Cousteau headlines The Ocean Collective Summit

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Jay Wade (Seakeepers), Fabien Cousteau and Julian Chang (Seakeepers Asia)

Fabien Cousteau, the world-renowned oceanographic explorer and environmental advocate,was the keynote speaker at The Ocean Collective Summit, a two-day seminar organised with The International Seakeepers Society that kicked off the four-day Blue Water EduFest at ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove in Singapore.

The first day (Thursday) started with a welcome address by Arthur Tay, Chairman and CEO of SUTL Group (owner of ONE°15 Marina), before Guest of Honour Desmond Lee, Singapore’s Minister for National Development and Minister-in-Charge of Social Services,spoke about the Singapore government’s sustainability projects.

Jay Wade, Chairman and President of The International Seakeepers Society, gave the opening address before founder of Proteus Ocean Group and the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center delivered the keynote speech on the opening morning.

Carol Phua, Global Coral Reef Initiative Leader, WWF Oceans Practice, then made a presentation before joining Cousteau for a ‘fireside chat’.

Afternoon speakers included Singaporean trio Dr Karenne Tun (Director of the Coastal and Marine and Terrestrial Branches, National Biodiversity Centre, NParks), Hazri Hassan (Divisional Director, International Policy Division, Ministry of Sustainability and Environment) and Dr Steven Fong (Programme Chair, Diploma in Marine Science and Aquaculture, Republic Polytechnic), as well as Anna Marsden, Managing Director of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

Dr Tun further shared the personal actions she’s taking with her lifestyle as a demonstration of how everyone has a part to play to help achieve the targets set out in The Singapore Green Plan 2030.

Day two (Friday) morning speakers included Harlin Singh (Global Head of Sustainable Investing, Citi Global Wealth), Alen Lim (Global Sales Director, Archwey), Elaine Kwee (Co-Founder, Sea Communities) and Tan Bee Lay (Chief Sustainability Officer, SDAX).

In the afternoon, Matthew Edward Loh (Chief Sustainability Officer, VE Capital and Company), Erica Kerner (Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, SailGP) and Sovann Giang (Senior Director, RSM Singapore) were the speakers, before the event closed with remarks from Cousteau and Julian Chang, President of The International Seakeepers Society Asia.

Cousteau was also the special guest at The International SeaKeepers Society Asia Awards Dinner held on the Saturday night, which featured entertainment by local jazz legend Jeremy Monteiro. Singapore Airlines was the Official Airline for The Ocean Collective Summit, providing air travel for several of the guest speakers.