The 12th Kobe University
Brussels European Centre Symposium
Organised jointly with Vrije Universiteit Brussel
with the support of the University of Kent
18 October 2022

Blue Economy, Green Horizons:EU-Japan Research for Healthy,
Sustainable Seas and OceansPreface
I am pleased to present this report on the 12th Kobe University Brussels European Centre (KUBEC)
Symposium “Blue Economy, Green Horizons: EU-Japan Research for Healthy, Sustainable Seas andOceans , which was held in Brussels on 18 October 2022. KUBEC has been holding an annual
symposium in Brussels since its establishment in 2010. Through these events, we have expanded
our academic network in Europe and raised the proﬁle of Kobe University and other Japanese
universities. Last yearʼs 11th symposium was the ﬁrst major event that KUBEC held in a hybrid
format, and it reconﬁrmed the importance of international academic exchange. This 12th symposium was a return to an in-person event for the ﬁrst time in 3 years, bringing home the importanceof face-to-face conversation in building valuable connections between people.
This year marked the sixth occasion that the symposium was jointly organised with Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where KUBEC is located. In July 2015, KUBEC relocated to VUBʼs internationaloﬃces in order to better fulﬁl its role as a base for international collaboration in education andresearch between Japan, Belgium, and Europe as a whole. Last year and this yearʼs symposiums
were made possible thanks to assistance from the University of Kent as well.
The symposium is a key part of our initiative to strengthen collaboration with European partner
universities and to foster further joint research between Japan and Europe. We welcomed participants from Japanese and European organisations (including the Delegation of the European
Union to Japan and the European Commission), in order to gain policymakersʼ perspectives on thepartnership between Japan and Europe.
The theme of the 12th symposium, “Blue Economy, Green Horizons: EU-Japan Research for Healthy,
Sustainable Seas and Oceans , focused on the ocean, and the importance of considering how
humankind can sustainably coexist with this vital part of our planet. The latest research results
were introduced by both Japanese and European researchers in ʻEconomicsʼ, which covered global
trade ﬂows, environmental issues and governance of the seas; ʻNatural Sciencesʼ, which looked at
new technologies for new horizons, and ʻSocial Sciences and Humanitiesʼ, which addressed how tobuild awareness and engage communities. We hope this extensive knowledge exchange will leadto future collaborations relating to advanced theories and technologies, and we will continue topromote stronger Japan-EU academic and research collaborations in the post-pandemic world.

FUJISAWA Masato
President
Kobe University

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The 12 th Kobe University Brussels European Centre SymposiumBlue Economy, Green Horizons:EU-Japan Research for Healthy, Sustainable Seas and Oceans
Organised jointly with Vrije Universiteit Brussel
With the support of the University of Kent
Tuesday 18 October 2022
Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Opening Addresses
Ken-ichi Yoshida, Kobe University (Japan) ‒ Moderator
Prof. Masato Fujisawa, President, Kobe University (Japan)
Prof. Jan Danckaert, Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
H.E. Yasushi Masaki, Ambassador of Japan to the European Union (Japan)
Ms. Signe Ratso, Director-General (Acting), DG RTD, European Commission (EU)

Keynote speech
Mr. Michael Pitiot, Writer and ﬁlmmaker (France)

Parallel Session 1: ʻBLUE ECONOMYʼ: GLOBAL TRADE FLOWS, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,AND GOVERNANCE OF THE SEAS
Theme 1: Sustainable Blue Economy: New Resources,
Innovative Solutions for Global Economic Recovery
Theme 2: Shaping International Ocean Governance for the Future

Parallel Session 2: OCEANS OF THE FUTURE: ADVANCES IN MARINE AND MARITIME SCIENCES:TECHOLOGIES FOR NEW HORIZONSTheme 1: Harnessing the Power of Oceans: Fostering Innovation for Energy Sustainability
Theme 2: Addressing Marine Pollution, Restoring Marine Ecosystems

Parallel Session 3: SEAS, SCIENCE AND SOCIETIES: BUILDING AWARENESS,
ENGAGING COMMUNITIES.
Theme 1: Science and Society: A Holistic Approach for Healthy Oceans
Theme 2: Oceans Bridges: Building Ocean Awareness and Literacy, Engaging Communities

