Project Assistant：CHEN,CHUN-DA

　　To recognize the individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to marine education and to encourage the support of marine education through private resources, the Ministry of Education created the Marine Education Contribution Award. The award has been given out yearly since 2019. The Ministry of Education hopes to draw on existing ideas, introduce new ideas, and broaden the scope of what is considered possible to more effectively promote marine education.

　　The Marine Education Contribution Award is given to groups, individuals, local governments, and curriculum education teams. A total of 21 awards were given out this year. Winners in the group category were those who have demonstrated a long-term commitment to marine education, whether by visiting schools, making donations, or organizing sponsorships, and who have actively provided resources for marine education, facilitating the promotion of marine education in ways that left wide and long-lasting influence. This year’s winners were the Taiwan Environmental Information Association, the Lite-on Cultural Foundation, and the Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation. Winners in the individual category were those who have made long-term contributions in marine education that have enabled educators to shine in society and in schools. This year’s winners were Lin Fu-yin of Keelung Fishermen’s Association, Chiu Hsin-hui of Tainan Municipal Simen Experimental Elementary School, Cheng An-tsang of National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Cheng Ming-hsu of Academia Sinica, and Cheng Chien-hsun of Penghu County Huhsi Elementary School. Winners in the local government category all utilized local resources for center school and their partner schools to work together,  create opportunities to promote marine education, and use their available resources to create learning experiences and activities related to the marine environment. The winners this year were Kaohsiung City, Keelung City, New Taipei City, Tainan City, and Penghu County. Winners in the curriculum education team category took advantage of resources found within or outside their schools and developed comprehensive marine education curricula. Their curricula covered a diverse range of subjects in depth. In addition, the curricula were designed to be relevant to the local environment and included hands-on activities outside of the classroom to help students learn and build practical solutions to local marine issues. The winners included four teams in the elementary school category, three teams in the junior high school category, and one team in the senior high school/vocational school category.

　　The recipients of the Marine Education Contribution Award this year included nonprofit organizations, businesses small and large, and educators promoting marine education through private initiatives at various educational levels. The winners showed a variety of qualities and worked to bring together interdisciplinary resources to improve local support for marine education. We hope their success will serve as an example and motivate individuals from all backgrounds to take action for marine issues.