Greeting from AMEA president

AMEA president Welcome Message:

Hello Everyone.

The 3rd AMEA conference will be held at Ocean University of China. I sincerely appreciate Professor Wen Hong Sung and Professor Ma Yong of Ocean University of China who have led the preparation for the 2019 AMEA Conference as the Local Hosts, and Mr. Mo Chen of Guangxi Academy of Science, who is the Conference Committee Chair.        

In response to the workshop at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology after the Asia International Meeting at the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) Conference, AMEA was established to improve collaboration for ocean literacy education in 2015. Since then, we have held AMEA conferences at National Taiwan Ocean University and the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific in Philippines.

The ocean, which occupies 71% of the earth's surface, gives us plenty of benefits. We cannot live at all without the ocean that provides our supply of drinking water and food resources, and controls the climate and temperature. However, problems related to the marine environment such as torrential rain, typhoons, and abnormal weather are occurring more frequently today. To solve the causes of these problems, we must increase ocean literacy education around the world and improve understanding of the relationship between “Ocean and People.” In all our actions, we must consider both the ocean and the next generation. Asia has the world's most extensive variety of natural environments: the world's highest mountains, the Himalayas; the deepest place on Earth, the Marianas Trench; the tropics; the Arctic, and numerous islands. The biodiversity and cultural diversity across of Asia is unique in the world. We, the members of AMEA, are leading ocean literacy education tailored to each country in Asia, and are building a strong AMEA network. AMEA, in cooperation with NMEA and the European Marine Science Educators Association, is part of a respected, powerful international network of associations focused on ocean literacy that is significantly contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

We hope to deepen our friendships, find new ideas, and open new possibilities by engaging in interactive discussions and learning from each other to build a sustainable ocean-human relationship. Finally, I would like to thank all the people who to support AMEA around the world. I look forward to seeing you at the AMEA conference in 2019 at Ocean University of China.

AMEA Chair Tsuyoshi Sasaki

Sincerely,

Tsuyoshi Sasaki