The European Maritime Day (EMD) was celebrated in Ravenna, Italy on the 19th and 20th of May, an event organized by the European Commission, the City of Ravenna, the Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructures and Sustainable Mobility, and the Region of Emilia-Romagna. Established in 2008, the EMD is the annual two-day event during which Europe’s maritime community meets to network, discuss, and outline joint action on maritime affairs and a sustainable blue economy.

This year’s main theme was “Sustainable economy for green recovery”, and it was a great opportunity for stakeholders to touch base with strategic partners, make new contacts and networks, as well as gain new insights into the EU Maritime Policy. The EMD featured a great number of speakers, workshops, and thematic sessions, targeting professionals, governments, public institutions, youth, NGOs, and the academic world. The different thematic sessions organized during the conference provided an experience in sharing and discussing cross-cutting issues related to ocean sustainability. 

The event offered the perfect setting to catch up on the current state of play on a variety of issues, concerning Blue Economy and the marine environment, and this year, it also hosted the EU Ocean Literacy Summit. On 20th May, partners and practitioners from the marine and maritime community gathered to celebrate the achievements of the first two years of the EU4Ocean Coalition, which is working on three different components:

-To the Eu4Ocean Platform, a focal point for organizations and initiatives to connect, collaborate and mobilize efforts on ocean literacy. SUBMON is a member of the Eu4Ocean Platform since 2021. 

– The Youth4Ocean Forum, is a free platform for young people between the ages of 16 and 30, who are passionate about the ocean and who want to make a significant change to protect it and sustainably manage its resources.

-The Blue Schools Network, a network of European schools committed to bringing the ocean into the classroom

European Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius also intervened during the EMD, highlighting the importance of protecting our ocean, to protect our identity and our future. Mr. Sinkevičius reiterated the urgency in this post-pandemic recovery to “make the sustainable blue economy part of our green recovery. Because you can’t have green without the blue.”

During the event, the handover ceremony to the City of Brest, France which will host the next EMD on 24th and 25th May 2023, was also celebrated.