The Ocean Affairs Council, in cooperation with the American Institute in Taiwan Kaohsiung Branch Office (AIT/K), co-hosted a virtual International Conference on Ocean Governance on September 23, 2021. Over 250 participants from 14 countries took part in the conference, including international students and scholars from USA, France, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Egypt, India, Pakistan, and Ghana. For the conference, ocean professionals were invited to share their research works over a broad spectrum of areas, such as ocean law and policy, marine education, marine science and technology, ocean conservation, maritime safety and security, ocean environmental engineering and marine industry.
OAC Deputy Minister, Ching-Piao Tsai said that “ The purpose of this Conference is to raise public awareness of the critical issues confronting our oceans, as ocean governance is about managing the oceans and their resources so that they are healthy and productive, for the benefit of many generations to come. This is in line with the National Ocean Policy White Paper and its core visions of ecological sustainability, maritime security, and industrial prosperity. That demonstrates one of the main reasons why the OAC is committed to achieving policy goals, including Ocean Law and Policy, Marine Education, Marine Science and Technology, Ocean Conservation, Maritime Safety & Security, Ocean Environmental Engineering, Maritime Industry. The thematic panel discussions will explore the topics related to those goals respectively.”
Kaohsiung Branch Chief of the American Institute in Taiwan, Mason Yu said that “The United States and Taiwan have had a long history of cooperation on environmental issues. In recent years, both sides have worked hand in hand to bring together leading scientific experts and activists from the United States, Taiwan and elsewhere, to participate in multiple international forums, including the annual Ocean Challenge STEM competition, the 2021 Taiwan International Ocean Youth Leadership Camp, and the 2020 Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) Conference on Marine Debris. The challenges and issues that are being discussed here today are massive in scale and extraordinarily complex. It will take sustained, coordinated efforts from the best and brightest around the world to tackle these problems. This is why international forums like this one are so important. The more we collaborate, share new ideas and build wider, more diverse networks, the better equipped we will all be to make real progress in protecting our oceans.”
By hosting the international conference, OAC collected the up-to-date research results and grasp the latest development trends. The researchers from industries, governments, academies have opportunities to interact with experts from various fields. In addition to knowledge and experiences sharing, OAC also received suggestions on marine governance. Furthermore, the international conference also increased participation in international affairs, with the aim of actively promoting Taiwan’s involvement in international conferences and organizations.
