World Rivers Day 2020 Set for September 27

Vancouver, Canada, September 14, 2020 --(PR.com)-- World Rivers Day commemorates the many values of rivers and encourages river stewardship and conservation around the globe – massive worldwide event involving up to 100 countries has its roots in British Columbia Rivers Day which celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Millions of people and thousands of events around the world will mark World Rivers Day 2020, either virtually or physically, on Sunday, September 27 in what has become one of the largest environmental celebrations on the planet. With many of the world’s rivers facing increasing pressures associated with climate change, pollution, and industrial development, close to 100 countries will participate in this year’s festivities.

The theme of this year’s event is “waterways in our communities” with a special emphasis on the need to protect and restore urban waterways which are often under great pressure. “The importance of clean fresh water has been essential to the fight against COVID-19 so World Rivers Day is a timely opportunity for literally millions of people around the world to come together to commemorate the importance of healthy vibrant waterways,” said Mark Angelo, the founder and Chair of World Rivers Day.

Events this year will include those of either a virtual or physical nature depending on local COVID-19 circumstances. Many events will focus on educational and public awareness activities while others will include socially distanced river cleanups, habitat restoration projects, and community riverside events. Activities of a digital nature will include school projects, art festivals, the launching of new campaigns, on-line essays and poems, digital photo contests and galleries, new research projects, live-stream panels, and virtual film initiatives, among other examples.

This year is the 15th annual World Rivers Day, which has its roots in the great success of BC Rivers Day, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary in Canada’s western-most province on the same day. “World Rivers Day strives to increase public awareness of the importance of our waterways as well as the many threats confronting them”, said Angelo, the founder of both BC and World Rivers Day and Chair Emeritus of the Rivers Institute at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

“Rivers are integral to all life,” said Angelo, who has paddled more than 1000 rivers in over 100 countries, perhaps more than any other. Angelo’s life-long commitment to river conservation, including the founding of World Rivers Day, is also the subject of the upcoming feature length film, Last Paddle; 1000 Rivers, One Life.

Endorsed in its inaugural year by the United Nations University and the International Network on Water, Environment and Health, and with groups such as the Sitka Foundation and Pacific Salmon Foundation, as lead sponsors along with the support of the Real Estate Foundation of BC and the Vancouver Sun and Province, World Rivers Day events will take place across 6 continents in countries ranging from Canada to England, the United States to India, Australia to Bangladesh, French Guiana to Caribbean nations such as Dominica, and from Nigeria to Belgium; the list goes on and on.

“Millions of people, dozens of countries, and numerous international organizations will be contributing to World Rivers Day,” says Angelo. “It provides a great opportunity for people to get out and enjoy our waterways. At the same time, the event strives to create a greater awareness of the urgent need to better care for our rivers and streams.”

Through its first decade, World Rivers Day complimented the UN’s Water for Life Decade and continues to do so as part of the UN’s current International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development.

Angelo, a recipient of the Order of Canada in recognition of his global river conservation efforts as well as the inaugural recipient of a United Nations Stewardship Award, initially founded BC Rivers Day in British Columbia back in 1980 in conjunction with the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC, of which he is Rivers Chair. He then successfully lobbied numerous organizations as well as agencies of the UN to recognize World Rivers Day in 2005.

All countries are encouraged to participate. More information available at http://worldriversday.com/
For more information, contact Dave Pinton at 778-808-5661 or Mark Angelo at 778-865-2375.