Representative of MCD, Ms. Ho Thi Yen Thu – Permanent Deputy Director, participated in the 2nd Symposium of the Clean Currents Coallition (CCC) held at the University of California Santa Barbara, California, USA. The Symposium took place during November 7-10, 2022 with the in-person participation of representatives of plastic waste management projects from around the world and related agencies, organizations and businesses.

The Clean Currents Coallition, initiated and funded by the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory and the Coca Cola Foundation, has been in operation since 2019, promoting the initiatives of organizations and businesses dedicated and dedicated to solve the problem of plastic waste pollution from rivers to oceans. Up to now, 8 projects have been selected to participate in CCC from more than 30 proposals from 5 continents and 16 countries around the world, including the project “Strategic Plastic Litter Abatement in the Sông Hồng (SPLASH)” that is jointly developed and implemented by the Ocean Conservancy and MCD.

Photo: The working session with progress reporting from the CCC projects

The 2nd CCC symposium was a forum for the 8 projects in the CCC to report on progresses and results achieved during more than 2 years of implementation, discuss experiences and lessons, advantages and challenges. At the same time, it created opportunities for interaction between project-hosting organizations and businesses with sponsors, investment funds, management advisors and fundraisers to jointly plan sustainable development for the initiatives for clean rivers that should be suitable for different regions of the world. The CCC symposium also had the participation of scientists from the University of California Santa Barbara with the most updated studies on the current state and forecast of plastic waste pollution, as a premise for participants who attended the CCC symposium together to brainstorm the strategic solutions to this problem.

Photo: SPLASH project team (OC & MCD) and CCC sponsors