June 12, 2014 — Secretary of State John Kerry will host the “Our Ocean” Conference at the U.S. Department of State on June 16 and 17. The conference will bring together 350-400 participants from more than 80 nations, including government officials, scientists, and leading international institutions to review the state of the science and determine concrete actions that can be taken at all levels to help protect ocean ecosystems.
The conference will focus on Sustainable Fishing, Marine Pollution, and Ocean Acidification. The confirmed participants include: Prince Albert II of Monaco, President of the Republic of Kiribati Anote Tong, President of the Republic of Palau Tommy Remengesau, Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz, Foreign Minister of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Tony DeBrum, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Federated States of Micronesia Lorin Robert, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully, Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende, Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.
Please see the current schedule below for media opportunities. The full schedule of the conference can be viewed on the website. Conference events will be streamed live on www.state.gov/ourocean and will take place in the Loy Henderson Conference Room, unless otherwise noted.
For the latest information on the conference, please see www.state.gov/ourocean, and follow @JohnKerry, @StateDept, and @StateDeptOES on Twitter. You can participate in the many social media efforts surrounding the conference including our first Thunderclap, our Show Your Love of Our Ocean photo campaign, and the Protect Our Ocean Call to Action. Secretary Kerry’s ocean call to action video can be viewed at http://youtu.be/sOifRu6WdXs. You can also follow the conversation on social media using the hashtag #OurOcean2014.