EMODnet is about the people and its diverse community. At the Open Conference 2023, an interactive session featured an overview of the EMODnet Virtual Exhibition, together with diverse community poster pitches, and an open mic Panel where members of the community could provide perspectives and recommendations.
The interactive dialogues at the EMODnet Open Conference 2023 included a series of Townhalls which provided a unique platform for focused discussions on various critical aspects of EMODnet. Topics for the 2023 Townhalls included: EMODnet, Ocean Best Practices, and Interoperability; EMODnet for EU Policy; EMODnet and the Blue Economy; and EMODnet, EU Mission Ocean and wider society. These were organized and co-Chaired by members of the EMOD-network and invited experts, with EMODnet and the European Marine Board Secretariats jointly serving as rapporteur and facilitators. For each Townhall, a representative presented key messages back to the Plenary on Day 2.
At the EMODnet Open Conference 2023, a new video animation was released that explains the EMODnet unified service, noting the centralisation of all 7 EMODnet thematics into one portal, and what is means for EMODnet’s diverse user community. Follow the link to watch the full video.
Between 27-30 November 2023 over 340 partners, associated partners, and stakeholders of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) gathered in Brussels for the third EMODnet Open Conference and Jamboree. The week kicked off with a Partner Jamboree with the >120 partners exchanging on their latest service developments and joint activities. The Open Conference was a public event, moderated by Karen Coleman. With a line-up of over 75 speakers across the 1.5 days, the event highlighted EMODnet’s crucial role in the European Marine Data Ecosystem, focusing on a "Digital and Green Future." If you missed a session or want to revisit the insights, the Plenary video recordings together with event photos are now available on the Conference website, with Plenary and Townhall presentations also being made available over the next few days. A full conference report will follow in early 2024. This November 2023 EMODnet News Digest is dedicated to Conference and Jamboree 2023 highlights, with news articles also posted on the EMODnet Portal (see links below). Further updates of the EMOD-network activities will come in the end of year issue, coming out end of December.
The European Atlas of the Seas was featured in several components of the EMODnet Open Conference and Jamboree, including the Virtual Exhibition, the Jamboree session “Citizen Science and EMODnet”, the Townhall ‘EMODnet, EU Mission Ocean and wider society’ and the panel “EMODnet by and for wider society” within the session “EMODnet impact for society”. These sessions showed how EMODnet can support the European Union Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” and included discussions on the benefits of the contribution of citizens and citizen science projects to data sharing and how this could be done. The Atlas poster was presented to the audience during the EMODnet Community poster pitches. Both the Atlas Teachers Corner and the My Maps tool were highlighted as tools to support education.
On 29-30 November 2023, the full EMODnet partnership of > 120 organisations and wider stakeholders will gather in Brussels, Belgium for the third edition of the “EMDOnet Open Conference 2023: Powering the European Marine Data Ecosystem”. Save-the-date for this interactive event. Registration opening soon!
The 14th EMODnet Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting, was held online on 18th October 2023. At the TWG, EMODnet technical experts exchanged on the latest EMODnet Central Portal developments, including user-driven evolution for 2024 and beyond.
Join us on 26-27 September 2023 for a two-day online workshop "EMODnet for Coastal tourism". The workshop will take place over two half-days (mornings) and is designed to explore how the coastal tourism industry can benefit from EMODnet. Participants will discover the potential of EMODnet services for the coastal tourism sector and will be able to engage in cross-regional dialogue with participants from all European sea basins.
Over 100 stakeholders have already registered for the EMODnet Open Conference 2023! Do you have your ticket yet? We welcome all stakeholders across the ocean observation, marine data, information and knowledge value chain to join us on 29-30 November 2023 in Brussels, Belgium! The call for community (e-/digital) poster abstracts has been extended to 14th September. Don’t miss your chance to apply to present your work!
In this webinar on #WorldOceanDay, you are going to learn more about two of the Blue-Cloud 2026 VLabs, namely the “Carbon-Plankton Dynamics” VLab that was developed in the pilot Blue-Cloud, and the brand new VLab “Integration of Coastal Ocean observations along Europe”.
EU Green Week is an annual event promoting European environmental policies, educating the public, and stimulating discussions. Policymakers, prominent environmentalists, stakeholders, and interested parties from Europe and the world attend this high-level event organised by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment.
