The fourth edition of the Ocean&Climate Village was held in Qingdao, China, on October 14-15, 2023 at the Haitian Center as an initiative part of the SEA BEYOND project in partnership with the Prada Group and in collaboration with the First Institute of Oceanography and the Decade Collaborative Center for Ocean-Climate nexus (DCC-OCC).

On this occasion, the exhibition was revisited and enriched with new content ranging from global issues, to local case studies and examples of virtuous projects and solutions to protect the ocean. During the exhibition, visitors were able to interact with students and researchers from the First Institute of Oceanography.

Workshops and laboratories

Thanks to the collaboration with the UCCA Center of Contemporary Art, two workshops for families and children were held with the aim of reconnecting the new generations to the sea and its biodiversity. The activities saw the participation of researchers and artists, involving the little ones in interactive paths of performance and creation of small works of art.

The main purpose of the organized activities was to bring the new generations closer to blue careers and promote a new Ocean Generation capable of understanding and communicating the importance of acting to preserve and regenerate the marine environment.

Open Panel Discussions

Exhibition Opening

The opening panel was moderated by Francesca Santoro, Senior Programme Specialist IOC/UNESCO, with the presence of Prof. Fangli Qiao, Deputy Director General First Institute of Oceanography, You Yang, UCCA Foundation Deputy and Art Director, and Robert Parua, UNESCO Beijing Programme Specialist for Education.

The speakers highlighted the importance of international cooperation involving multiple sectors of society to achieve the ocean conservation goals set for 2030.

I suoni dell’oceano

The second panel featured researcher Yang Guangbing, Associate Research Fellow First Institute of Oceanography, Sui Haidong, SEE Foundation Manager of Marine Conservation Projects, Lingyi Kong, UCCA Foundation Vice President for Marketing and Branding, and Li Xian, Actor, Prada Ambassador, PADI Global Youth Ocean Ambassador.

The panel aimed to raise awareness of the importance of conserving local marine ecosystems and the need to monitor chemical and environmental pollution to prevent negative impacts on marine biodiversity. The success of the panel was due to the presence of experts from different fields: FIO shared the importance of monitoring noise and sound pollution, SEE Foundation the importance of knowing and monitoring the presence of key marine species to preserve the environment, and finally the actor, ambassador of Prada Group and PADI, shared his experience of supporting coral reef restoration activities in China, highlighting the role that each of us can play in preserving marine ecosystems.