Hack4oceans was a 2-day Youth Innovation Event where participants from across Europe had the opportunity to learn, explore and co-create opportunities for prosperity through ocean conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. Hosted by European Commission’s Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (EC DG MARE), in Brussels, the event brought together undergraduate students and professional stakeholders coming from the private sector, policymaking and academia.

Hack4oceans participants focussed on developing solutions to several important and urgent challenges defined by marine relevant stakeholders, active in the private sector, policy-making and academia. The EC DG MARE organised an Ideation Workshop with key stakeholders in the field, on February 12th 2020, to define and enrich these challenges related to the following 4 themes:

• Marine litter: How might we engage citizens and organisations in preventing marine litter? How might we put a stop to microplastics pollution?How might we engage citizens and organisations in preventing marine litter? How might we put a stop to microplastics pollution?
• Alternative food from the ocean: How might we develop and diversify sustainable aquaculture and produce alternative foods from the ocean?
• Ocean and Climate Change: How might we boost offshore clean energy production and manage the impact of sea level rise?
• Protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems: How might we better protect European coastal ecosystems from urban development, biodiversity loss, and erosion?

Hack4oceans was a multidisciplinary hackathon, open to people with a diverse skill set, including expertise in any marine/maritime related discipline but also communication, design, technology and entrepreneurship. Technical skills were welcomed but not a prerequisite for taking part. Passion for the world’s oceans and an interest in exploring a career in the Blue Economy was the key incentive for participating. The main goal of the hackathon was to generate and validate robust ideas for new solutions or initiatives in the Blue Economy.

To create a vibrant environment of co-creation and cross-fertilise the fresh ideas of the youth with the experience of the professionals, both during and after the hackathon, we also welcomed applications from private sector stakeholders, policy makers, NGOs, entrepreneurs, accelerators and academia who are active in the marine/maritime sector.

Participants attended short briefings about the hackathon themes and challenges; then worked in small groups to brainstorm new ideas for solutions and initiatives. They formed teams around the best ideas; developed these ideas further by validating assumptions, exploring technological opportunities, crafting a business model and creating a rough prototype of the solution. They presented their project to a jury of experts who could potentially support the project further beyond the hackathon.

Watch the Hack4Oceans video

More information on the challenges:

Marine Litter	Food from the Ocean	Ocean and Climate Change	Coastal Ecosystems

More information available in the
Hack4Oceans Outcome