WMU joins in Malmö coastline clean-up for World Oceans Day 2018
In recognition of World Oceans Day and this year’s theme of “Clean Our Ocean”, the World Maritime University joined with the City of Malmö and the SEA-U Marine Science Center on cleaning up Malmö's coastline on 9 June. Seventy-five WMU students and staff members participated along with nearly 2,000 people.
Equipped by the organizers with bags and gloves, in just two hours the participants removed one ton of large debris such as bikes, carts, and tires as well as nearly 600 kilos of other trash and plastic from nine different locations along the coast. The trash was then brought back to the SEA-U Marine Science center to be managed by city services and sorted for recycling. Following the clean-up, participants enjoyed a variety of activities at the SEA-U Marine Science Center. It is anticipated the coastline clean-up will become an annual event.
Since its founding, WMU has contributed to sustainable use of the ocean by focusing on the implementation and enforcement of IMO instruments to reduce accidents and ship-source pollution. Building on this strong foundation, ocean-related matters have become part of WMU’s mandate and are now incorporated across all degree programmes. Further, in 2016, a new MSc specialization in Ocean Sustainability, Governance & Management received its first intake of students.
In March of 2017, WMU partnered with the Swedish Government on the Save Our Ocean Seminar to focus on the mobilization of countries and all other actors to achieve the targets under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(UNSDGs). In June, at the UN Ocean Conference, WMU registered a commitment that aims to contribute to the implementation of Goal 14, focused on the ocean, by training a new generation of maritime leaders through the delivery of specialist post-graduate educational programmes in Ocean Sustainability, Governance and Management, as well as in Maritime Energy Management, amongst others. The University also partnered with the City of Malmö in October on the Life Below Water conference that focused on local implementation of Goal 14.
In May of 2018, the University hosted the WMU Global Ocean Conference in conjunction with the inauguration of the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute. The Institute is a concrete response to Goal 14 and its impact-oriented research will bridge the sectoral divides in ocean affairs, engage in forward-looking dialogue among representatives of governments, ocean industries, research communities, civil society and other academic institutions, and produce policy and regulatory advice on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and beyond.
The United Nations celebrates World Oceans Day annually on 8 June as an opportunity to raise global awareness of the benefits humankind derives from the ocean and our individual and collective duty to use its resources sustainably. A healthy world ocean is critical to our survival.
