The International Pacific Marine Educators Network (IPMEN) conference was held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan from April 14-17, 2025. During the week, 20 years of marine education was celebrated, and history was made with the signing of the Takao Declaration. Read on to learn more and see how Educational Passages participated in the events.
We met the leadership of the National Academy of Marine Research (NAMR), and were honored to join IPMEN colleagues at a special meeting with Minister Kuan of the Ocean Affairs Council. Cassie Stymiest provided remarks and promoted EP’s collaboration with Taiwan schools since 2017, in hopes of continued partnerships and projects for years to come.
“The dedication and commitment to our ocean and support of ocean education in Taiwan is commendable. I thank everyone involved in making this event, and the IPMEN network, such a success and welcoming environment to join and be engaged with"
The first day of sessions was focused on “Highlighting Asia-Pacific examples of the local community knowledge with connections to Ocean Literacy and Ocean Decade White Paper Challenge 10.” During this strand is when Cassie presented about EP with a session titled, Miniboats on a Voyage of Discovery, Connection, and Collaboration. The session was also live streamed so you can now watch it here.
On the last day of the conference, we signed the Takao Declaration, which aims to support a global emphasis on promoting Ocean Literacy with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) as a central element. Minister Kuan and other dignitaries visited the university for the special signing event. The declaration will be further promoted at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in June, and will become an important global initiative for ocean education and sustainable development.
We also appreciated being in Kaohsiung and exploring the beautiful country and culture.
Special thank you to Ray Yen, the IPMEN conference committee, and sponsors National Academy of Marine Research and National Sun Yat-sen University.
We are looking forward to more meaningful exchanges ahead and seeing where these strengthened connections lead to next!
For more information about IPMEN, visit https://ipmen.net/.
