EMODnet 18th Steering Committee meets in Brest, France and celebrates change in Secretariat leadership
On 23rd May 2023 the EMODnet Steering Committee(SC) met in Brest, France, for its 18th meeting, hosted by Ifremer. At the 18th SC meeting, the EMODnet Secretariat announced a change in leadership, with Kate Larkin taking up the position of Head of Secretariat from April 2023 (read her welcome message here). Long-standing Head Jan-Bart Calewaert continues to work in the ocean data space, with more focus on global ocean data partnerships.
The beautiful setting at Plouzané, France, provided a perfect backdrop for discussions which included EMODnet service updates, flagship events and the value of EMODnet for policy e.g., Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Thematic, data ingestion and Central Portal Coordinators were in attendance, together with the EMODnet Secretariat, CINEA, EC DG MARE and invited experts from EC services including DG Defis and DG ENV. The EC Marine Knowledge Expert Group (MKEG) also joined the Open Session. The full agenda for the EMODnet 18th SC included a Closed Session in the morning for operational business, including updates on previous SC actions and highlights from the unified EMODnet service and future evolution of EMODnet.
Next came a deep dive into plans for the EMODnet Open Conference and Jamboree 2023 where the participants engaged in discussions regarding EMOD-network requirements, cross-thematic sessions, and the wider stakeholder contribution to the Open Conference.
18th SC meeting (©EMODnet Secretariat)
The afternoon session was open to the EMODnet TWG, EC MKEG and invited experts from the European Commission DGs and Joint Research Centre. In the afternoon, EMODnet Secretariat’s Technical Coordinator Conor Delaney presented the latest service provision and user uptake of the EMODnet Central Portal, following the full unification of services in January 2023. EMODnet Coordinators presented the latest updates on their thematic data and data product offer, stakeholder dialogues and user uptake, and data sharing activities of EMODnet data ingestion, including partnerships with the private sector. Highlights were provided from the recent Open Sea Lab 3.0 hackathon, noting that the three winning teams would attend and present at EMD 2023. In the coming months, EMODnet will host a EMODnet for Business online workshop in September 2023 focused on the coastal tourism sector. EMODnet will also launch in June 2023 the registration for the EMDOnet Open Conference, to take place on 29-30 November 2023, with associated partner Jamboree. This flagship event will be a chance to showcase EMODnet’s ongoing activities and partnerships, including for the EC DG MARE and DG Defis EDITO-Infra
project. that sees a collaboration on marine data infrastructure and data lakes between EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service. EMODnet’s contribution to the global ocean data ecosystem was also presented, including EMODnet’s newly appointed role as a UN Ocean Decade Implementing Partner.