EURAXESS Japan Presentation
Interactive Workshop and Brokerage Event A(Economics) Sustainable Green Economy ‒ ʻLawfareʼ and Governance of the Seas

Interactive Workshop and Brokerage Event B(Natural Sciences & Technology) Towards Green Energy and Green Hydrogen

Interactive Workshop and Brokerage Event C(Social Sciences & Humanities) Ocean Awareness: the Role of Communities and The Media

Closing Policy Keynote
Mr. Pascal Lamy, Chairman of the Board, Mission(EU)

Closing Remarks
Tamotsu Nakamura, Executive Vice-President, Kobe University (Japan)
Jeremy Carette, Dean for Europe, University of Kent (UK)
Hugo Thienpont, Vice-Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
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Opening Addresses
Prof. Masato Fujisawa
President, Kobe University (Japan)

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 12th Kobe University Brussels European
Centre Symposium, entitled ʻBlue Economy, Green Horizons: EU-Japan Research for Healthy,
Sustainable Seas and Oceansʼ.
This Symposium has been held since the establishment of our Brussels Oﬃce in 2010 and has becomea tradition of Kobe University. It has contributed towards enhancing our presence in Europe,
promoting international joint research, and discovering new partner institutions. We were forced tocancel it in 2020, then last year all Japanese speakers had to participate online as the Japanese
government still imposed strict travel restrictions. However, this year we could ﬁnally send adelegation from Kobe again. Face to face communication is very important for building networks
between researchers. I am delighted that we can hold an in-person event in Brussels again, combinedwith the new hybrid style for some online speakers.
Unfortunately, I cannot attend in person this year due to unavoidable commitments. However, I am
conﬁdent that this yearʼs symposium will be a great success. As in previous years, this event was
jointly organized with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). In addition, we have also received support
from the University of Kent. I am grateful to these two universities for working closely with us.
It is a great pleasure and honour to deliver this opening address to many distinguished guests andfamiliar friends. Please allow me to express my sincere gratitude, in particular to the following
honourable guests,- His Excellency Ambassador Yasushi Masaki, Mission of Japan to the European Union and- Ms. Signe RATSO, Director-General, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to- Professor Jan DANCKAERT, Rector, VUB,
- Professor Karin VANDERKERKEN, Vice - Rector, Internationalisation, VUB,
and the International Relations and Mobility Oﬃce of the VUB, for their warm support in organising
todayʼs symposium together.
Speaking of the VUB, I was saddened to hear that the former rector Professor Pauwels passed away inAugust. She was a good friend of Kobe University for a long time and dedicated herself to the VUBʼsdevelopment. Although we did not get the opportunity to talk directly, the congratulatory video
message she sent on the occasion of our 120th anniversary is a good memory that we share.
On behalf of Kobe University, I want to pray for her soul to rest in peace and express our condolences
to the people of the VUB.

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I hope that our cooperation will be further strengthened during rector Dankaertʼs new administration
at the VUB. I believe that substantial collaboration such as a joint educational programme can work as
a key to establish an even stronger partnership.
It is Kobe Universityʼs 120 th anniversary this year. Our long-term vision is to further advance anddevelop as a ʻglobal hub for the multidisciplinary co-creation of research and education that cultivates
profound knowledge and outstanding innovatorsʼ. I am determined to devote myself as President toreforming all aspects of the university, education, research, administration, and our contribution tosociety so that Kobe University becomes one of the worldʼs leading universities. I sincerely appreciate
your kind guidance, continued support, and encouragement.
Now, the theme of this symposium is the Ocean. The ocean is very important for Europe, as shown by
the fact that it is one of the 5 missions of Horizon Europe. As a port city, Kobe also has strong links to
the Ocean and Sea. Since the opening of Japan to the outside world in 1854, it has developed into a
bridge between Japan and other countries. At Kobe University, there is the Graduate School of
Maritime Sciences, the Faculty of Oceanology, which was reformed just last year, as well as someocean-related research centres. We are conducting various ocean-related research projects andproviding education to future generations of talented experts and global maritime leaders. We are
one of only two Japanese national universities that educates and trains seafarers. In addition, our new
training ship, the Kaijin maru, was built this year. Therefore, Kobe University can be a strong
Ocean-related partner for Europe.
Todayʼs symposium will provide in-depth exchanges on the policies and latest research carried out in
Europe and Japan in the interconnected ﬁelds of ocean economics, technological innovations, social
sciences and humanities. I hope that today will provide a meaningful opportunity for academic
dialogue between participants from Europe and Japan.
Thank you very much for participating in this event.

