Dear Marmamers, We are pleased to announce that a full report on the recent World Whale Conference (25-26 October 2012) is now available. The conference was attended by delegates representing the NGO sector, whale watching industry, private enterprise, and the general public from across Europe, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and beyond. The World Whale Conference met to discuss and agree the development of a new global partnership of stakeholders working with and for whales and dolphins. It aims to empower the widest possible community in actively bringing about change that will benefit cetaceans and their habitats worldwide. Delegates gathered to discuss two questions: 1. How can we achieve more to protect whales & dolphins by working together? 2. Could a focus on the places where whales most need our help (Areas of Concern) be the catalyst? Discussions focused on the development of a free collaborative mapping tool available to everybody online. This tool will enable stakeholders from around the world to identify their ‘Areas of Concern’ for cetaceans. These 'Areas' would then be linked to communities willing to work in partnership to solve the issues affecting cetaceans in those locations. The conference delegates agreed to continue to develop the concept of the mapping outreach tool, and identified three location-based issues to focus upon as an urgent priority in the 12 months leading to the Second World Whale Conference. For a full summary of the conference please follow this link. http://www.savethewhalesreloaded.org/?page_id=347 For further information please contact dylan@planetwhale.com Regards *Dylan Walker * co-founder Planet Whale & WhaleFest www.planetwhale.com www.whale-fest.com mob/cell: +44 (0)7900 471490 <%2B44%20%280%297775%20871953> office: +44 (0)1273 355011 skype: planet.whale *together we are the global voice for whales and dolphins*