National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU) and the Keelung City Government jointly organized a fun dragon boat paddling competition to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. The event, held on June 21 at NTOU's Dinghy Pier, brought together 29 teams, ranging from elementary school groups to the general public. The collaboration between NTOU and the city government integrated traditional dragon boat races, water safety promotion, and open water safety education for students. In addition to the races, the event featured water safety promotion and interactive water experiences, as well as a creative market organized by the Keelung City Food Truck Association, allowing participants to enjoy the excitement of water racing while enhancing their water-related knowledge and culinary experiences.

Mayor Hsieh Kuo-Liang expressed his happiness and appreciation for the event's success, with nearly 700 participants, including many athletes with disabilities, actively participating. He thanked NTOU for incorporating dragon boat paddling into the traditional races and providing excellent water sports equipment, allowing participants to compete for good results. NTOU President Hsu Tai-Wen also expressed his honor in co-organizing the dragon boat festival with the city government. He pledged that NTOU would continue to collaborate with the city government, leveraging Keelung's natural advantages of mountains and water to provide safe water activities, making the northeastern coast the preferred choice for water recreation among the public.

A large water experience pool was set up on the shore to provide interactive water safety education for students.

The event began with a warm-up led by NTOU's professional team. In addition to the thrilling dragon boat races on the sea, there were two large water experience pools on the shore, as well as booths promoting water safety, water self-rescue, and physical fitness. Students had the opportunity to interact and engage in interactive water safety education, allowing them to learn about safety precautions, self-rescue techniques, and drowning prevention in open water activities in a joyful environment.

As the Open Water Sports Education Center in the northern region designated by the Sports Administration, Ministry of Education, NTOU cooperates with the government's "Salute to the Sea" policy to cultivate a culture of ocean-friendly activities while prioritizing safety. Keelung, being a coastal city with abundant maritime resources and development advantages, has been organizing canoeing experiences for schools at all levels in collaboration with NTOU since 2020. The goal is to familiarize the public with the ocean, establish a closer connection with it, enjoy it safely, and leverage Keelung's coastal and maritime environment for development. NTOU takes its social responsibility as a university seriously and has received positive responses from the community.