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Prof. Jan Danckaert
Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)Your Excellency,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my honour to welcome you today to the Vrije Universiteit Brusselʼs main campus, and at the 12 th
Kobe University Brussels European Centre Symposium.
, is the titleof our event. And an apt one looking at todayʼs burning issues: climate change, preserving nature,protecting our planet, but also economic recovery, the energy crisis. These are topics which require a
multidisciplinary approach, and an international one. They are global issues that require to be handledon multiple levels, by a wide range of actors. It requires working together, and learning from one
another.
Our oceans and seas give us life. We rely on them for food, livelihoods, combating the adverse eﬀects
of climate change, leisure, for transportation, for power generation, for our economies, for travel.
Alongside our forests, they are the lungs of our planet, given that up to 80% of our worldʼs oxygen
comes from the ocean.
When we talk about our oceans and seas, we are not just talking about climate change. We all knowhow our oceans inﬂuence our climate and weather, but they directly and indirectly aﬀect how we live
and work. Weʼll see this today when we discuss global trade ﬂows, and the interchange between
economics and governance, the impact of new technologies and science, and how we need to build
more awareness and engage our global and local communities.
As we saw with the pandemic, we need research and innovation to speed up our progress along apath towards change for the preservation and sustainable management of our oceans and seas. This
is why events such as this is one are important. We have oﬃcials from governments, from the EU here,
alongside researchers from various academic institutions, representatives from industry and a wide
variety of stakeholders to exchange ideas, and hopefully engage further in joint projects.
Weʼre excited to have an extremely diverse group of people here today. Weʼre very honoured to have
Pascal Lamy with us. He is Chairman of the Board,and of course he is former WTO Director-General and former EU Trade Commissioner.
We also have award-winning ﬁlm-maker, author and director, Michael Pitiot with us. Heʼs known for
his international documentaries such as, andjust won the Ocean Awareness Award at the International Film Festival in Prague 2022.

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. He

It is through engagement with others that we will ensure change. Because collaboration is key. Not
just between educational institutions, but between governments, between countries, between
generations.
Letʼs start today by working together. Letʼs harness the energy in the room, and ride the wave of
optimism of what the future holds.
Enjoy todayʼs conference and the debates.
Thank you.

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H.E. Yasushi Masaki
Ambassador of Japan to the European Union (Japan)

Prof. Masato FUJISAWA, President of Kobe University,
Prof. Jan Danckaert, Rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel,
Ms. Signe RATSO, Director-General, DG for Research and Innovation,
Distinguished Speakers and Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning,
I am extremely delighted to have been invited here to speak once again this year.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all those who have been involved in theorganisation of this symposium.
Before delivering my opening remarks, I would ﬁrst like to say our position about the war in Ukraine.
More than a half year has passed since Russiaʼs aggression against Ukraine began. Japan as well asinternational partners including the EU and the G7 countries cannot condone unilateral changes tothe status quo by force by Russia. Its most recent missile attacks against civilian infrastructure andcities across Ukraine has led to the death of innocent civilians. We condemn these attacks in thestrongest possible terms and recall that indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilian populations
constitute a war crime. Peace must be restored to Ukraine as soon as possible. Japan is therefore
united with the EU and all our partners. Japan stands with the people of Ukraine.
Today, I would like to take this opportunity to express my views on three points: 1) the relationshipbetween Japan and seas and oceans which is the main topic of todayʼs symposium; 2) Japan-EU
cooperation for healthy and sustainable seas and oceans; 3) importance of the academic exchange
between Japan and the EU, and appreciation for Kobe University's activities in Europe.
First and foremost, it is important to consider the surroundings around each country. Japan is amaritime nation surrounded by seas and oceans and consisting of nearly 7,000 islands. Although
Japanʼs land area is slightly smaller than that of Sweden and Norway, its total territory including
territorial waters and exclusive economic zones is approximately 4.47 million square kilometres,
making it the sixth largest in the world. Since ancient times, the surrounding seas and oceans have
had an important inﬂuence on the lives of the Japanese in so many ways. In fact, as an example
everyone knows in the past and even today, seafood, including sushi and sashimi, is deeply rooted inJapanese cuisine. In addition, currently, 99% of Japan's trade volume is via sea.
Against this backdrop, the Japanese government places great importance on building sustainableocean governance. As part of the detailed ocean policy of Japan, we are working on ensuring a rangeof important initiatives and policies. Among them are the promotion of marine industries, themaintenance and protection of the marine environment, the improvement of scientiﬁc knowledge,
promotion of Arctic policy, international cooperation and human resource development as well as
ensuring comprehensive maritime security.

