Launch of the 1st International Forum of Marine Universities
- Institutional
- International
- Research
on the June 13, 2025
The first International Forum of Marine Universities was held on June 7, 2025 in Nice, as a prelude to UNOC 3. Organized as a follow-up to the One Ocean Science Congress and dedicated to cutting-edge ocean research, the event brought together marine universities from every continent.
We, the marine universities, reaffirm our commitment to strengthening international academic cooperation, promoting interdisciplinary teaching and developing a structured dialogue with the players in the blue economy. We call for concerted action to make ocean education a fundamental pillar of sustainable development and marine conservation.
Declaration made in Nice, June 7, 2025.
A declaration by marine universities to raise our ambitions
The academics gathered on this occasion drew up the Nice Declaration of Marine Universities, presented by Pascal Olivard, President of the Université de Bretagne Occidentale, and Gerardo Jiménez Porras, Vice-Rector for Research at the National University of Costa Rica. This founding text sets shared and ambitious objectives for the advancement and dissemination of knowledge about the ocean.
This International Forum has highlighted the essential contribution of marine universities to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14, and will form part of the objectives of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development.
Passing on ocean knowledge
The Forum was devoted to the transmission of knowledge, education in marine sciences, and raising public awareness of ocean issues, with the ambition of comparing pedagogical approaches, developing opportunities for dialogue and exchange.dagogical approaches, develop training opportunities for students and professionals, and consolidate dialogue between academia, civil society and political decision-makers.
Three thematic round tables punctuated the morning session:
- The challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinarity in marine studies;
- Links between universities and the blue economy;
- The urgent need to strengthen and disseminate ocean science education worldwide.
