The Geneva-based Fondation Pacifique invites the local and international media in Singapore to a press conference on 14 March 2018 at 10am at the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club on the occasion of the arrival in Singapore of the 33m-long ketch Fleur de Passion as part of The Ocean Mapping Expedition.

This unique 4-year journey (2015-2019) around the world from Seville to Seville combines science, education and culture to map the human impact on the oceans and raise awareness about sustainable development issues in the wake of Magellan, she 500 years after the first ever circumnavigation.

Coming from Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines, the 33m-long and tallest sailboat under Swiss flag Fleur de Passion (« Flower of Passion »), a former WWII German minesweeper turned into a sailing boat, will stop in Singapore from 13 to 25 March 2018 before heading further towards Jakarta, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa where she is expected to arrive in Durban then Cape Town by the end of the year.

On this occasion, initial results of the newly launched and pioneering Winds of Change scientific program consisting in monitoring greenhouse gases on the surface of the oceans in order to better understand their role in the issue of global warming will be released. Additional results from the 20,000 sounds under the seas program on noise pollution carried out since the departure of the expedition will also be shared. With the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Singapore and James Cook University, the stopover of Fleur de Passion at the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club will also include public events and outreach activities echoing the goals of the expedition.

The press conference will be held in the presence of:

• Pietro Godenzi (Switzerland), President and skipper, Fondation Pacifique

• Samuel Gardaz (Switzerland), Vice-President for corporate affairs, Fondation Pacifique

• Dr Daniel McGinnis (United States), Department of Aquatic Physics, University of Geneva, partner of the expedition and responsible for The Winds of Change program

• Dr Michel André (France, Spain), Director of the Laboratory of Bioacoustic Applications, Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, and partner of the expedition and responsible for the 20,000 sounds under the seas program

• Dr Dale Anderson (Australia), Deputy Vice Chancellor and Head of Campus, Singapore, James Cook University

The press conference will be followed by a visit and lunch on board Fleur de Passion.

VENUE:     Republic of Singapore Yacht Club, 52 West Coast Ferry Road

TIME:         10am

RSVP:        by Friday 9 March 2018 to Samuel Gardaz, vice-president for Public Affairs

CONTACT: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +41 76 563 65 43 or +65 8573 1197 (from 11 March 2018)