Peace Boat Side Event at the SDG Summit 2023: Collaboration and Crossector Partnerships for Capacity Development and Youth Engagement on SDG14

This event for the SDG Summit focused on SDG14 and SDG17 will showcase the important role of youth in scaling up ocean action, in particular youth from Small Island Developing States on the front lines of the ocean crisis. Stocktaking successes and challenges, it will also look towards further developments and collaborations for empowerment and engagement of youth with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Peace Boat is a committed campaigner for the UN SDGs and organises global voyages for peace and sustainability on a large passenger ship with the UN SDGs logo on the hull. The ship is a venue for capacity building and awareness raising with many programs held onboard. 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. Since 2016, Peace Boat has held the Youth for SDGs program onboard in collaboration with Peace Boat US. This year, a programme was launched focused on SDG14 as an endorsed activity of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Youth travel onboard Peace Boat’s ship to engage in capacity building and awareness raising through public engagement, meeting with government and civil society representatives. The programmes are carried out through partnerships with local and national governments, academia and civil society organizations to promote the implementation of SDG14. Each time, participants with diverse backgrounds in science, public policy, the arts, grassroots and international activism share their skills and experiences, as well as the diverse situations in their own countries. The event will explore collaborations and partnerships across governments, civil society and academia. It will highlight why it is important to develop youth scientific knowledge of the ocean crisis, and highlight how youth can contribute to public engagement, education and awareness raising amongst the general public. It will look at ways of combining scientific knowledge with the experiences of ocean communities, in particular from SIDS, using storytelling, film, spoken word and poetry.  We will hear about various initiatives for youth empowerment and citizen engagement including various networks focused on education for the SDGs.

Speakers:

• Ambassador Teburoro Tito, UN Permanent Representative from Kiribati
• Ms. Gwendalyn Sisior, Ocean Advisor to the Permanent Representative of Palau to the UN
• Mr. Yoshioka Tatsuya, Founder and Director of Peace Boat
• Ms. Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Director of UN OHRLLS / SIDS Global Business forum
• Mr. Stephen Keppel, Pvblic Foundation, Data for the SDGs

SDGs and Youth Leadership:

• Representative from the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on YouthMs. Jacquie Francis, Global Warming Mitigation Project Executive Director
• Mr. Kneyone Murray,  Youth for the SDGs scholar for the UN Ocean Decade from Trinidad and Tobago
• Mr. Jevanic Henry, AOSIS Fellow from St. Lucia  | UN SG Youth Advisor on Climate Change/ Peace Boat Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassador
• Ms. Khadija Stewart, Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassador, Trinidad and Tobago

Private and Public Sector partnerships for the SDGS:

• Mr. Ted Janulis, Founder of Investable Oceans
• Mr. Jeremy McKane, Founder of OCN.ai network
• Mr. Henk Rogers, Founder of Blue Planet Alliance

Moderator:  Emilie McGlone, Director, Peace Boat US