Theresa Zabell, Sun&Blue Congress ambassador

Sun&Blue Congress, congress par excellence in tourism and blue economy, to be held from 15 to 17 November at the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos 'Cabo de Gata - Ciudad de Almería' has an exceptional ambassador for its first edition; Theresa Zabell, two-time Olympic sailing champion and founder and president of the Ecomar Foundation.

The event is promoted by beon. Worldwide and sponsored by the Andalusian Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the Almeria City Council, the Almeria Provincial Council and the Andalusian Ministry of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy.

Theresa Zabell had her first contact with the sea when she was only a few months old, when her family had to emigrate to the Canary Islands from England on a cruise ship for professional reasons of the head of the family. There she met the blue, smelled it and tasted it, leaving in her retina the image of what a "Sea in Blue" had to be. Soon after, the Zabell family took up residence in Fuengirola and it was there that Theresa, only ten years old, one and a half meters tall and weighing fifty kilos, embarked for the first time on a sailing boat. As she herself says "I was colder than in my whole life at sea", but four years later she was almost an expert in the Europa Class, winning the World Championship in La Rochelle in 1985. She began her Olympic career when an unfair decision by the federation left her out of the Seoul 88 Games, despite having won the qualification. Theresa thought about giving it all up and spent a year living in England disconnected from sailing, but encouraged by her family she decided to try the Olympic adventure once again at the Barcelona Games. Since then, two Olympic gold medals (Barcelona 92 with Patricia Guerra and Atlanta 96 with Begoña Via-Dufresne), five World Championships and three European Championships adorn the most successful Spanish sailing record with countless Spanish Championships and once proclaimed best sailor in the world by the International Sailing Federation. 

At the end of the 1996 Games, Olympia, her daughter, was born and took up all of Theresa's time. It was then that she decided to retire from competition and commit herself to the sea in order to give back to it part of what it had given her. On March 3, 1999, he founded the Ecomar Foundation and began to dedicate himself body and soul to it. His motto "Take care of the only two places you can never move from, your body and your planet" defines the philosophy of the Foundation. Since then, he has not stopped, raising awareness among more than 15,000 children every year and taking care of our seas. Today Ecomar is a reference in the care of our seas, educating and raising awareness to achieve a better planet.

And you, are you watching or helping?

Sun&Blue Congress will start with an inspiring speech by Theresa Zabell called 'And you, do you look or do you help'. For one hour, her speech will be a call to action to be an active protagonist of care, to take action with small actions that we can all do and that would revolutionize what happens on the seabed.