Participation of the PABSEC International Secretariat in the Science – Policy Dialogue Forum, Thessaloniki, 28-29 March 2023
Mr. Miltiadis Makrygiannis, PABSEC Deputy Secretary General participated in the Science – Policy Dialogue Forum for a Sustainable Blue Economy in the Black Sea, that took place on 28-29 March 2023 in Thessaloniki, Greece.
The event was organised by the International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS), under the Horizon 2020-funded BRIDGE – BS project and brought together scientists and policy-makers to exchange views on key cross-cutting issues in established and emerging blue economy sectors in the Black Sea.
Launched in 2021, the BRIDGE-BS proposes a multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral programme building on regional and international initiatives, through a number of diverse activities and tools, as a critical contribution to the science-based policy needed to preserve the Black Sea ecosystems. The project involves 31 partners from the Black Sea countries, EU/MS and regional organizations, coordinated by the Middle East Technical University Institute of Marine Sciences (METU IMS), Türkiye
To that point, the objectives on the forum were:
- Bring together scientists and researchers with policy-making and policy-delivery stakeholders to support the creation of a science-policy stream;
- Enable constructive dialogue and two-way exchange on key cross-cutting issues on emerging and established Blue Economy sectors;
- Contribute to the creation of the cooperation framework for the future uptake of the project’s results
The event included three interactive thematic Working Groups (WGs) of moderated discussions focusing on a/ multiple stressors on the Black Sea ecosystem, b/ innovation & entrepreneurship, c/ capacity building & skills, in order to enable a constructive science-policy dialogue based on actual needs and priorities.
Special emphasis was placed on creating a science-policy synergy to facilitate further future exchanges and follow-up action