Online
The “Serious Game” School Competition organised by the EU-funded project Marine Sabres, takes place this 21st November, on the same day of the World Fisheries Day.
A great chance for students and teachers, to learn or test their knowledge on basic concepts of marine biology and coastal ecology and to increase awareness of the relationship between humans and the ocean.
Registrations are accepted until the day of the event: click here to sign up for the competition.
Lisbon, Portugal
The Tropical Summit 2024 aims to bring people together to address the ongoing challenges and opportunities in the tropics: a multi-stakeholder forum committed to achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda. The lessons from the past, including unmet global agendas, highlight the importance of not treating the 2030 deadline as a distant future event but as an urgent reality that requires immediate attention.
The main objectives of the Tropical Summit are to promote the transfer of knowledge, stimulate multidisciplinary collaboration, involve stakeholders, and contribute to the co-creation of innovative projects.
The focus will be on South-South-North triangular cooperation and four thematic areas:
LifeWatch ERIC will be present in the “Biodiversity and digitalisation” section of the Exhibition Hall. Two members of our Service Centre in Lecce will be there. Laura Caciagli and Ant Türkmen will provide presentations about our services and present the MarineSABRES project.
They will be also joined by members of PORBIOTA, representing LifeWatch Portugal.
To learn more on the Tropical Summit 2024, please visit the official website: https://www.tropicalsummit2024.com/
Brussels, Belgium, 29-30 November 2023.
Over November 29 and 30, EMODnet experts from the full partnership will present the latest developments and innovations in EMODnet’s in situ marine data services, user-interface and infrastructure to meet user and policy needs for a digital and green future.
This will include EMODnet’s key role in the EU Digital Twin Ocean, including the creation of a common data lake between EMODnet and Copernicus Marine Service. It will also discuss how the EMODnet offer is evolving in terms of diversifying data collection e.g., citizen science, filling data gaps in existing parameters, resolution and geographical scope, expanding data parameters e.g., genomics, and increasing EMODnet’s offer of marine data and knowledge for societally relevant topics e.g., coastal vulnerability, sea level rise, biodiversity etc.
On 30 November at 9:00 – 10:30, LifeWatch ERIC‘s CEO, Christos Arvaniditis, will present “Current Landscape: Wider Data Infrastructures and Disruptive Technologies” during session 4 “EMODnet, Ocean Observation and the marine knowledge value chain”. Session 4 will showcase EMODnet’s key role within the marine knowledge value chain and EMODnet’s strong connection with the ocean observation and data collection community across Europe and beyond. The session will include a presentation on EMODnet Data Ingestion, dialogue on EMODnet’s key role as an in situ marine data aggregator, publisher and data product producer, and EMODnet’s partnership with Copernicus Marine Service and EuroGOOS via the Marine In Situ Coordination Group.
Data providers, collaborators and users across Europe and beyond will deliver testimonials on the crucial ways that EMODnet’s marine data, information and knowledge currently serves the marine and maritime community. This will include a spotlight on how EMODnet’s marine knowledge is used for regional sea-basin assessments and by Member States to implement EU policy e.g., MSFD, MSP in addition to EMODnet hosting National Maritime Spatial Plans.
EMODnet’s collaboration with the private sector will also be highlighted, showcasing how the Blue Economy depends upon EMODnet services for high-quality marine environmental and human activities data to support operations at sea, and how EMODnet is supporting businesses in data sharing and ingestion efforts, to maximise access to marine data, for the benefit of society.
EMODnet’s contribution to the Global Ocean Data Ecosystem will also be discussed, including new and emerging partnerships worldwide, EMODnet’s ongoing input to IODE and the Ocean InfoHub in terms of European regional best practices, and EMODnet’s active role in the UN Ocean Decade, including as an implementing partner.
Consult the full programme here.
Lecce and online, Italy, 13-15 November 2023.
Over November 13 and 14, a group of researchers from the African Mediterranean countries will gather in Lecce to join our DATAthon. During this event, they will work collaboratively in teams, applying data science tools and techniques to solve practical problems and generate insights and potential solutions. The focus of the DATAthon will be on imparting knowledge on best practices for data management, covering everything from the collection of the dataset to its publication. Researchers will bring their dataset to work on and follow all the necessary steps to ensure its successful submission to Marine Research Repositories such as MedOBIS and the LifeWatch ERIC Metadata Catalogue, focusing on facilitating its reuse.
