UOG Conference on Island Sustainability focused on solutions

Here’s a look back at the opening ceremony of the University of Guam Conference on Island Sustainability on Wednesday. Government leaders, educators, students, and community members from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam are convening all week long to have discussions centered around the event’s theme “solutions for our future.”

Dr. Austin Shelton, Director of UOG Center for Island Sustainability & Sea Grant, welcomed participants to the conference.

“We’ve had a whole bunch of different guests from the past several years…over 20,000 plus from 80 countries and territories that have been here,” Shelton said.

Conference co-chair and UOG president Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez said, “As we navigate through this journey of moving towards a global sustainable future, that we have the confidence for the generations to follow that we are able to do something very good to preserve the planet as a whole.”

Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero also welcomed participants as conference co-chair and encouraged community members to continue to share their ideas that can turn into real solutions for a sustainable future.

Martha Tenorio with Southern Guam Soil & Water Conservation District said, “Sustainability is a mindset.” She added, “Your action today…really affects what happens tomorrow.”

Story and video by Thomas Manglona II