The 2025 3rd UN Ocean Conference Side Event 'Ocean Education 2030' Highlights Youth Leadership

On June 13, the UN Ocean Conference side event jointly organized by the Tianjin Eco-city Friend of Green Eco-Culture Promotion Association and Grouphorse Group.

SHANGHAI, SHANGHAI, CHINA, June 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC 3) was held in Nice, France from June 9 to 13, 2025. Under the theme "Mobilizing All Forces, Accelerating Actions, Protecting and Sustainably Using the Ocean," the conference brought together 15,000 participants from over 125 countries, including 90 heads of state and 3,000 scientists, aiming to place the ocean at the top of the global agenda and jointly address the increasingly urgent climate crisis.

On June 13, 2025, as one of the side events of this UN Ocean Conference, the "Ocean Education 2030: Youth Empowerment for Ocean Governance" side event, jointly organized by the Tianjin Eco-city Friend of Green Eco-Culture Promotion Association and Grouphorse Group, was held at Shanghai Greenland Mansion.This conference focused on ocean education and youth empowerment, aiming to inject new vitality into global ocean sustainable development and build a solid bridge between youth and ocean governance.

The Tianjin Eco-city Friend of Green Eco-Culture Promotion Association, established in 2000, is Tianjin's first private environmental protection NGO and the first social organization in Tianjin to obtain consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. With the mission of advocating green civilization and practicing green actions, it has received multiple national-level awards.

Grouphorse Group is participating in hosting official side events of important UN conferences for the third time this year. Previously, Grouphorse participated in hosting two UN side events - the UN Economic and Social Council Youth Forum side event "AI and Digital Innovation: Empowering Youth-led ESG Actions" (April) and the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development side event "ESG-guided Media and AI Literacy: Empowering Youth Digital Participation in Health, Gender Equality and Decent Work."( approved by the UN, to be held in July)

Three experts from academia and eight youth representatives engaged in in-depth discussions on topics including ocean education innovation, technology application, and global cooperation through a combination of offline and online formats. Student delegations from Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai Ocean University, Donghua University and other institutions were invited to attend, witnessing together how "academic wisdom + youth creativity" can inject sustainable development momentum into the planet's blue lifeline.

Opening Remarks: Ocean Crisis and Transformation Opportunities
Xing Tang, Chairman of Grouphorse and Co-Chairman of Tianjin Foreign Studies University Grouphorse ESG Industrial College, emphasized that the ocean faces an imminent ecological crisis: 14 million tons of plastic waste invade annually, threatening 86% of sea turtles and 44% of seabirds, while acidification destroys ecosystems supporting 3.3 billion people. However, sustainable blue economy could create six times current green output by 2050 through marine renewable energy investment. He stressed ESG must become governance core, with industrial chains quantifying "ocean footprint" and scaling blue technologies like marine carbon capture. He called for an "Ocean Recovery Decade" achieving economic-ecological win-win, stating "current actions determine future generations' blue future."

Professional Guest Speeches: High-Level Vision Guiding Development

Media Literacy Innovation in Ocean Education
Yujie Chen, as UN instructional designer and board member of TFSU-Grouphorse ESG Industrial College, clarified reports about "offshore wind power harming whales," noting 90% of whale casualties result from ship strikes and fishing nets. She revealed such questioning often hides fossil fuel industry funding and emphasized ocean protection doesn't conflict with climate action. She developed the strategic board game "Sustainable Development: Truth and Misinformation," featuring "climate truth vs. rumors" cognitive battles where players learn to identify ESG "greenwashing" tactics, analyze funding sources, and understand misinformation psychology through interactive gameplay.

Building an Ocean Education Community Professor
Professor Yuan Yu from Shanghai Ocean University proposed integrating language, culture, and sustainable development to cultivate ocean governance talents with global vision. She emphasized linguistic diversity as marine civilization's carrier, advocating "ocean as common wealth of humanity" and initiating a "Global Ocean Education Alliance" for worldwide institutional collaboration.

Language Diplomacy and Ocean Governance
Professor Zhiru Jin from Guangdong Ocean University emphasized language's role in shaping ocean cognition and governance. Her research revealed terminology differences often cause sovereignty disputes. She advocated establishing global marine linguistics platforms and multilingual terminology to make linguistic diversity a driving force for blue co-governance.

Youth Representatives: Diverse Perspectives Demonstrating Youth Power
Bai Tian reviewed the historical evolution from humanity's primitive ocean dependence to modern exploitation, calling on youth to draw historical wisdom and actively participate in contemporary ocean governance with lessons from the past.

Li Wenke depicted ocean biodiversity as Earth's life treasure house, advocating youth guardianship of marine ecosystems and emphasizing the critical role of protecting diverse marine species for planetary health.

Guo Yuxin explored cutting-edge technologies in marine science, encouraging youth investment in ocean technology innovation including advanced monitoring systems, sustainable aquaculture, and marine renewable energy solutions.

Dong Hang analyzed ocean problems' transnational nature, emphasizing youth need for international vision and cooperative mindset to address challenges that transcend national boundaries and require global collaboration.

Wang Jincheng revealed severe marine plastic pollution statistics and environmental impacts, calling for active youth participation in protection actions and sustainable consumption practices to combat the plastic crisis.

Li Yujie elaborated on blue economy's enormous potential, emphasizing youth exploration of sustainable marine industry development models that balance economic growth with environmental conservation.

Zou Qian presented comprehensive research data and case studies demonstrating feasible ocean recovery pathways, calling on youth to participate in restoration projects and ecosystem rehabilitation initiatives.

Wei Siqi shared successful youth-led ocean protection project examples from around the world, inspiring broader youth engagement and demonstrating the power of grassroots environmental action in marine conservation efforts.

Interactive Experience and Future Prospects
Participants experienced Grouphorse's ocean education game, integrating knowledge with interactivity to enhance ecological awareness and responsibility. The conference built a crucial platform for global youth exchange and cooperation, stimulating passion for ocean education and governance.

As advocated: investing in ocean education means investing in Earth's blue future. Youth will play irreplaceable roles in this process, continuously promoting global ocean endeavors and demonstrating how "academic wisdom + youth creativity" injects sustainable development momentum into the planet's blue lifeline.

XING TANG
Tianjin Foreign Studies University
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