06/06/2025
On June 5th, 2025, as part of the Ocean Wonders initiative of the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the Italian research vessel R/V Gaia Blu welcomed 236 participants on board in the Port of Nice. It was a vibrant day of dialogue and exchange on ocean science, cooperation, and sustainability.
The day was honoured by the presence of distinguished high-level guests and key institutional representatives, including:
- Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean
- High-level guests from the European Commission: Pavel Misiga, Elisabetta Balzi, Sigi Gruber, Nicolas Segebarth, Yuna Sellami - with whom we shared the memorable moment of raising the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” flag aboard the vessel
- Representatives from the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research, UNESCO-IOC, IUCN, and senior delegates from CNRS and Ifremer - co-organizers of the One Ocean Science Congress (OOSC)
International partners from Latin America, Africa, North America, and Asia, including INVEMAR and REMARCO (Latin America), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of Ghana, the Government of Canada, Busan National University, and East China Normal University, among others
A broad and qualified representation of leading marine and climate science institutions, universities, and research platforms, such as METU, VLIZ, HCMR, GEOMAR, NIOZ, INRAE, CIIMAR, alongside numerous renowned universities and scientific organisations active across the European research landscape. This also included key coordination platforms such as JPI Oceans, IPOS, and the European Marine Board.
Numerous associations, NGOs, and ocean professionals, whose presence and enthusiasm added value to this international moment — thank you all for contributing to a shared ocean vision!
A very special moment was the meeting with Jyotika Virmani, Executive Director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which generously donated the vessel to the CNR: she expressed pride and joy in seeing the Gaia Blu now at the heart of collaborative marine research in Europe and beyond.
Per informazioni:
Fedra Francocci
CNR - Dipartimento Scienze del Sistema Terra e Tecnologie per l'Ambiente
fedra.francocci@cnr.it
Federica Foglini, Cnr - Ismar, email: federica.foglini@cnr.it
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