‘Chief mermaid,’ other WEF champions gather at #OCEAN14 summit

MANILA, Philippines – The World Economic Forum in Makati ended Friday afternoon, May 23, but many participants are not yet headed home.

One of them is Anna Oposa, fondly referred to as “Chief Mermaid” by fellow environmentalists and even by government agencies for her marine life conservation advocacy.

Oposa and more than 150 others from various WEF communities are now in Cebu for a summit called OCEAN 14 or Open Collaboration with East Asia New Champions 2014.

From May 23 to 25, the WEF champions will engage the private sector, government, and the academe on ways to collaborate on pressing issues involving the environment, entrepreneurship, and creative economy.

Moving forward

Fora like WEF are often criticized for being mere talk shops, but for Oposa, it is a springboard for cooperation.

“Collaboration is essential in moving forward,” Oposa said, citing a climate change adaptation project she coordinated with the help of San Vicente, Palawan Mayor Pie Alvarez as an example.

San Vicente is being developed as a demonstration site of the Climate Change Commission’s efforts to build ecologically sound and economically resilient towns or eco-towns across the country. 

“Working with Mayor Pie made me realize that local officials need help, too; and we can’t just complain about them but find ways to help them instead,” Oposa said.

On Saturday, May 24, Oposa will give a keynote address highlighting her advocacies, setting the tone of the discussion on innovations for the environment.

Creative genius of Filipinos

Apart from the environment, other interactive discussions will focus on the following topics that hope to inspire innovations not only in the Philippines but also in the ASEAN region:

• Inclusive Entrepreneurship: How society can enable “entrepreneurship for all” 
• Sustainable social enterprise: Best practices by leading social entrepreneurs
• Creative Economy: Harnessing the abundance of creative talent in the region
• Preparing for the Digital Age: How traditional enterprises can address consumers of digital content and services

“What we want to do is take more visionaries, investors, leaders into the community and see the creative genius in the Philippines,” according to multi-awarded broadcast journalist Karen Davila, who co-chairs the summit.

Organizers also announced another highlight of the summit – a design-thinking session called “Maker Hack.” Participants of the session will be given access to “cutting-edge technology that enables rapid prototyping.”

“When there is investment and interest in more areas especially in start-ups, design, disaster management, technology, we create more opportunities for our younger generation,” stressed Davila, a WEF Young Global Leader.

  Ocean 14 Summit Program

– Rappler.com

The Philippines hosted the World Economic Forum on East Asia from May 21 to 23, 2014 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. For updates about the forum, visit Rappler’s microsite.