So said one enthusiastic speaker today at the Our Oceans Youth Leadership Summit. Perhaps he didn’t realise the familiar ring that particular phrase has in another context. It didn’t matter, because the audience applauded and cheered anyway. Over 150 young people lined up in a large room at the Nusa Dua Convention Centre in Bali, each with 3 minutes to present his or her own idea on how to tackle the problems facing Our Ocean. One idea was to stop plastic getting into the ocean by turning it into a valuable commodity for recycling. Another idea was to use robots to help clean up the ocean. Many young minds at work and many ideas presented in rapid succession made for a very inspiring session.
But there were many sessions running in parallel. At the same time, in the main auditorium, the official opening of Our Ocean 2018 was getting underway. We were entertained by colorfully-dressed Balinese musicians and dancers, who performed a special marine-themed song and dance. Many senior world leaders had gathered to show their support, including John Kerry, Sylvia Earl and Ellen MacArthur among others. His Excellency Joko Widodo, the President of Indonesia, welcomed the guests,
“Oceans are under immense pressure due to marine pollution, bleaching coral reefs, raising sea temperature, and unsustainable fishing”.
When his speech was over, a special gong was struck to mark the start of the conference.
The Our Oceans Conferences have been held every year since 2014 and each year countries volunteer to make new commitments to establish marine parks, curb pollution, reduce climate change impacts on the ocean and improve fisheries management. Since 2014 over 600 commitments valued at USD $18 billion have been made by countries to take action to improve the health and sustainable use of the ocean. The conferences serve to gather politicians, NGOs and ocean experts to share ideas and build new partnerships.
Being a delegate at such a huge meeting is always a bit confusing. There are always several sessions running in parallel so which one to choose? There was an afternoon session on “Plastic waste recycling and the circular economy” or should I listen to the presentation by UN Environment’s CEO Erik Solheim on coral reefs, or how about the session on Indonesia’s fight against illegal fishing? These sessions were at the same time as countries were presenting their new commitments! Tired from running between different rooms I finally settled on the Youth Leadership Summit. After all, the future will soon be in their hands and I am curious what they have in mind. From what I heard, I think it should turn out OK.
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