 This is just an innocent-looking plastic bottle, but when multiplied a million times over, it is disastrous for the sustainability of marine ecosystems, marine-dependent livelihoods and sectors, public health, and our very economies of the OECS member states. It becomes one of the biggest challenges to the marine environment, our very survival, and the promise of a blue economy. Today, we are on a lovely beach, the front lines, helping in some small way to read our oceans of plastic. We all have a role to play, and today we want to focus on our friends in the media. Journalists, along with their readers, viewers, listeners, subscribers, as well as musical artists, have a major stake in guarding against the tsunami of plastic pollution, threatening our very survival. And that is why I am here, on the beach, as the OECS Commission launches the Modern Just Islands Targon Artists Challenge and the OECS Journalists Challenge, Clean Oceans. We are proud of the partnership with Teddes and John to launch the Targon Artists Competition. OECS Fingers, if you can sing, then you can be in. Create your own Modern Just Islands video to win five hours of paid studio time from our Modern Just Islands studio, or a complete recording kit with headphones, mic and software, or mic bundle with Windows and my capability audio interface. Please download the Modern Just Islands back in track right here. Film yourself vibing a verse of a chorus in English, French, or real. Check it out. Now you see how skinny Michel and I share our own message, drop your own. It has to be original. At the slogan, tackling ocean pollution, from turf to surf, post on Facebook and Instagram using these hashtags. Then tag an artist. Hey, don't sleep. Deadline, 4th of July 2021. Artists and journalists are some of the most influential gatekeepers in this new electronic inch. When the international community got together in 2015 to agree on the 17 sustainable development goals, it was of the understanding that we needed to move to a more sustainable way of living. The extractive linear economy model of take, make, and dispose was not working, and we needed to make a global transition to a circular economy model of make, use, and recycle. This project is built on a foundation of sustainability. It seeks to address the very serious problem of marine litter and its impact on our critically important marine resources. Our artists and our journalists have a very important role to play in helping us to make that transition to sustainability. Your voice is incredible. You speak in a language that our people understand. So in the same way, when in 2015 you rallied to our cause with our climate change message in our 1.5 to stay alive civil society campaign, I'm calling on you to be the catalyst for change in our management of our marine resources and the very necessary transition to a circular economy. OECS journalists, here is how you can get to partner with Remlit under the campaign tackling ocean pollution from turf to surf. The judging criteria will be broken down in five categories. Impact creativity and relevance, 20 points, technical excellence, focus and understanding the subject matter, 30 points, human interest appeal, 20 points, investigative skill, 15 points, and use of integrative media, 15 points. One of the most interesting things about the blue economy is that it gives journalists like ourselves so many things to write about. So I really want to encourage you all to get involved in this particular challenge. Take it on. I'm sure you can deliver. So get busy and learn more about the blue economy and let's share that with our Caribbean audiences. Hi, did you know that the volume of microplastics in the ocean rivals the number of stars in the galaxy? Annually, the world generates over 300 million metric tons of plastic waste, half of which ends up in the ocean. The Caribbean has been accused of making the greatest per capita contribution to this ocean plastic. Another good narrative. This is where we live, work and play. I'm Dr. Ronald Murray, join me and the OECS Commission and their team as we work to prioritize and change this narrative to education, lifestyle change and journalism. Journalists and singers from across the OECS member states, we at the OECS Commission are excited about these challenges. We can't wait to see your creativity at work and what you come up with. Every piece will help increase awareness of the environmental issues confronting us as a people, especially the efforts to get rid of plastic waste. Let's do this. Let's all do our part in tackling ocean pollution from turf to surf. Bad time, bad time. One Caribbean sea.