On November 15, EMODnet trainers and the invited researchers will organize a hybrid Training Session to familiarise themselves and the registered participants with Citizen Science platforms like Zooniverse and the LifeWatch Citizen Science Platform. During this session, participants will learn how to create a Citizen Science project and engage volunteers in the historical data rescue and standardisation process. The Workshop organisers will select a historical dataset for participants to work on during this session.
| 09:00 09:30 | Registration |
| 09:30 09:40 | Opening Welcome Overview of the workshop’s objectives and structure Dimitra Mavraki (HCMR) |
| 09:40 10:00 | Presentation of the LifeWatch Citizen Science Platform Marco Elia (LifeWatch ERIC) |
| 10:00 11:00 | Introduction to the Zooniverse platform. Case studies of a Zooniverse project focused on marine data transcription. Ioannis Rallis (HCMR) |
| 11:00 11:30 | Coffee Break |
| 11:30 12:30 | Hands-On Session – Create Your Own Zooniverse Project |
| 12:30 13:30 | Lunch Break |
| 13:30 15:00 | Hands-On Session – Act as Citizen Scientist |
| 15:00 15:30 | Coffee Break |
| 15:30 16:30 | Hands-On Session – Act as Citizen Scientist |
| 16:30 17:00 | Questions and closure of the workshop |
Messina, Italy, 12–15 June 2023.
The 52nd Congress of the Italian Society of Marine Biology, organised by the University of Messina, will be taking place from 12-15 June at the Science Department of the University of Messina, in Italy.
The congress of SIBM (Società Italiana di Biologia Marina) will see the participation of LifeWatch ERIC with LifeWatch ERIC’s marine biologist Alessia Scuderi, who will present the Alborán project. During the session dedicated to the vulnerability of the species, habitat and resources of the coastal marine environment, Scuderi will present ‘Cetaceans and marine traffic in the Strait of Gibraltar: difficult but possible coexistence’ and part of her presentation will be dedicated to LifeWatch ERIC’s project Alborán.
Brest, France / Hybrid, 26 April 2023.
As a part of the European Blue Forum, the European Maritime Spatial Planning Platform (MSP) is creating Europe’s Blue community. A community of different users of the sea, passionate and committed to working together to deliver bold and ambitious change to our shared challenges of nature and climate change. As part of the Forum, stakeholders will have the opportunity to influence the structure and direction of the European Blue Forum in a balanced and inclusive way, and through this, the future of Europe’s Sustainable Blue Economy.
The event will provide a platform for everyone, whether part of a large organisation or not, and regardless of how well established the sector or topic you work on is, to share your priorities, challenges and ideas, and contribute to building a common and united path towards the vision of the Sustainable Blue Economy.
The Launch Event is only the beginning of the European Blue Forum’s activities!
More information at this link.
The Bulgarian National Distributed Centre is represented by the Agricultural University-Plovdiv.
To know more about how Bulgaria contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.
The Spanish National Distributed Centre is supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Regional Government of Andalusia and the Guadalquivir River Basin Authority (Ministry for Ecological Transition-MITECO). Moreover, Spain is the hosting Member State of LifeWatch ERIC, the location of its Statutory Seat & ICT e-Infrastructure Technical Office (LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities).
To know more about how Spain contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.
The Slovenian National Distributed Centre is led by the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU). It focuses on the development of technological solutions in the field of biodiversity and socio-ecosystem research.
To know more about how Slovenia contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.
The Portuguese National Distributed Centre is managed by PORBIOTA, the Portuguese e-Infrastructure for Information and Research on Biodiversity. Led by BIOPOLIS/CIBIO-InBIO – Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, PORBIOTA connects the principal Portuguese research institutions working in biodiversity.
To know more about how Portugal contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.
The Dutch National Distributed Centre is hosted by the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam. Moreover, The Netherlands hosts one of the LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities, the Virtual Laboratory and Innovation Centre.
To know more about how The Netherlands contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.
The Italian National Distributed Centre is led and managed by the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and is coordinated by a Joint Research Unit, currently comprising 35 members. Moreover, Italy hosts one of the LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities, the Service Centre.
To know more about how Italy contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.
The Greek National Distributed Centre is funded by the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology and is coordinated by the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, in conjunction with 47 associated partner institutions.
To know more about how Greece contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.
The Belgian National Distributed Centre makes varied and complementary in-kind contributions to LifeWatch ERIC. These are implemented in the form of long-lasting projects by various research centres and universities distributed throughout the country and supported by each respective political authority.
To know more about how Belgium contributes to LifeWatch ERIC, please visit our dedicated webpage.