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underwater ray of light

Survey for Nautical Companies to Understand Potential of Innovative Marine Robotics

 

Blue Roses is an EU funded project, developed by a consortium of research institutions and companies (Navigo and Aninver – IMC Worldwide among them), to use state-of-the-art marine robotics to develop innovative and sustainable underwater services for marinas and leisure boats.

The aim of the project is to facilitate access to the underwater environment through the use of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and associated ICT. This ‘new dimension’ will help marinas attract and grow interest from diversified users. The robots can be used in a variety of functions, including yacht hull monitoring, remote access to underwater sites, monitoring of sea beds and many other applications.
The three scenarios considered by the project, in which we seek to identify and analyze innovative services and business models, are:
1. Remote access to naturalistic and/or cultural underwater sites (Pilot 1)
2. Robotic-based waters and seabed monitoring inside marinas (Pilot 2)
3. Robotic-based monitoring of yacht hulls for security and support to refit and dismantling

This survey is part of the research to understand the potential of innovative marine robotics services and business models. Your collaboration is highly appreciated. Your personal data will only be used for statistical purposes and none of the consortium members will store or further use this information.

Take me to the survey here

screenshot of malta independent website with article headline and aerial of Malta

Malta Maritime Forum says more direction needed through an updated maritime policy

Source: Malta independent

The Malta Maritime Forum has urged the need for more direction through an updated maritime policy for the sector.

The interests of the maritime industry were discussed with the Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Minister for Transport during a regular meeting which the Malta Maritime Forum (MMF) seeks to hold with the country’s policy makers.

Read the full article on the website of the Malta independent

 

mediterranean beach

WestMED Asistance Mechanism highlights importance of transferability of Sustainable Tourism Initiatives to Southern Shore Countries

The Assistance Mechanism participated in an event on May 6, 2021 organised by the Sustainable Tourism Community where the importance of replicability and transferability of EU funded projects and was highlighted – including the importance of strengthening ties and opportunities with Southern partners. It was also noted that the Assistance Mechanism is actively engaged in supporting stakeholders to extend the benefits that are coming out of a number of projects on sustainable tourism in the Mediterranean.

The MED Sustainable Tourism Community counts on a group of 17 Associated partners (networks, actors participating in Mediterranean initiatives, tourism stakeholders, academia) with the role of ensuring links with other initiatives and to enlarge the impacts and the scope of the dissemination, transferring and capitalisation activities. The main questions discussed the event are:

  1. The identification of synergies with existing initiatives of participating  organizations
  2. Identification of collaboration among organization and the MED Community
  3. Involvement in the the transferring & capitalization of activities

Read the news article on the Interreg Med Sustainable tourism

 

For more information, please contact:
– Stephanie Vella: malta@westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu
– Mohamed Lemine:   mauritania@westmed-initiative.ec.europa.eu

mapped world image

Take part in the Seabed 2030 survey – closes end of April 2021

Source: NLA International on behalf of Seabed 2030

Last year NLA International Ltd working on behalf of Seabed 2030, launched an online survey to find out more about the status and potential of mapping the ocean floor. The survey collected views from across all interested sectors to help us better understand issues such as:

  • Why stakeholders feel it is important to map the seabed.
  • How interested parties are estimating the environmental, social and economic value of seabed mapping.
  • Where are the most urgent priorities for seabed mapping.

All of this will help us to corroborate – or challenge – existing thinking, and hopefully identify any areas of the seabed that may benefit from a more joined-up / collaborative approach.

We have been really delighted with the responses thus far – we have received nearly 470 detailed responses to date – and are currently hard at work analysing the initial findings.

However, it is not too late to have your say! We will be keeping the survey open until the end of April, and we would be very grateful if you could contribute your views.

To access the survey, please click here.

More information

Read the article: Marine Geospatial Data: the Cornerstone of the Blue Eonomy

Read more about the seabed 2030 Initiuative:  100% of Ocean Floor mapped by 2030

screenshot factsheet renewed partnership

A new agenda for the Mediterranean: the Council approves conclusions on a renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood

Press release:  Council of the EU

The Council approved conclusions affirming the EU’s determination to renew and strengthen its strategic partnership with its Southern Neighbourhood. The objective is to address common challenges, take advantage of shared opportunities and unlock the region’s economic potential for the benefit of its people.

