The conference took place on 8 September at CIIMAR’s headquarters in the Cruise Terminal of the Port of Leixões.
The “New Horizons” conference celebrated the scientific achievements of the research centre and looked to the future by bringing together the scientific community in a debate on major global challenges and the role of marine and environmental sciences in a sustainable future.
“New Horizons” was the theme for the conference that celebrated 25 years of knowledge and innovation in marine and environmental sciences at CIIMAR. Rather than looking back at the past, the conference created a space for a critical look at the present and the strategic design of the future, with the sustainability of the planet as a whole as a reference point.
“This is an event that reinforces CIIMAR’s role as a centre of scientific excellence with national impact and global projection at a time when the planet and, consequently, society are facing unprecedented pressures that require integrated, collaborative and sustained responses based on the best that science has to offer,” explains Joana Xavier, CIIMAR researcher and conference commissioner. “Much more than a commemorative ceremony, this event represents a strategic opportunity to bring together the voices that have shaped, challenged and expanded CIIMAR’s role in science, innovation and society over the last 25 years and that will help us design the future of Marine and Environmental Sciences,” she adds.
New horizons
With an ambitious programme and a line-up of leading national and international speakers, the New Horizons conference looked ahead to the future of marine research, ocean sustainability and the integration of public policies for managing ocean resources and the sustainability of the blue bioeconomy. The initiative positioned itself as a meeting point between generations of scientists, policy makers, business leaders and civil society actors, taking current knowledge as the central axis of environmental, economic and social transformation.
The main topics of the conference focused on issues such as the future of the deep sea, mitigating the effects of global change on aquaculture, a look at the history of marine resource use marked in DNA, a look at the current challenges of marine science, and the role of collaborative networks in public policies for the ocean.
Guests and target audience
The conference invited members of the scientific community, government, academia, industry, and civil society to a high-level meeting with the aim of creating synergies and inspiring new directions for looking at the Ocean and the Environment.
Among the international guests were Alex Rogers from the National Oceanography Centre in the United Kingdom, Anya Waite, Director of the Ocean Frontier Institute in Canada, and Fiona Grant, President of the European Marine Board.
The conference was also attended by national guests such as Vítor Vasconcelos, Director of CIIMAR, Salvador Malheiro, Secretary of State for Fisheries and the Sea, Madalena Alves, Chair of the Board of the Foundation for Science and Technology, and António Cunha, President of CCDRN-N, Portugal — all of whom play key roles in the dialogue between science, politics, and society.