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The first day of the Summit opened conversations on the ocean’s deepest frontiers, moving through storytelling, new media, education, and AI for mapping oceans. Day 2 sailed to the high seas, taking steering the conversation from discovery to finance. Day 3 concluded the convergence with an invitation to imagine a thriving ocean, and become a part of shaping its future.
Sylvia Earle, Founder and Chair of Mission Blue, pened the final day with a message for anyone who feels the weight of what lies ahead: “If you could choose to be anywhere in time, this is the time. This is the moment.”
She traced human prosperity from a few hundred people to eight billion, and what it has cost nature. Then she asked, “How much of the earth do we now command?” Her answer pointed elsewhere: “We are of the Earth, but really, you should say, we are of the ocean.” Only about 3% of the ocean is seriously protected, she said, and the goal is 30% by 2030. “Put on your afterburners, we’re gonna make it.” The key is the high seas: “We could, if we protect the high seas. That’s about half the world.” Her reason was simple: “We take from the ocean our existence. That should be the highest priority.”
The morning shifted from keynote to participation with Steve Simpson, Professor at the University of Bristol. A marine biologist and sound ecologist, Simpson guided the audience through an interactive workshop on what a thriving ocean looks, feels like, and what it asks of the people in the room.
His starting point was sound. “A healthy, thriving marine protected area will sound full of life,” he said, but when a reef is overfished, “we remove the orchestra.” Recovery can be heard too. Of the protected reefs in the Philippines, he said, “we can hear the sound of success.” Sound is also a tool: recordings of healthy reefs call in fish and coral larvae. Moving boats just “100 meters” from a reef boosted fish reproduction by 40 percent, and in the Maldives, playing reef sound where coral larvae are released took settlement from “a one in a million chance” to “a one in two chance.”
He closed by asking the room to act. Active hope, he said, is where “we don’t just dare to dream of a better future, we make it a daily practice in our lives.” His parting ask: “Dare to share.”
Desmond Lee, Singapore’s Minister for Education, spoke about how ocean education can connect classroom learning with real-world science, technology, and storytelling, and help young people see where their skills can take them.
He noted that more than 570 students and educators have toured the OceanX Explorer since the partnership with Singapore’s Ministry of Education and Science Centre Board began in 2024, and that “these experiences bring science to life.” He offered a clear picture of how skills meet on board: “A computer science student may see how data science supports marine research. An engineering student may see technologies built for extreme environments are put to the ultimate test.” Seeing that work up close, he said, “just lights that fire in students.”
Preparing them for an uncertain future means strong foundations and real-world practice, and a new role for teachers, who “walk alongside your students, you explore with them.” He closed by thanking OceanX and looking ahead to a generation that will “embrace the spirit of stewardship” toward the ocean.
The Summit’s final panel, Local Roots, Global Reach, brought together Titouan Bernicot, Founder & CEO of Coral Gardeners; Sheena Talma, Director of Talma Consulting and DPhil Fellow at the University of Oxford; and Rili Djohani, Co-founder & Executive Director of the Coral Triangle Center and was moderated by Elaine Cheung, Board Director of OceanX Education.
Their work is built on local people. At Coral Gardeners, island locals lead because “they know the reef like their backyard,” and “saving the planet should not be a part-time job.” Djohani’s center trains local leaders to train others, and writes “sacred zones in the sea” into management plans. Getting local voices into global rooms comes down to trust. “It’s one thing to have the space,” Talma said, “but it’s really essential that the space created also has a voice.” Their asks were simple. Bernicot urged people to “put their face in the water,” and Talma said to tell a friend: “It’s amazing how interested people get when you share a story.”
Ray Dalio, OceanX co-founder, closed the Summit with a reflection on how a childhood spent watching Cousteau grew into a ship, a team, and a community. “This has just been an episode, a three-day episode.”
He shared the numbers: more than 400 attendees, 223 students and educators, and over 60 speakers. His focus was what comes next. “What’s most exciting to me is that it’s created a community.” He called the effort “a multi-generation exercise,” added “this is a dream come true,” and ended with an invitation: “We hope to see you next year.”
Across the three days, the Summit moved from stories to systems to the people carrying the work forward. Day one opened with the power of storytelling and the case for local knowledge. Day two turned to the tools, capital, policy and partnerships needed to turn discovery into action. Day three looked ahead: Earle urged the room toward protecting 30% by 2030, Simpson showed how sound can call a reef back to life, Lee spoke about the next generation of ocean stewards, and the closing panel showed local leaders turning hope into results.
The message through all of it was that the work happens together.
Day 2 of the OceanX Summit: from treaty to discovery, and from policy to finance, scientists and leaders on how to turn ocean evidence into action.
The event kicked off on October 7 opening with convergence, bringing together perspectives to speed up solutions that advance the ocean agenda.
OceanX's Roo Rise Expedition uncovered rich Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems, its importance, and its cost if left unprotected.
