Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will host the third annual Our Ocean conference on September 15-16 in Washington, D.C., to catalyze global action to protect our ocean from the effects of human activity, including unsustainable and illegal fishing, marine pollution, and climate-related impacts. In addition to the conference itself, the U.S. Department of State will host a series of events to engage local and international audiences in the effort to protect our ocean.

• Our Ocean, One Future: Youth Leadership Summit: The U.S. Department of State, Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and the Sustainable Oceans Alliance are co-hosting the “Our Ocean, One Future: Leadership Summit” as a parallel event to the Our Ocean conference, with the support of the Georgetown Science, Technology & International Affairs Program and the Georgetown Global Futures Initiative. High-level ocean leaders will join a competitively selected group of 150 university students to build leadership strategies to spur action on the threats to our ocean. The Summit aims to engage the next generation of political leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, and civil society to identify solutions and commit to actions to protect our ocean so it can continue to sustain us all into the future.
• Our Ocean Concert: The U.S. Department of State will host a concert at the Kennedy Center on Thursday, September 15, featuring Grace Potter, Leslie Odom Jr., and Eric Whitacre. Actor and Environmentalist Adrian Grenier and others will speak, and foreign ministers, civil society participants, young leaders from the Our Ocean, One Future: Leadership Summit, and others will attend the conference.
• Our Ocean Film Showcase: The U.S. Department of State, the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, D.C. Environmental Film Festival, and BLUE Ocean Film Festival will host a film showcase at the National Museum of Natural History on September 10th. This showcase will feature four curated ocean-related documentary films and include panel discussions with prominent figures including National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia Earle and Department of State’s Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Cathy Novelli. The showcase aims to look at the state of our ocean environment. To attend or for more information please click here.
• Our Ocean Idea Stage: The Our Ocean Idea Stage will be located within the conference exhibit space. It will highlight solutions to the threats facing the ocean from innovative entrepreneurs, cutting-edge researchers, and big-picture thinkers. Presenters will address one or more of the four conference themes. More information on Idea Stage participants and recordings of their presentations will be available on the Our Ocean conference webpage.
• Our Ocean Exhibit Hall: The Our Ocean Exhibit Hall at the conference will highlight new initiatives, and exciting ocean projects. It will include Washed Ashore sea life sculptures made entirely of marine plastic pollution. There will be a “mission control” exhibit which will feature some of the examples of projects in the Safe Ocean Network to combat illegal fishing. The exhibit also highlights the roughly three dozen partner programs that currently comprise the growing Safe Ocean Network. The exhibit hall will also feature ocean inspired art by well-known artist Romero Britto and photographer Brian Skerry.
• Our Ocean Film Stage: Working with Jackson Hole Film Festival and GoodPitch, this small movie stage will allow documentarians to give a short introduction before showing – in most cases premiering – a trailer or short-form of their film. The films come from a variety of sources, all with compelling stories of the interplay between humans and the ocean.