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Summit 2019 Programme

Our Ocean Wealth Summit is Ireland’s flagship event for the marine sector. From engineering to shipping, from aquaculture to energy, from technology to biosciences, this Summit brings together Irish and International organisations working to create innovative, sustainable solutions with global impact that drive our blue economy.

As an island nation, the 2019 Summit acknowledged the role of islands in Our Ocean Wealth with it's theme of Shared Voices from Small Island Nations. The Summit featured global leaders including environmental activists and former US Secretary of State John Kerry and a host of world leaders of island nations as well as researchers, entrepreneurs and academics.

A PDF version of the programme is available here.

Session 1: Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth

Peter Heffernan
Session Moderator
John Sheehan
Lord Mayor of Cork
Declan McDonald
Partner, PwC
Michael Creed
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Damien English
Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development
Ngedikes Olai Uludong
Permanent Representative of Palau to the United Nations
Elizabeth Thompson
Permanent Representative of Barbados to the UN

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Message from Young Ocean Ambassador

Alicia O'Sullivan
Young Ocean Ambassador

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Address by Simon Coveney

Simon Coveney
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade

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Keynote Address

John Kerry
United States Senator

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Sky Ocean Ventures and CuanTec

Jamie Rowles
Head of Investments
Sky Ocean Ventures

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Cait Murray-Green
Chief Executive
CuanTec

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Session 2: Island States - Our Shared Journeys, Challenges and Opportunities

Tara Shine
Session Moderator

Island States in a Global Ocean - Our Shared Maritime Journeys

José Luis Fialho Rocha
Permanent Representative of Cabo Verde to the UN
Peter Heffernan
CEO, Marine Institute
Carmelo Abela
Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade Promotion, Malta
Ngedikes Olai Uludong
Permanent Representative of Palau to the United Nations

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Opportunities and Challenges in Key Maritime Sectors

Courtenay Rattray
Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the UN
Jim O’Toole
Chief Executive Officer, Bord Iascaigh Mhara
Jim Gannon
CEO, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
Piera Tortora
Coordinator of the OECD Initiative on Sustainable Ocean for All
Odo Tevi
Permanent Representative of Vanuatu to the UN

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Keynote Address

Máiread McGuinness
First Vice President, European Parliament

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Session 3: Empowerment Through Ocean Knowledge

Tara Shine
Session Moderator

Ocean Wealth Panel: Creating the Right Environment for Ocean Enterprise

Satyendra Prasad
Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN
Susan Steele
Chair & CEO, Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority
Stephen Hughes
Manager; Construction, Cleantech, Timber and Consumer Retail; Enterprise Ireland
Niall Gibbons
CEO, Tourism Ireland
Inga Rhonda King
Permanent Representative of St Vincent and the Grenadines to the UN
Elizabeth Thompson
Permanent Representative of Barbados to the UN

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Short High-Level Presentations on Enablers for Sustainability

Gerard McCarthy
Lecturer and Principal Investigator, Maynooth University
Koen Verbruggen
Director, Geological Survey Ireland
Eoghan Linehan
Senior Manager, PwC
Yvonne Shields
Chief Executive, Commissioners of Irish Lights

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Message from Tomorrow’s Leaders

Alicia O'Sullivan
Young Ocean Ambassador, Ireland
Selina Neirok Leem
Young Ocean Ambassador, Marshall Islands

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A New Era for Ocean Island Partnership

Álvaro Mendonça e Moura
Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal
Peter Thomson
UN Special Envoy on the Ocean
Geraldine Byrne Nason
Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the UN
Walton Alfonso Webson
Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN
Lois Michele Young
Permanent Representative of Belize to the UN

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Closing Address

Simon Coveney
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade

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