On 2 July 2022, the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) of Indonesia and the School of Marine Science and Technology (SMST) and the ASEAN-China Smart Ocean Centre of Tianjin University (TJU) of China jointly hosted the CommTECH Exploration 2022: Blue Ocean Movie Camp (Online). At the opening ceremony, Mr. Arianto Surojo, Director of the Information and Public Relations Division of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), Professor Trika Pitana, Dean of the Faculty of Marine Technology of ITS, and Ms. Zhang Zhen, Director of the Office of International Cooperation of TJU, delivered remarks. Professor Su Rongxin, Deputy Dean of SMST of TJU, along with over 60 faculty members and students from universities in China, Indonesia and Malaysia, attended the activity.
Mr. Arianto Surojo stated in his speech that ASEAN and China are close neighbours linked by mountains and seas. Both sides share common sustainable development goals and face common challenges like climate change and ocean protection. He stressed that the protection of the ocean calls for collective efforts from all groups of the society, including the young. This camp provides a great platform for exchanges among youth in ASEAN and China to spark their passion for the ocean. He looked forward to the proactive participation of young people from both sides in promoting the establishment of the ASEAN-China partnership on blue economy and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This movie camp is an extension of the “2021 Smart Ocean Month”, an online TJU-ITS joint teaching programme. The event includes a number of lectures on video production and marine science popularization to prepare for the Third ASEAN-China "Learning about Ocean" Student Film Competition to be held in 2022.