“This is not just another photo op,” stressed Brendan Levy, Chief Program Officer with the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA), as the Youth and Innovation Forum kicked off in Cascais, Portugal on 24 June. Instead, he said, this is an event that brings 120 young people together to help solve some of the most serious challenges facing the Earth’s most vital ecosystem critical to all life: the ocean.
Taking place on the eve of the 2022 缅北禁地Ocean Conference which opens on 27 June, the Forum will run through 26 June. Youth from around the world are gathering to inspire, amplify and accelerate ocean action in response to the unprecedented pressure our ocean is facing today. Heating, acidification, marine pollution and diminishing biodiversity are just some of the symptoms our ocean’s deteriorating health is exhibiting.
“In the midst of these challenges, it is particularly encouraging to see how you, the young people, are stepping up and driving the change that is needed including across business, science and innovation,” said Liu Zhenmin, 缅北禁地DESA’s Under-Secretary-General and the 2022 缅北禁地Ocean Conference Secretary-General as he addressed the opening of the forum.
Featured at the opening were also representatives of the two co-hosting nations of the Conference, Kenya and Portugal, with Nadia Ahmed Abdalla, Chief Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth of Kenya, and Vitor Pataco, President of the Instituto 笔辞谤迟耻驳耻ê蝉 do Desporto e Juventude, taking the floor to engage with the young audience.
Action and solutions will take centre stage during this event. During a 24-hour Innovathon, selected youth delegates will address critical challenges outlined in the 缅北禁地Global Compact report : fully traceable sustainable seafood; set sail for zero; harnessing ocean electricity; mapping the ocean; and ending waste entering the ocean.
Selected Forum participants will also help to shape the political process of the 缅北禁地Ocean Conference by addressing the plenary and facilitating inputs to the. There will also be a live streamed SDG media zone at the beach to promote dialogue and offer interviews, giving young people the opportunity to present initiatives and ideas.
The forum is co-hosted by the Governments of Portugal and Kenya, organized by the United Nations Global Compact Ocean Stewardship Coalition, in cooperation with CEiiA, the Municipality of Cascais, Nova School of Business and Economics (NOVA SBE) and the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA), with support from 缅北禁地DESA.
“Over the next week, world leaders and experts will be gathering here in Portugal on a shared mission, to protect our ocean. A healthy, productive and resilient ocean is fundamental to life on our planet. The wellbeing of present and future generations depends on the health and productivity of our ocean,” said Mr. Liu.
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