Spurring sustainable long-term socio-economic recovery and job creation in the Southern Neighbourhood is a key shared priority and the innovative cornerstone of the new Agenda for the Mediterranean. Working together, the EU and its Southern Neighbourhood partners can turn climate and environmental challenges, and digital transformation, into major opportunities for sustainable development, contributing to a just and inclusive green transition. The EU will use all its available instruments, including the NDICI-Global Europe and the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+), and engage with financial institutions to achieve this objective, paying particular attention to the human dimension and opportunities for young people.

Good governance, the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, democratic institutions and the rule of law are also considered to be essential for long-term stability, security and sustainable development in the region. The EU will step up its engagement on these issues, and renew its efforts on conflict prevention and resolution, as well as on cooperation on security, migration and the preparedness and response capacities of healthcare systems.

The EU intends to strengthen the political dialogue across the Mediterranean by setting up annual meetings of EU member states’ and Southern Neighbourhood partners’ foreign ministers to review progress in the implementation of the new Agenda for the Mediterranean.

Read more on the EU Councils press release webpage

report cover with people swimming

Report: The future of Mediterranean tourism in a (post) covid world

Mediterranean tourism is now at a crossroad. Severely impacted by travel restrictions due to the COVID19, its future is now decided and faces a fundamental question: back to Mass Tourism or leapfrog towards Sustainability?

Download the report that has been prepared by the Eco-Union. This can also be found on a dedicated page of Eco-Union’s website.

blues.summer.school.poster

Blues Summer School – now accepting applications | 10 selected participants free of charge

The Jean Monnet Module titled “The Blue Economy and Sustainability – the EU and the Mediterranean” (BLUES) supports the running of a summer school on the sustainable blue economy for 3 consecutive summers (2021, 2022 and 2023).

This June, EMUNI will run a dynamic and engaging BLUES summer school, offering a combination of distance learning, supervised research or entrepreneurial work, face-to-face interactive teaching and field trips subject to the conditions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The goal of the summer school, jointly organised with the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) in Italy, is to support the creation of stable and attractive career pathways and skilled talents that will be needed to support the expansion of marine and maritime sectors by improving professional skills and competences, fostering networks and partnerships, and encouraging the active contribution to positive change for the conservation and sustainable use of the Mediterranean Sea.

The application deadline is 6 April 2021 at 14.00 (CET) and is open to postgraduate students of any discipline related to the Blue Economy with a demonstrated interest in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

10 selected participants will be able to attend in person the summer school free of charge. To apply and find out more, go to: BLUES project – EMUNI

man holding pile of cardboard boxes

The EMFF will move from EASME to CINEA per April 1, 2021

With the implementation of the new long-term EU budget (link removed/ inactive page), some EASME managed programme are moving to the new European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).  From 1 April, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), the Life ProgrammeHorizon 2020 Energy Efficiency and partly Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge ‘Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials will by managed by the new Agency.

Read the full article on the EASME website

poster.blue.skills.workshop

Call for participants online training on blue jobs and cross-cutting skills for young professionals and graduates of the Med countries

14-15 April 2021 | Limited places available

Blue Skills required in the future are diverse: soft, technical, digital, social media, environmental, security, entrepreneurial, socio-economic, multi-disciplinary, languages, statistics, law, maritime spatial planning. This programme will be useful for students and young graduates from a wide range of academic backgrounds, and will cover topics relevant for a diversity of sectors and careers:
● Business and incubators
● Smart Specialization Strategies
● Technological innovation for sustainable blue growth
● Talent circulation and Partnership Building
● Best/ Good Practices

Target: Alumni OGS – HOMERe – young professionals and researchers; post-graduates in the field of marine sciences and maritime sectors (blue growth/ blue economy related). The places available are limited. The selection will be on a rolling basis.

Language: Simultaneous interpretation in English, French, and Arabic

Download the pdf with all information

Call for Participants: online registration form (open until 01.04.2021) – https://ufmsecretariat.org/registration-form-ufm-homere-blueskills-workshop/

underwater image with plants in caged construction

MERCES and AFRIMED join forces to restore marine biodiversity