Sharing comics, storymaps, and other creative ideas at OCEAN CITIZEN annual meeting in Barcelona

This year, the second annual meeting of OCEAN CITIZEN took place in Barcelona on January 14–15, 2025. For this occasion, the SUBMON team didn’t need to travel far; instead, we were delighted to welcome all our partners to our home city. In particular, the event was held at the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM), the fourth-largest research institute of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the largest dedicated to marine research, providing the perfect setting to share the latest updates and continue our collaborative efforts.

As the most attended in-person meeting to date, this gathering in Barcelona provided a unique opportunity to bring together almost the entire OCEAN CITIZEN family—a multidisciplinary and multicultural team made up of universities, research centres, NGOs, SMEs, and public institutes from 9 countries.

This year’s gathering marked a significant milestone as we reached the halfway point of the project. It was the perfect opportunity to review progress, discuss challenges, and align on the path forward as the project transitions into its implementation phase.

WP6 presentation.

For SUBMON, given the closeness of the event, the entire communication team involved in the project was able to attend the meeting. Our colleague Juanita Zorrilla presented the work accomplished within Work Package 6 (management, citizen engagement, and communication), a role we proudly co-lead within this Horizon Europe project. Ongoing tasks included website development, the second edition of the comic, and other communication, education and engagement strategies. Additionally, we introduced a new feature for the project: a storymap that showcases the pilot sites through detailed maps, 3D images of key project elements, and an immersive experience that offers both a comprehensive overview and an in-depth exploration. This storymap is a true reflection of the collaborative nature of our work, in collaboration with UBICA and contributions from all partners. After presenting it to the team, we are now working on its development, and in the coming months, we will share exciting updates and progress.

As we move forward, we are excited to continue developing new communication features such as the comic and storymaps, while also advancing our efforts in citizen engagement. For more details about the event, you can read the full story here. 

SUBMON team.