Ocean Frontier Institute
Thank you Mr co-facilitator.
The Ocean Frontier Institute, or OFI, is honoured to take part in this Preparatory Meeting for the SDG 14 Ocean Conference.
The OFI is a new scientific partnership largely funded by the Government of Canada and headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and is a tangible demonstration of Canada’s commitment to reinvest in ocean science.
OFI’s aim is the safe and sustainable development of the ocean frontier, through the conduct of solution-oriented, transnational, interdisciplinary research.
Our partners to date include academics from 3 Atlantic Canadian universities, federal government scientists and policy makers, the Royal Canadian Navy, National Film Board, more than 20 private sector companies, and 8 institutes, from 5 other countries, including Norway, USA, Ireland, Germany and France.
We work within the proposed themes, and agree with the suggestion to include sustainable aquaculture within those themes. We support in particular Theme 6, ‘Increasing scientific knowledge, and developing research capacity and transfer of marine technology”.
However, we believe all themes should have an overt emphasis and actions on knowledge mobilization, and especially ocean literacy. In other words, we need to develop a strong focus on knowledge mobilization for the general public, especially young people around the world. We must build strong partnerships to improve public understanding of our effects on the ocean, and the ocean's effects on us.
And in that regard I would encourage you all to google 'Ocean School' to learn of OFI's ocean literacy initiative for Canadian school children, aged 11 to 15, which we hope will become available around the world through our collaboration with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Thank you.
The Ocean Frontier Institute, or OFI, is honoured to take part in this Preparatory Meeting for the SDG 14 Ocean Conference.
The OFI is a new scientific partnership largely funded by the Government of Canada and headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and is a tangible demonstration of Canada’s commitment to reinvest in ocean science.
OFI’s aim is the safe and sustainable development of the ocean frontier, through the conduct of solution-oriented, transnational, interdisciplinary research.
Our partners to date include academics from 3 Atlantic Canadian universities, federal government scientists and policy makers, the Royal Canadian Navy, National Film Board, more than 20 private sector companies, and 8 institutes, from 5 other countries, including Norway, USA, Ireland, Germany and France.
We work within the proposed themes, and agree with the suggestion to include sustainable aquaculture within those themes. We support in particular Theme 6, ‘Increasing scientific knowledge, and developing research capacity and transfer of marine technology”.
However, we believe all themes should have an overt emphasis and actions on knowledge mobilization, and especially ocean literacy. In other words, we need to develop a strong focus on knowledge mobilization for the general public, especially young people around the world. We must build strong partnerships to improve public understanding of our effects on the ocean, and the ocean's effects on us.
And in that regard I would encourage you all to google 'Ocean School' to learn of OFI's ocean literacy initiative for Canadian school children, aged 11 to 15, which we hope will become available around the world through our collaboration with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Thank you.