On November 25, 2022, the Blue Governance Workshop, jointly hosted by OUC and the University of Portsmouth (UoP), was held online. Representatives from both universities, UNESCO and FAO attended the event. 

Prof. Liu Yong, Vice President of OUC welcomed the participants. He pointed out that since the signing of the MoU between OUC and UoP in 2020, the two universities have maintained friendly relations and conducted fruitful exchanges in marine resource development, blue governance, and marine ecological environment monitoring and visualization. With the theme of “Ocean Development and Blue Governance”, the workshop provided a platform for the exchange of ideas and wisdom. The two universities will continue to explore cooperation in research and talent cultivation, and strengthen cooperation with international organizations to jointly promote new breakthroughs in global blue governance research. 

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Chris Chang, and Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor Andy Thorpe, both agreed and hoped that the Joint Centre for Blue Governance would be the core of the two universities’ cooperation in blue management, blue energy, blue carbon and climate change, as well as blue policy, and looked forward to mutual visits and exchanges between students and staff of the two universities, and in-depth research cooperation and joint cultivation of international talent. 

Mr. Justin Ahanhanzo, Regional Liaison Officer of Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, said that UNESCO will gather its member states to promote global blue governance and hoped that the two universities’ research would be closely linked to the forming of future blue governance policies and provide inspiration for the global response to climate change.