Organised for the first time in 2023, the European Ocean Days took place during the week of 4 to 8 March and included a series of events related to European maritime topics, covering the EU Mission Ocean and Waters, future priorities for Europe’s seas, blue innovation and investment opportunities, as well as ocean literacy activities. On 4th March, A-AAGORA was present at the matchmaking event, hosted by CINEA, gathering 40 Mission research projects and CSAs, soon to be joined by an additional 23 HE projects under negotiations. This private meeting was an important moment for Mission Ocean and Waters as all Mission funded projects came together, in the same room, for the first time. The meeting aimed to foster collaboration and address key challenges to safeguard Europe’s marine environment and A-AAGORA actively contributed to the panel discussions. The second Annual Forum of the Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” took place on 5th March, to take stock of the Mission’s progress and major achievements, mobilise relevant actors around key Mission deliverables and prepare the ground for the next phase of the Mission, moving from demonstration to deployment. It was an opportunity for the coordinators of A-AAGORA, Climarest, Prep4Blue and BlueMissionAA to come together and discuss synergies and possible collaborations.
On Wednesday 6th March, Ana Lillebø, coordinator of A-AAGORA, participated in the side event at the European Parliament as a signatory of the Mission, representing the University of Aveiro. This was an opportunity to discuss about the Missions together with the Members of the European Parliament on how to contribute to turn ideas into concrete actions where European citizens vote.