The Black Sea Basin workshop aimed to bring together all those stakeholders eager to contribute in a positive and creative way at the health of the Black Sea. With a fresh and collaborative approach, we discussed 3 key topics: marine litter, sustainable fishing, and blue careers.

The discussions were open so as to encourage everybody to comfortably express their point of view. The speakers and moderators made sure that the working groups, one for each theme, were interactive, dynamic, and productive, thus fostering connection and a free exchange of ideas and opinions.

The speakers provided the participants with useful insights on the proposed working themes:

• Mrs. Patrizia Busolini, from DG MARE, offered us an overview of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea, in the Ocean Literacy context; (Ocean Literacy action of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea)
• Mrs. Iryna Makarenko, from the Black Sea Commission, addressed the developments in marine litter management in the Black Sea Region, as a starting point for the marine litter working group of the workshop; (Developments in marine litter management in the Black Sea Region)
• Mr. Yordan Gospodinov, from the Black Sea Advisory Council, connected the present fishing approaches with the need for a sustainable approach, in the dedicated working group of the workshop;
• Mr. Eden Mamut, from the Black Sea Universities Network, challenged the participants of the blue careers working group to think about the way of making the shift from traditional education to the newer concept of blue education; (Mastering the Paradigm Shift in Education for Blue Careers)

The participants were from a variety of domains and backgrounds: public authorities, SMEs, NGOs, universities, educational institutions, youth, and other people interested in getting involved. We welcomed everyone that loves the sea, that has a little enthusiasm and the belief that they can make a change around them.

The workshop, which was very participative, resulted in the development of a basin "declaration" (more like a partnership) summarizing the core outcomes of the workshop. The declaration is meant to “seal the deal”; it will guarantee that concrete solutions and actions will be put in place and that our common efforts will generate a real impact in all countries around the Black Sea. It can be accessed at the link below.

As a general challenge, we provoke everybody to ask themselves “What can I do today for the Black Sea?” and to join us, in our common efforts for the Black Sea. All those interested, can contact Mare Nostrum NGO by e-mail (officemarenostrum [dot] ro (office[at]marenostrum[dot]ro)), website or social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn).

A detailed agenda can be found HERE and you can also acces the Speaker profiles, the Black Sea basin declaration and workshop synthesis.

We thank everybody for their ideas and commitment to the ocean!

The workshop was organised as part of the EU4Ocean Coalition for Ocean Literacy. Further information on EU4Ocean is available on the website.