The first ever EU Algae Awareness Summit will be held 5-7 October 2023 at the Maison de l’Océan in Paris. The Summit will kick off a process and raise awareness among EU Member States’ administrations and the general public on the benefits algae cultivation may bring to national and regional economies, to people, and to the regeneration of our Ocean. Through a round of pitches on the algae sector developments globally and in Europe, high-level panel conversations, participatory group discussions, algae products tasting an exhibition area with possibility to explore various algae products and a virtual reality experience, event participants may learn about algae’s multifaceted contributions to society and be inspired to increase their support to the algae sector developments.

The event will be co-organised by the European Commission, French Government and the Global Seaweed Coalition (UN Global Compact) with the support of the Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation.

Background:

The European Commission has recently devoted lots of support to algae sector developments in the European Union (EU). Among other actions, it adopted a dedicated EU Algae Initiative on 15 November 2022 and created a European Algae Stakeholder platform EU4Algae that already comprises more than 840 registered algae sector stakeholders within and outside the EU. Lack of awareness about the benefits and opportunities that algae can bring to national economies and lack of acceptance of algae products in the EU have been recognized among the key bottlenecks preventing algae sector developments. To address these, the European Commission is organizing a collaborative 1st EU Algae Awareness Summit to inspire EU national and regional aquaculture authorities in charge of regulations and governance to facilitate allocation of licenses and maritime space for algae cultivation.

Physical participants will have the opportunity to learn about algae sector developments across the world and in Europe (thanks to the Global Seaweed Coalition (GSC) and EU business organizations). The three day event will include an exhibition that will be structured around the following thematic areas: algae for food, feed, cosmetics, bio-packaging, biostimulants, textile/art/design, other applications, enabling technologies, science, coalitions and enabling organizations, farmers and producers. While participation on 5 and 6 October will be by invitation only, the Maison de l’Ocean will be open to the public on 7th October.