AMNA News

‘Our Ocean Conference’ 2024 to be held in Athens on April 16-17

Signalling its willingness to actively contribute to international challenges and support the continuity of a legacy of ocean protection commitments, Greece is hosting the 9th “Our Ocean Conference” (OOC-9), which will take place on April 16-17, 2024, in Athens, at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, the foreign ministry said in its announcement.

An integral part of this international Conference is the “Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit”, which will be held, respectively, on April 15, aiming to engage the next generation of leaders in the sustainability of the oceans, the announcement stated.

The OOC Conference began as an initiative of the U.S. State Department and former US Secretary of State John Kerry in 2014. Since then, it has evolved into an international meeting, in which governments, international organisations, representatives of the private sector, non-governmental organisations and the academic community work together to protect the oceans.

“The ultimate goal of the Conference is to elicit tangible commitments from participants for the oceans and their protection, responsible management of marine resources and sustainable economic growth. It is worth pointing out that up until 2023, the Conference has secured more than 2,161 commitments, worth more than 130 billion dollars, to protect the oceans,” it added.