The 2nd China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Ocean Research and Education Symposium (CPCORES), organised by the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Macau (UM), kicked off yesterday morning at the Multi-Function Hall on the ground floor of the UM Guest House, bringing together scientists from Macau, mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as member institutions of the China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Ocean Research Alliance, to discuss cutting-edge marine science topics, according to a statement by the public university.
The China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Ocean Research Alliance, initiated by the UM, was established last year in the hope of deepening cooperation in ocean research and facilitating knowledge exchanges between China and the Lusophone world. It consists of 20 members including the UM as well as universities and research institutions from China, Angola, Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal.
The first edition of the CPCORES was held as a means of celebrating the establishment of the alliance last year, but it was held entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Themed “Ocean Health and Safety”, the 2-day symposium covers some of the most cutting-edge ocean science topics such as ocean health and governance, impacts of climate change on oceans, technological innovation in ocean research, and the blue economy, the statement pointed out.
According to the statement, day one of the event was attended by about 80 visiting scholars, researchers and students as well as government representatives, such as Administrative Committee Member of the Science and Technology Development Fund of Macau (FDCT) Cheang Kun Wai, Acting Deputy Director of the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) Chang Sau Wa, and Ricardo Serrão Santos, former minister of maritime affairs of Portugal and present principal researcher at the University of the Azores.
Addressing the opening ceremony, UM Rector Song Yonghua (aka Yonghua Song) said that ocean ecosystem protection and ocean safety are some of the critical global challenges whose solution is tied to the ability to form alliances and therefore requires more complex international collaboration. Song noted that Portuguese-speaking countries are spread across four continents, making it easier to weave a network of information exchanges and explore environmental issues with different cultural perspectives. He added that the UM would continue to promote marine research and sustainable development, while at the time same fostering cooperation and innovation in ocean science between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
UM Vice Rector Rui Martins, another speaker at the opening ceremony, emphasised the geographic similarities shared by Macau and the Portuguese-speaking countries that are characterised by the coastal environment. He said that such similarities would make ocean governance experience more applicable between Macau and those countries.
UM Vice Rector Rui Martins delivers his opening remarks at the 2nd China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Ocean Research and Education Symposium (CPSORES) yesterday at the Multi-Function Hall of the UM Guest House. – Photo: UM
