To help advance the goals of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the China Ocean Decade International Cooperation Center, together with the Folk Literature and Art Center of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, has launched a new initiative to support the preservation and inheritance of Chinese shell carving heritage. The initiative was recently featured on the official website of the UNESCO Ocean Decade.

The initiative featured on the official UNESCO Ocean Decade website

[Photo via the UNESCO Ocean Decade]

To support the goals of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the Ocean Decade International Cooperation Center, China (ODCC) has joined efforts with the Folk Art Center of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles to launch a new initiative supporting the preservation and transmission of China's shell-carving heritage.

Inaugurated during the 99 Giving Day campaign in partnership with Tencent's Game for Peace, the Tencent philanthropy platform, the Play for Good platform, and representatives from the shell-carving tradition, the programme officially rolled out under the theme "Keeping the Art of Shell Carving Alive, Protecting Our Ocean Culture."

The initiative integrates digital scenarios, AI empowerment, science education, and public-welfare action to create a new "four-in-one" model for the communication and preservation of marine intangible cultural heritage. Key highlights include:

AI-powered "Cloud Shell Museum": Built upon 3,500 shell specimens from the Qingdao Shell Museum and developed jointly with Tencent's IMA Knowledge Base team, this digital resource provides heritage practitioners across China with access to scientific specimen data and creative reference materials.

Digital science-education course: Titled Treasures of the Sea: Chinese Shell Culture and Traditional Shell-Carving Techniques, the course is open to marine enthusiasts and university students nationwide, with certificates awarded upon completion.

In-game immersive experience: Starting August 26, the themed island map in Game for Peace features a digital exhibition space replicating shell-carving practitioners' works, alongside interactive shell-collecting elements that allow young players to engage directly with the tradition.

Public-welfare avatar frame campaign: Players complete designated tasks to contribute to server-wide charity progress. Upon reaching 100%, the Tencent Charity Foundation funds two on-the-ground programmes implemented by the China Siyuan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and the China Foundation for Rural Development to support shell-carving practitioners in technique preservation, educational transmission, cultural product development, and rural revitalization.

Through these efforts, online engagement translates into tangible offline support, breathing new life into living heritage while boosting the cultural industries of coastal communities, embodying a vision of the ocean economy that balances ecology, culture, and livelihoods.

This initiative marks another cross-sector endeavor by the ODCC in the field of marine cultural preservation, following previous work in marine ecological conservation. By extending the focus from the natural marine environment to maritime cultural heritage, the Center has forged an integrated pathway that links marine resource protection, living transmission of intangible cultural heritage, science education for young people, and rural revitalization support.

(Source: Ocean Decade International Cooperation Center, China)