The Asian University Alliance (AUA) Forum 2018 was held in Bali, Indonesia, from 13-16 November 2018, and was themed “Life Under Water”. Delegates from several Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and others in the region came together to discuss on key issues of marine conservation, which culminated in group presentations on solutions for marine challenges globally.
These key issues were unsustainable fishing, use of technology, ocean acidification, conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems, and the economics of the ocean. For example, we met with the founder of Bali-based NGO Bye Bye Plastic Bags, Melati Wijsen. She founded her organisation at an early age of 13 with the aim of raising awareness on plastic pollution and encouraging Bali to reduce plastic bag usage. Now, her organisation has a global reach, including a chapter in Singapore, and she is only 18 years old. Meeting her was truly inspirational as it reminded us that youths have the power to influence our communities and make change as long as we put our minds to it.
The CEO of a solar electric boat company Azura Marine, Julien Melot came to share about their work. We learnt how engineering principles were being applied to solve challenges faced by renewable energy. One of their achievements was to retrofit a traditional boat to make it solar powered; this solar powered traditional boat performed as good as, if not better than their petrol-burning counterparts. To prove this, they sailed around Bali over the span of two weeks, showing how effective their solutions were, in the hopes that locals would learn about this emerging technology in the future. We felt that it was a very promising venture, and combined with all the other local efforts and interest in being eco-friendly, Bali is indeed a great place for solar powered boats to kick off.
Besides meeting groups and individuals who do great work to protect the marine environment, another highlight of the trip was also having the opportunity to meet with university students from other countries. As we were placed in groups with students from other universities, we were able to exchange stories from our home countries and also learn from one another. It was interesting to learn about environmental issues, perspectives and life in other countries, as well as meet people from countries we had never before. All in all, it was a wonderful learning opportunity and definitely a refreshing experience to discover more about marine conservation in Asia and around the world.
Click here to find out more about the Asian Universities Alliance.
These key issues were unsustainable fishing, use of technology, ocean acidification, conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems, and the economics of the ocean. For example, we met with the founder of Bali-based NGO Bye Bye Plastic Bags, Melati Wijsen. She founded her organisation at an early age of 13 with the aim of raising awareness on plastic pollution and encouraging Bali to reduce plastic bag usage. Now, her organisation has a global reach, including a chapter in Singapore, and she is only 18 years old. Meeting her was truly inspirational as it reminded us that youths have the power to influence our communities and make change as long as we put our minds to it.
The CEO of a solar electric boat company Azura Marine, Julien Melot came to share about their work. We learnt how engineering principles were being applied to solve challenges faced by renewable energy. One of their achievements was to retrofit a traditional boat to make it solar powered; this solar powered traditional boat performed as good as, if not better than their petrol-burning counterparts. To prove this, they sailed around Bali over the span of two weeks, showing how effective their solutions were, in the hopes that locals would learn about this emerging technology in the future. We felt that it was a very promising venture, and combined with all the other local efforts and interest in being eco-friendly, Bali is indeed a great place for solar powered boats to kick off.
Besides meeting groups and individuals who do great work to protect the marine environment, another highlight of the trip was also having the opportunity to meet with university students from other countries. As we were placed in groups with students from other universities, we were able to exchange stories from our home countries and also learn from one another. It was interesting to learn about environmental issues, perspectives and life in other countries, as well as meet people from countries we had never before. All in all, it was a wonderful learning opportunity and definitely a refreshing experience to discover more about marine conservation in Asia and around the world.
Click here to find out more about the Asian Universities Alliance.
