"The Future of Our Seas ": European Maritime Day 2017
"The Future of Our Seas ": European Maritime Day 2017
Provisional programme
Interpretation: English, French and German. Interpretation is provided only in the Plenary Room.
Opening Address:
The Rt Hon John Hayes CBE MP, Minister of State at the Department for Transport
Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Jean D'Amour, Minister for Maritime Affairs, Quebec (tbc)
Barbara Jackson, CEO, Race for the Baltic: Barbara Jackson has gone from high-flying corporate player to
promoting environmental change in the Baltic by bringing together stakeholders from across the region.
10.15 12.30 Leadership Exchange: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEAS OPPORTUNITIES AND
CHALLENGES
Seas and oceans are one of the most precious resources of our planet. They are also important drivers for Europe's economy.
But we need to develop them sustainably. Sustainability has long been at the heart of the EU with EU legislation providing high
levels of protection in areas such as water quality and nature conservation, resulting in a better environment and a better
quality of life for everyone to enjoy.
However, more complex global challenges remain to be tackled, such as the growing problem of marine litter and micro-
plastics. While these require determined, ambitious and coordinated action by governments, they also needs serious
commitments and breakthroughs from the private sector.
European companies are world leaders in sustainability and many companies and entrepreneurs, including in the maritime
economy, have moved beyond notions of reducing their environmental impact or improving their corporate social responsibility
towards accelerating real transformation. This session will discuss related challenges and opportunities and chart out the way
forward.
This session will highlight best practice projects that promote cooperation in marine clusters or around sea basins,
and it will discuss in what way these contribute to strategic project pipelines and provide new perspectives for blue
growth. It will also aim discuss the evolving nature of project funding and risk sharing for blue growth projects to
bring innovative ideas closer to market.
The session will highlight a sample of successful projects funded under the 2016 Blue Growth calls of the European
Maritime and Fisheries Fund. By focusing on skills' needs (BLUE CAREERS), creativity and entrepreneurship (BLUE
LABS) as well as getting research results closer to market (BLUE TECH), these projects will work towards supporting
innovation and growth in the blue economy. The project pitches will be followed by a short panel discussion on how
these projects and public private partnerships will contribute to boost blue growth in a strategic way.
Project pitches:
Panellists:
13.15 14.15 'Workshop Summary and Reflections Session: what have we learned?
This session will enable feed-back from stakeholder workshops and will attempt to harvest common messages and policy
recommendations.