Between February and April 2020, young people from all over Europe have participated in interviews to share their vision of a Youth Forum for the Ocean. 45 of them have been nominated and have agreed to become founding members of the Youth4Ocean Forum. They have been selected for their ideas, motivation and engagement for the ocean.

On the 7th of July, they met for the first time at a virtual meeting. They were welcomed by Andy Kontoudakis, Policy officer at Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) of the European Commission. She stressed the importance of the contribution of the Youth to the EU4Ocean Coalition, and how the Commission relies on them to share the ideas, needs, and vision of the Youth in Europe.

The participants also looked at the first results of the interviews, and the facilitators shared the project timelines with the founding members.

During an interactive session, the founding members worked on the next steps of the Youth4Ocean Forum and began to prepare an international online event scheduled in September 2020. They will work together over the coming weeks to bring the forum to life.

This meeting was facilitated by Nausicaá, ACTeon, the World Ocean Network and supporting partners.