The 2nd edition of the European Ocean Days, held from March 3-7, 2025 in Brussels, brought together key stakeholders from across Europe to discuss critical issues affecting marine environments and sustainable ocean management. This annual event serves as a pivotal platform for knowledge exchange between policymakers, researchers, industry representatives, and conservation groups dedicated to advancing ocean sustainability objectives.
A collaborative workshop on Harmonizing KPIs and Approaches to Support a Joint Mission Ocean and Waters Monitoring Framework, organised by the Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs): Prep4Blue, BlueMissionBANOS, BlueMissionMed, EcoDaLLi and BlueMissionAA. With valuable insights from our BlueMissionAA partner, Harald Hasler-Sheetal, from ICES – International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the session brought together experts from various Mission Ocean projects to tackle marine monitoring challenges. The workshop explored aligning indicators across projects using PESTEL analysis and impact pathways, while ensuring scalability and stakeholder engagement in KPI development.
In representation of the coordination of BlueMissionAA, Ana Faria was invited to, alongside the Mission lighthouses, deliver a compelling presentation during the Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” Annual Forum, on the Atlantic & Arctic Lighthouse initiative to a crowded audience of policy makers, researchers, and industry representatives.
During the Annual Forum, a collaborative exhibition space was also shared with partner projects OKEANO, CLIMAREST and A-AAGORA, creating an interactive hub for attendees to learn about complementary approaches to ocean sustainability.
Two additional workshops were held with the valuable participation of our team members.
The Exploring WaveLinks interactive workshop, organized by Blue Mission BANOS, and with the support of PREP4BLUE and BlueMissionAA, introduced the participants to the innovative WaveLinks platform, an application for mapping the research and innovation landscape of Mission Ocean, aiming to foster collaboration between projects and strengthen connections between academia, industry, and society. In a session conducted by Dusan Misevic and Lionel Jovet from SDU (University of Southern Denmark), the workshop also provided hands-on exploration of its features and benefits for EU-funded project members.
Meanwhile, the Support an Enabling Environment: Business models, Regulation and Financial Ecosystem workshop examined business models, regulations, and financial ecosystems necessary for Mission Ocean success, presenting findings from PREP4BLUE and facilitating discussions on scaling up funding for Phase 2 initiatives, where Jochen Koerner, from Fraunhofer, presented key achievements and next steps on how to enable market uptake of marine restoration solutions.
On the final day, BlueMissionAA participated in the Cross Lighthouse Synergies: Deploying the Mission Ocean and Waters and Scaling Up for the Next Phase event, which brought together CSA representatives, Innovation Actions representatives and the broader Community of Actors to exchange lessons learned, strengthen synergies, and coordinate efforts to maximize impact at the Mission scale as we transition into the next phase of Mission Ocean & Waters. Tânia Li Chen presented BlueMissionAA, while partners Oliver Wilson (Marine Institute) and Tania Montoto (PLOCAN) contributed to the panel discussions. Innovation actions from the Atlantic and Arctic lighthouse, including CLIMAREST and A-AAGORA also participated in the event discussion.
This significant five-day event not only provided a valuable opportunity to connect with potential new partners and explore synergies with colleagues from the Atlantic and Arctic Lighthouse, but it also reinforced the project’s active role in advancing the EU Mission Ocean and Waters’ goals for protecting and restoring ocean environments by 2030.