As you may know, the second edition of the European Ocean Days is taking place on 3-7 March 2025, in Brussels. Experts, policymakers, and ocean advocates from across Europe have been meeting in multiple events to address key marine and maritime challenges:
- Young Voices for the Ocean on Monday;
- Mission Restore Our Ocean and Waters Forum on Tuesday, alongside with Mission-related events during the week;
- Fisheries and Ocean Dialogues: Help Design the European Ocean Pact on Wednesday;
- EIT Water Info Day on Wednesday;
- BlueInvest Day on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday;
- Marine Knowledge for the Ocean Pact on Friday morning;
- Fisheries and Ocean Science Seminar on Friday afternoon.
The Young Voices for the Ocean event started with an interactive dialogue between young ocean advocates and the new Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Mr. Costas Kadis. Following the dialogue, participants were able to take part in workshops on blue education, blue careers, ocean & art and ocean literacy & Blue Thread. They could also visit art exhibits, immerse themselves in the ocean with Sounds of the Ocean and discover amazing ocean literacy initiatives and resources on the Ocean literacy Island. In the afternoon, participants attended sessions dedicated to blue skills, ocean restoration and blue citizenship and they learned about the new EU4Ocean advocacy campaign #MakeEUBlue: Cities in Action!
It has been a week of continuous opportunities to learn more about the ocean, discover the incredible work carried out by projects funded under Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters and discuss the future of the ocean and key role of the European Ocean Pact.
The EU4Ocean Coalition for ocean literacy, which comprises the EU4Ocean Platform, the Youth4Ocean Forum and the Network of European Blue Schools, was highly active during the European Ocean Days. Would you like to know who the members of the EU4Ocean Coalition are and what they do? Explore the EU4Ocean map in the Atlas and click on the pieces of the puzzle to read information about the members. The EU4Ocean Coalition now brings together over 1,000 members. Zoom in the map to see the members in your region!
It has been a great week for the European Atlas of the Week which was present both on the Ocean Literacy Island at the European Ocean Days on Monday and at the VLIZ Marine Science Day on Wednesday, where a new Atlas poster was featured. This year’s VLIZ Marine Science Day was particularly special as it marked the 25th anniversary of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). Throughout the event, which gathered 550 participants, young researchers presented their work of great interest in a very wide range of scientific fields and had multiple opportunities to network!
Wish to learn more and get involved?
Watch the recordings of the events which took place during the European Ocean Days 2025 by clicking on ‘Live streaming’ on the dedicated webpage!
Take part in the #MakeEUBlue: Cities in Action advocacy campaign.
Submit your ocean literacy project for the EU4Ocean MakeEUBlue awards 2025 by 14 march 2025.
Become a member of the EU4Ocean Coalition.
Watch the new Atlas tutorial on the ‘My Locations’ tool and read the recent article on the Atlas ‘My Notes’ tool to find out how you can create your own maps in the European Atlas of the Seas!
The data in the map are provided by the EU4Ocean Platform, the Youth4Ocean Forum and the Network of European Blue Schools.