In compliance with the “Salute to ocean” policy of the Executive Yuan and in continuation of the spirit of strengthening international exchanges through the “2019 International Dongsha Conference”, the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) held the “Taiwan International Ocean Forum 2020” today (November 5, 2020) at the Ambassador Hotel in Kaohsiung City. Due to the outbreak of global COVID-19 pandemic, the forum was conducted in both physical and virtual modes. Experts and scholars from the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada and other countries and individuals from governments, universities, industries, academia in Taiwan were invited to the event to present and discuss ocean-related topics and jointly explore the future outlook of sustainable ocean development.
 
The theme of the World Oceans Day this year is “Innovation for a sustainable ocean”. The “UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development” will also be launched by the United Nations in 2021. In order to be closely in line with the international development trends and focus, the forum addresses two major core issues: “Ocean Energy Research and Innovative Development” and “Reducing Marine Debris by Marine Science.” There are two keynote speeches and two panel sessions in the Forum.
 
For keynote speeches, Mr. Jonathan Lindsay, Operations & Technology Director of the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) and Prof. Jenna Jambeck of University of Georgia in the United States were especially invited to address on “Ocean Energy Research” and “Reducing Ocean Debris”. For the panels, Prof. Chelsea Rochman of University of Toronto, Canada, Prof. Markus Mueller of University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Deputy Chief Ellen Ramirez of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Satellite Analysis Branch, Principal Research Scientist Mark Hemer of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, and other well-known international scholars were invited to engage in expertise and experience sharing and exchanges with domestic industries, governments, academia and experts.
 
According to Minister Lee Chung-Wei, OAC is moving towards its third year since inception. Under the policy directions prompted both by the President and Premier, the Ocean Basic Act legislation and the compilation of the National Ocean Policy White Paper have been successfully completed. The holding of this forum is the concrete practice of “strengthening international exchanges and cooperation” stipulated in the Ocean Basic Act. Hopefully, the blueprint of ocean affairs and the future vision of becoming a marine country will be constructed by collective wisdom. Taiwan also looks forward to demonstrating its ideals and accomplishments in the marine field to the world.