News

Peace Boat to hold official side event at the UN Ocean Conference

Jun 2, 2022

Peace Boat is honoured and delighted hold an official side event at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon at the end of June. The UN Ocean Conference co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya will be held in Lisbon June 27 - July 1. It will build on the success of the UN Ocean Conference held in New York in 2019 and comes at a critical time in ocean health. 

"Scaling up Ocean Action with Empowerment of SIDS Youth, Awareness Raising and Citizenship Engagement" 

Monday 27 June 2022, 10:00-11:15 AM, Side Event Room 1

 

Hosted by and held in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kiribati to the United Nations, the side event will showcase the important role of youth in scaling up ocean action, in particular youth from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) on the front lines of the ocean crisis. Stocktaking successes and challenges since 2017, it will also look towards further developments and collaborations for empowerment and engagement of SIDS youth with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.  It is co-organized with the Government of the Republic of Palau, Oceanic Global, One Ocean Hub, Ciencia Viva, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center, Proteus Group, United by the Sea and Blue Planet Alliance.

The Republic of Kiribati has been a dedicated supporter over the years for youth engagement and action for the ocean. Together with partner organizations, the Republic of Kiribati seeks to highlight the theme of citizen engagement and empowerment of SIDS youth. At the 2017 UN Ocean Conference, Peace Boat launched the Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassador Programme in collaboration with the Alliance of Small Island Developing States (AOSIS) for youth leaders from states on the front line of climate change and marine degradation. Young leaders have since regularly traveled onboard Peace Boat’s ship to engage in capacity building and awareness raising through public engagement, meeting with government and civil society representatives. The programme has been carried out through partnerships with national governments, academica and civil society organizations to promote the implementation of SDG14, in person annually prior to the pandemic, and since then online. Each time, participants with diverse backgrounds in science, public policy, the arts, grassroots and international activism shared their skills and experiences, as well as the diverse situations in their own countries. They visited ports in Europe and concluded in New York with events in collaboration with UN partners at the United Nations Headquarters including during UN World Oceans Day. 

We are delighted to be holding this event with partners from civil society, academia and national governments. It will explore the connection amongst partner organizations working towards education for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, as well as the importance of innovation for the ocean, and youth empowerment for the future generation of ocean leaders.

 

"Scaling up Ocean Action with Empowerment of SIDS Youth, Awareness Raising and Citizenship Engagement" 

Monday 27 June 2022, 10:00-11:15 AM, Side Event Room 1

 

At the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Peace Boat is collaborating with partners to host other events including a High-Level Special Sunset Reception onboard the WaterXCatamaran in Lisbon on June 27 and Sounds of the Ocean at the Planetarium on July 1. 

Peace Boat Founder and Director, Yoshioka Tatsuya will be joined by Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassador Khadija Stewart and Henk Rogers, Founder of Blue Planet Alliance for "Sailing Towards a Renewable Energy Future" in the SDG Action Zone.