On May 17, the first marine library in Shandong Province donated by China Oceanic Development Foundation (the Foundation) was officially completed in the Affiliated Middle School of Ocean University of China (Qingdao No. 39 Middle School). It is the 36th marine library donated by the Foundation.

From Hailun City in Heilongjiang Province to Qiongzhong County in Hainan Province, from Kashgar City in Xinjiang Province to Qingdao City in Shandong Province ... the ocean-related talents cultivation program of the Foundation has covered inland poverty-stricken areas, old red revolutionary areas, ethnic minority areas and coastal cities with marine characteristics. At present, it has donated funded marine libraries in 36 primary and secondary schools in 17 provinces and cities across the country, benefiting more than 100,000 primary and secondary school students. As a result, a seed named "ocean" has been planted in children's hearts.

Implementation of the ocean-related talents cultivation public welfare program

Pan Xinchun, Deputy President and Secretary-General of the Foundation, said that the development of a maritime power requires the continuous cultivation of excellent marine talents. The development of a maritime power is not only a matter of coastal areas but also the responsibility and mission of every Chinese person. To popularize marine knowledge, enhance marine awareness and cultivate marine talents in primary and secondary schools in China's inland areas, the Foundation has implemented the ocean-related talents cultivation public welfare program of "Donating Marine Libraries, Cultivating Youth Talents". With the marine library as the platform of marine knowledge, the Foundation finances schools to carry out marine knowledge teaching, marine knowledge contests, marine art performance activities, marine lectures and other activities, as well as establish scholarships for students who enter colleges and universities majoring in marine, aiming to stimulate the interest of teachers and students to love and concern the ocean and encourage students to contribute to the development of the marine industry. The ocean-related talents cultivation program achieves the goal of three in and one out", i.e. introducing marine knowledge into the classroom, marine books into schoolbags, marine awareness into activities and producing outstanding marine talents admitted to universities."

Bai Gangxun, Principal of Qingdao No. 39 Middle School, said that "the establishment of the marine library has provided strong support and valuable resources for the development of marine education, which helps to enhance the marine awareness of teachers and students, promote the marine culture, enrich the connotation of school operation, and improve comprehensive literacy of students."

Cultivating marine awareness starts from children

"The cultivation of marine awareness and ocean concept should start from children, and it is urgent to carry out ocean education in primary and secondary schools. Primary and secondary school students are related to the future of the country and the nation. Their marine awareness, marine knowledge and marine culture are directly related to the implementation of the strategy of building a maritime power." said Pan Xinchun.

Bai Gangxun said, in the context of the national strategy to promote the building of a maritime power, the school actively cooperates with the Ocean University of China and other universities and research institutes, introduces marine professionals, builds a trinity marine education curriculum system of "basic courses + extended courses + practical courses", implements the "four-one program" of "one expert lecture per week, one marine practical activity per month, one research program per semester, and one marine scientific examination per year" and addresses the development of students' core literacy such as learning interest, practical ability, scientific spirit and national sentiment in a targeted manner, which has delivered a batch of excellent talents to ocean-related universities.

As a national marine science base, Qingdao Chengyang No. 2 Experimental Middle School focuses on marine science education for students, providing a platform of study and activities for all students in all aspects. The school integrates marine education with the national curriculum, local curriculum and school-based curriculum, connects the internal and external links to open up the marine learning time and space, stimulates students' interest in protecting and exploring the ocean through marine practical education, and makes continuous efforts to realize the dream of building a maritime power.

As the first "Junior Ocean School" in China, Qingdao Shinan Experimental Primary School is striving to build a brand school with characteristics of "marine quotient education". According to the school principal Zhu Xuemei, the so-called "marine quotient" is a comprehensive index of knowledge, ability and literacy about the ocean. In recent years, the school has maximized the synergy through the marine knowledge popularization to enhance the quality of "marine quotient" education.

Daozhen High School is the only large public high school in Daozhen Gelao and Miao Autonomous County of Zunyi City in Guizhou Province, where the Foundation donated an marine library in 2018. Yao Siyong, Principal of Daozhen High School, said that "the marine library has opened a window for the whole school to learn about the ocean, and I deeply feel the students' eagerness to aspire to the ocean and their interest in learning about it."

In China's inland areas, especially in poor mountainous areas, students are very thirsty for marine knowledge. The lack of marine book resources and the low level of marine science education have constrained the marine awareness promotion in the relevant regions. To raise the marine awareness of all people and implement the call of the central government to alleviate poverty, since 2017, the Foundation has been donating marine libraries to primary and secondary schools in inland areas, especially in the "old revolutionary areas" and "three regions and three prefectures ("three regions" refers to Tibet, four prefectures of southern Xinjiang-Hotan, Aksu, Kashi, and the Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Kizilsu, and the areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces with large Tibetan populations; the "three prefectures" are Liangshan in Sichuan, Nujiang in Yunnan, and Linxia in Gansu.) and other poor areas, opening a window for children to learn about the ocean and get closer to the ocean by donated marine books.

The pace of marine public welfare undertakings will never stop

On the afternoon of May 18, representatives of principals from 18 primary and secondary school from all over the country had a discussion and exchange on the ocean-related talents cultivation program, the role of the marine library, the promotion of primary and secondary school marine education and the role of the China Oceanic Development Foundation.

During the talk, a short video recorded from the Kashgar Special Economic Zone Senior High School in Xinjiang was impressive. "The marine library donated by the Foundation opened a window to the outside world for the students, and the books planted the seeds of ideals in their hearts." said Ablikim, a second grade student at Kashgar Special Economic Zone Senior High School.

The Foundation also provides training on marine knowledge teaching to teachers in the recipient schools to help them teach marine education classes better. In the short video, Mahinur Andre, a language teacher for second grade at Kashgar Economic Special Zone Senior High School, said that "I was fortunate to participate in the training on teaching marine knowledge materials organized by the Foundation in 2019, and this training has helped me to know more about how to teach a good marine education lesson and how to grasp the focus of marine teaching to bring out students' interest and hobby in the ocean."

In Pan Xinchun's opinion, the ocean-related talents cultivation program is a microcosm of the Foundation's engagement in marine public welfare. "The Foundation will continue to carry out marine public welfare activities with more content and richer forms to bring into play the value of public welfare and release public welfare energy. The pace of marine public welfare undertakings will never stop." said Pan Xinchun.