Our History

General Assembly held; relaunch preparation underway

The organization held its March 24, 2026 General Assembly and is now preparing next-phase public programming and partnerships for the relaunch period.

Keeping the network active (2020–2025)

From 2020 to 2025, we maintained partner ties, preserved key history materials, and continued Mermaid Mama / ZERO HUNGER coordination while preparing the practical foundation for relaunch.

Prefecture Assembly petition & UNESCO GAP commitment

March 2014: Team records include a formal petition to the Okinawa Prefecture Assembly titled the “Okinawa Asia-Pacific ESD HUB Initiative” (toward a sustainable 22nd century). It asked the assembly to back steps such as raising Okinawa’s inclusion in the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) geographic scope with Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, endorsing the Earth Charter, and encouraging prefectural engagement with the UNESCO Associated Schools network. The document named ANA Cargo, the OIST-led R&D cluster task force, and other actors as examples of Okinawa’s hub potential—historical advocacy context from 2014, not an endorsement list for today.

31 October 2014: A UNESCO Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development launch commitment registration in team archives names Edoardo Heinrich-Sanchez as contact, prioritizes empowering youth, and frames activities for 2014–2020, including the Asia-Pacific ESD hub vision and related partnership lines (e.g. JFGE, APN) from that period.

UNEP conference at OIST & Green Fins

NPO法人 沖縄O.C.E.A.N. leads the UNEP Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) conference at OIST—Okinawa/Ryukyu were outside the plan's official scope, but we became the local proponent. Two grants fund an NGO conference at Seaside House and an international conference on the main campus. We invite the Green Fins representative and propose Maida Point as a Green Fins test site; Green Fins has since been adopted by Onna Village.

OIST’s public event record describes the programme as the 2013 NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup and Workshop on Marine Litter Management (24–26 October 2013): capacity-building for regional marine-litter management, promotion of International Coastal Cleanup in the NOWPAP region, and an International Coastal Cleanup on 26 October on Kuraha Beach, Onna Village (Yamada area), with workshop venues including B250 and Kuraha (Malibu) Beach.

OIST listing: 2013 NOWPAP ICC & workshop

The same “Blue October” period also includes the Okinawa NGO Asia-Pacific Environmental Forum on 23 October 2013 (Seaside House / OIST-linked venue in Onna), ahead of the NOWPAP workshop days; in the hall and on screen, materials featured “My Island : My Earth” themes with Naka Bokunen’s work.

TEDxRyukyu followed in November 2013 at OIST in Onna (OIST news: TEDxRyukyu), extending the year’s public conversation on ideas and sustainability.

• Yacht races and Coast Guard partnership; groundwork for Okinawa Clean Coast Network (OCCN).
• Planning for UNEP/NOWPAP conference at OIST; Green Fins outreach begins.

My Beach / My Reef and Pasha Navi volunteers scale up; ICC data submission continues.

Earth Charter

Okinawa O.C.E.A.N. formally endorses and joins the Earth Charter initiative, connecting local activities to this global ethical framework for sustainability.

FM Okinawa collaboration expands outreach

Around 2006, collaboration with FM Okinawa helped document and amplify the movement ecosystem around beach cleanups and environmental education, including interviews with NPO法人 沖縄O.C.E.A.N. co-founders.

My Beach / My Reef

The My Beach / My Reef Project (マイビーチ／マイリーフ) launches: Beach Captains and Reef Captains care for specific sites; Pasha Navi volunteers document beaches. Supports global marine-debris efforts and online coastal monitoring.

National award & Discovery Channel

NPO法人 沖縄O.C.E.A.N. receives the 2003 (平成15年) Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award for Community Development in the Category: Creating Towns Friendly to People and Nature. Co-founders Chairman Edo and Vice Chairman Kenny are invited to Tokyo to receive this prestiguous national awrard and meet Minister Aso Taro. Edward (Edo) is recruited to serve as the Okinawa Producer by Executive Producer Robert Taylor for the Discovery Channel's travel documentary television series Fantastic Festivals of the World by Marc Pingry Productions which dedicated Season 1, Episode 11 to the unique cultural traditions of Okinawa, Japan during the yearly time to honor the ancestors: "Kyubon and Eisa Festivals of Okinawa".

Registered NPO

On 7 April 2003, Okinawa O.C.E.A.N. is certified as a Specified Nonprofit Corporation (特定非営利活動法人). We were the first NPO registered in Onna Village and participated in hearings to help shape the new NPO law.

• Late 1990s: Expansion of Ocean Culture and Environment Action Network activities across the island.
• 2000–2002: Preparations for NPO certification under the new law; hearings and documentation.

My Ocean Charter (IYO)

We develop the Okinawa version of "My Ocean Charter" (私の海洋憲章) for the International Year of the Ocean. Endorsed by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO; realized as a woodblock print by artist Naka Bokunen. Over 10,000 volunteers sign the charter.

This My Ocean Charter (1998, International Year of the Ocean) is a separate initiative from the later “My Island : My Earth” Charter
, which grew out of the 2006 PALM Pacific Islands Youth Meeting in Okinawa—often carrying the same Bokunen visual language—as a parallel thread on island-to-planetary stewardship.

UN Earth Summit

Okinawa O.C.E.A.N. participates in the Earth Summit at UN Headquarters in New York as one of the representative organizations in the Asia Environmental Society, linking Okinawa to global island and environmental networks. E Heinrich Sanchez is a founding member of the Okinawa Environmental Network (OEN).

Many thanks to Dr. Jun Ui for providing the necessary credential and a small OEN grant for the UN visit. His mantra was to focus on the GENBA (the site, the scene, the workplace) always repeating it thrice for emphasis: Genba x Genba x Genba!

Okinawa O.C.E.A.N. founded

Members of the Okinawa International Clean Beach Club formalize their efforts into the Ocean Culture & Environment Action Network to coordinate education, cleanups, and awareness.

We established the third Sunday of the month as Clean Beach Club Day with data collection along with the first outreach links with schools and local government.

Growing volunteer base; coordination with national coastal campaigns.

Okinawa International Clean Beach Club

Volunteer beach cleanups begin. This community initiative would grow into one of the largest and longest-running marine conservation efforts in the Ryukyu Islands.