EMODnet was well represented at the European Maritime Day (EMD) 2023, which took place on 24th-25th May 2023, at the BREST EXPO, Parc des Expositions de Penfeld in Brest, France. EMODnet thematic and data ingestion Coordinators, the Central Portal and Secretariat teams were in attendance, with a variety of roles representing EMODnet at the exhibition and multiple stakeholder workshops related to marine and maritime data for innovation and sustained ocean observations.
The Second International Ocean Data Conference (IODC-II) entitled “The Data We Need for the Ocean We Want” took place on 20 and 21 March 2023 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. The Conference focused on the implementation of commitments and main recommendations for ocean data and information management identified at IODC-I. The Conference was attended by 160 participants on site and 296 online - including many representatives from EMODnet - and provided a platform for the global ocean data community to present new solutions to existing barriers and challenges as well as opportunities in the area of oceanographic data and information management and exchange.
On 2 March European Ocean Observing System (EOOS) organised an online webinar presenting its new Strategy and the Roadmap for the implementation.
Every three years the EuroGOOS conference provides a forum for marine scientists and technologists developing operational oceanography products, and the users of these services including decision and policymakers as well as the private sector.
On 26 January 2023, the EMODnet Secretariat hosted an online workshop on the added value and benefits of the EMODnet Sea-basin Checkpoint (SBCP) exercises that took place across six sea basins in 2013-2018. The workshop brought together more than 50 experts including EMODnet Sea-basin Checkpoint Coordinators, partners and expert panel members, EMODnet thematic and data ingestion Coordinators and representatives, EMODnet associated partners, the European Commission and wider invited experts from the European Ocean Observing, marine data and user community.
EMODnet invites inputs to a public survey on the benefits of the SBCP which remains open until 2 February 2023!
On 19-20 May 2022, EMODnet experts from across the network joined hundreds of marine and maritime stakeholders in Ravenna, Italy and online for European Maritime Day 2022. At the event, EC DG MARE hosted a workshop on Ocean Observation and the Blue Economy Observatory, which presented the ‘EC Ocean Observation – sharing responsibility’ initiative, explored synergies with the Blue Economy Observatory and launched the EC Blue Economy Report 2022 co-produced with the Joint Research Centre (JRC) which features EMODnet and the European Atlas of the Seas.
On 19 May, EMODnet co-organised a workshop with European projects EuroSea and Blue-Cloud on ‘Ocean Observations, marine data and services for the European Green Deal’ with EMODnet Chemistry and the Secretariat presenting concrete use cases of EMODnet data and data products for the EU Green Deal. In addition, EMODnet Human Activities moderated a workshop on Aquaculture and EMODnet Biology presented at a workshop on the Digital Ocean.
Read more on EMODnet’s activities at EMD2022, including further information on EMODnet and European Atlas of the Seas’ contribution to the EC Blue Economy Report 2022.
The #OceanChallenge4Africa online hackathon aims to tackle ocean challenges in the coastal and marine regions of Africa and to pool African energies to grasp opportunities offered by the ocean. It is organized by Mercator Ocean International, IOC Africa and Garage48; and supported by the EU’s Copernicus Marine Service and Segal Family Foundation. It is further held in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme GEMS Ocean, GEO Blue Planet and the African Group on Earth Observations (AfriGEO). The deadline for idea submission and team formation is 22 March 2022.
Ocean-based industries and conservation organisations are working towards 2030 targets to reduce harmful practices and restore ocean health. The summit will assess whether the targets are ambitious enough, and what policymakers, industry, and investors should do to achieve them.
Did you know that the EMODnet Open Conference virtual exhibition is still open for the public? The exhibition, set up for the EMODnet Open Conference in June 2021 takes the user through an informative journey of the past decade of EMODnet achievements, the latest state-of-the-art in in situ marine data services, key partnerships at EU and global levels – including with the ocean observation community, and EMODnet’s increasing win-win collaborations with the Blue Economy and Business sectors. There is information on the diverse activities of EMODnet, you can visit the gallery of community posters and get informed on related initiatives such as European Atlas of the Seas. The virtual exhibition closes in Spring 2022.
