional Manager attends the PADI booth at Celebrate the Sea exhibition.