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Last Update 2023.11.01
After being selected as one of the three winners of the Future Maritime Leaders Essay Competition, Saki Inoue, a 3rd-year student from Kobe University (Faculty of Oceanology), was invited to attend the 6th Global Maritime Forum Annual Summit 2023 in Athens on 17-19 October. The Global Maritime Forum Annual Summit is invitation-only, with over 200 C-suite leaders from within and outside the maritime industry attending. For this year's Essay Competition, as many as 112 essays from young people aged 18-35 were submitted from 37 different countries in Asia, America, Europe, Africa, and other regions. Ms. Inoue's essay ranked in the Top 3, and she became the youngest winner in the history competition at age 21. The other Top 3 winners were Shareefa Jewan (Mauritius, 29) and Vladimir Zorić (Montenegro, 31). This year's essay question was in Op-Ed format: "What does an inclusive transition to a sustainable maritime industry mean to you - and what are your recommendations to industry leaders and policymakers on how this could be achieved for future generations?"
In her essay, Ms. Inoue's key message was "the maritime industry should be more engaged with seafarers, younger generations, and developing countries," and underscored the need of massive efforts to improve seafarers' duties, MET (Maritime Education and Training), and a more involved role for developing countries in the transition to sustainability. The 2023 Summit included a wide range of programs: a keynote address about AI from a TED speaker, an agenda-setting panel discussion, a dialogue aimed at fostering better future leadership, as well as chatrooms that took place after 25-minute presentations on various topics.
During the opening event and coffee breaks, attendees were able to network with industrial leaders, and the small group of Future Maritime Leaders worked together to strike up close relationships. Ms. Inoue, Ms. Jewan, and Mr. Zorić also presented their Future Maritime Leaders Statement in the Press Briefing, with interviews by the press. They each had a chance to share their essays and future prospects for the industry. After participating in the event, Ms. Inoue expressed her sincere gratitude to her professors and family, saying "Professor Rooks, Professor Fuchi, and my parents have greatly supported me from applying to the competition to attending the Sumit. Thanks to them, I could pull off the biggest challenge in my life and fully immerse myself in this invaluable experience." You can find Ms. Inoue's essay, "Why you are the heart of the ecological revolution, not just a part of it" on the Global Maritime Forum's official website (https://www.globalmaritimeforum.org/news/why-you-are-the-heart-of-the-ecological-revolution-not-just-a-part-of-it ).
Ms. Inoue and the two other winners will continue to take the initiative in the Future Maritime Leaders Network consisting of 20+ members, and are committed to driving positive change within the maritime industry. Next year's summit will take place in Tokyo, Japan.
Essay Competition
https://www.maritime.kobe-u.ac.jp/news/2023/pdf/GMF2023.pdf 
Global Maritime Forum Annual Summit 2023
https://www.globalmaritimeforum.org/annual-summit-2023/programme-2023
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7121071836292878336/
Global Maritime Forum
https://www.globalmaritimeforum.org/
