UN Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona

Three years after the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), the first in-person UN Ocean Decade Conference took place in Barcelona on the 10-12^th of April 2024, bringing together the Ocean Decade community and partners to celebrate achievements and set joint priorities for the future of the Decade. With the sub–title of ‘delivering the science we need for the ocean we want’, the Conference had 7 high-level objectives:

• Showcase and celebrate achievements of the Ocean Decade from 2021 to 2024.
• Generate consensus on science – policy – society priorities for the Ocean Decade over the next 3 to 5 years through structured dialogue around white papers resulting from the Ocean Decade Vision 2030 Process.
• Create opportunities for networking to catalyse new partnerships and initiatives amongst diverse stakeholder groups and to bring new partners to the Ocean Decade.
• Provide a global platform for announcements and commitments to support the solutions-oriented goals of the Ocean Decade.
• Prepare existing and future Ocean Decade partners and initiatives for a visible and meaningful role in the 2025 UN Ocean Conference and related events.
• Highlight initiatives led by local partners relevant to the Ocean Decade, in particular in relation to activities related to the role of science in the sustainable ocean economy.
• Raise visibility and awareness of the Ocean Decade and the role of ocean science in sustainable development amongst the general public in Barcelona.

Mrs Alice Guittard represented AUEB in the “Science and Solutions for a Sustainable and Resilient Ocean Economy” session. It was an opportunity to showcase AE4RIA work on Sustainable Pathways for Seas and Oceans. With the example of the susutainable Living Labs, put in place in the Black Sea, to co-create transformative pathways for a sustainable Blue Economy with the local communities, the purpose was to highlight how the activities conducted in the framework of the BRIDGE-BS project support the Ocean Decade vision 2030 and contribute to filling the gaps.