UBC TALKS webinar on 28 May 2024 addressed one of the strategic European sustainability directions till 2030: the Mission Ocean aiming to protect and restore the health of our ocean and waters through research and innovation, citizen engagement and blue investments. The webinar looked into the connections of the European perspective with the Baltic Sea region, and how different stakeholders – especially cities – can benefit from its actions and funding opportunities.
The webinar was opened with a presentation of the Mission Ocean and the Blue Mission BANOS by Angela Schultz-Zehden, Managing director of the SUBMARINER Network. It then highlighted one of the prominent Mission Ocean developments: the Digital Twin of the Ocean, in the presentation "Baltic Operational Oceanographic System (BOOS) for supporting Baltic Sea restoration" by Jun She, Chair of EuroGOOS Baltic Operational Oceanographic System (BOOS), Danish Meteorological Institute. Another Mission project followed after: the PROTECT BALTIC project offering a strategic approach to protect and restore the Baltic Sea ecosystem, presentation delivered by Cecilia Nyman, Project coordinator at HELCOM. The webinar was closed with a best practice from UBC city Malmö: "Connecting people and ocean through Ocean Literacy" was introduced by Michael Palmgren, Founder and Director of the Marine Education Centre in Malmö.