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UN Oceans Conference: Day 3

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UN Oceans Conference: Day 3 On the third day of the Oceans Conference, we did not have any specific plans so I showed up a little later (around 10) and Gerald ( a Nereus senior fellow) and I decided to see attend the Oceans Day ceremony in the General Assembly. This event was very publicized, with ocean “celebrities” such as Sylvia Earle, Richard Branson, Brian Skerry,   Leonardo DiCaprio (video message), and many more giving short inspirational speeches about the ocean and its importance. The event from 10-1 but we only stayed for about an hour. The speeches are meant to very inspiring, but it is a difficult to stir this emotion when in such a formal setting and I think my colleague and I got a little bored. I know that sounds bad, but being in the field these types of speeches do not really bring anything new to the table for us. We met our communications officer and went to Ippudo ( a chain ramen place) for lunch. Oceans Day General Assembly (Sylvia Earl speaking) Later
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UN Oceans Conference Day 2

Oceans Conference Day 2 ON the second day of the Oceans Conference, I was not needed at the booth and had the freedom to attend whatever side event sparked my interest. I ended up going to 5 total that day, and it totally wiped me out but was so worth it! I learned so so so much. Below I have described each side event in more detail: During the side event “The Ocean Business Community: Partnering for Implementation of SDG14” private sector panelists discussed their contributions in achieving the sustainable oceans targets by use of business collaboration and innovation. The side event started out with a brief introduction of the importance of bridging the gap to the private sector in order to implement SDG14. The panelists emphasized the critical role that the business community plays in achieving ocean targets as well as the emerging business self-interest and desire in sustainability progress.   The panelist Rich Stavis, CEO of Stavis Seafood, discussed his role in working
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UN Oceans Conference: Day 1

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United Nations Ocean’s Conference Day 1 The United Nations Ocean’s Conference is the first conference to address the Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.   There are 17 sustainable development goals that target critical areas of development for global sustainability ( https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300 ) . The 7 targets of focus for the oceans goal are: marine pollution, environmental restoration, ocean acidification, overfishing, marine protected areas, subsidies, small island developing states.  A major goal of the conference is to build on existing successful partnerships and stimulate innovative and concrete new partnerships by involving all stakeholders such as governments, United nations system, other intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutes, NGOs, civil society organizations, the private sector and academic institutions.  The research program that I am co-oping with, the Nereus Program, is funded by the Nippon F
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