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Unfortunately, the maritime security situation has become increasingly severe in recent years,
including in the waters surrounding Japan. I would like to emphasize that a “Free and Open
Indo-Paciﬁc" is a vision that Japan has proposed for the purpose of promoting and maintaining peaceand stability in the international community, and that many international partners, including the EU,
understand its importance and share its goals.
Secondly, both Japan and the EU recognise that the stability of the seas and oceans is extremely
important as part of securing the global commons, and in light of the current international situation,
we have deepened our cooperation in recent years. Last September, the EU released the joint
communication on its strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Paciﬁc. Japan strongly welcomes the factthat the EU shares fundamental values such as freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, and that it
has expressed its willingness to strengthen its engagements in the Indo-Paciﬁc.
We look forward to Japan and the EU advancing concrete cooperation across broad areas including inthe ﬁeld of maritime research.
Finally, I would like to once again express my appreciation to Kobe University for their eﬀorts inorganising this interdisciplinary symposium on a topic of such great interest and importance to both
Japanese and European stakeholders. Kobe University established its Brussels Centre in 2010 tostrengthen education and research cooperation between Japan and Europe. I would like tocongratulate the Kobe University Brussels Centre on the 12th symposium. I would also like to express
my sincere gratitude to President Professor Fujisawa for his leadership as well as the endeavours of
the Director Professor Yoshida, and I am conﬁdent that Kobe University's activities in Brussels willcontinue to serve as a cornerstone for Japan-EU cooperation in the future.
I would like to close my remarks by expressing my hope that today's symposium on “EU-Japan
Research for Healthy, Sustainable Seas and Oceans” will further advance academic, scientiﬁcexchanges between Japan and Europe.
Thank you very much for your kind attention.

9Ms. Signe Ratso
Deputy Director General, DG RTD, European Commission (EU)Dear Rector Danckaert,
Your Excellency Ambassador Masaki,
Dear President Professor Fujisawa,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to be with you today at this Symposium organised by Kobe University andthe Vrije Universiteit van Brussels (VUB) on such important topics as ocean research and the Blue
Economy. Both Kobe University and the VUB are well placed to address these topics because, besides
fulﬁlling an excellent academic role, research is also high on their agendas. And we need to increase
the joint research and innovation eﬀorts if we want to address all the challenges we face in ourcommon ﬁght for cleaner oceans and against climate change.
Last year I already highlighted the crucial role that research and innovation policies play in driving thesocietal transformations needed to achieve a green, fair, sustainable transition. The Blue Economy
agenda, which will be a substantial part of the discussions today, is a fundamental contributor tofoster and accelerate this transformative process. This is well reﬂected in the recent eﬀorts made by
the European Commission to “put the blue into the green”.
With our Framework Programme Horizon Europe, we want to foster scientiﬁc collaboration throughactions and missions to restore our seas and oceans. It is precisely this word, “mission”, which sets the
background for our cooperation with Japan to ﬂourish in this area and beyond.
The mission-based approach is deeply embedded in our respective “blue” strategies. The European
Unionʼs Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030”, coupled with the actions under Horizon
Europeʼs Cluster 6, and several components of Japanʼs R&I programmes, present many possibilities forsynergies and mutual reinforcement.
I therefore see this “blue” strand of research actions as a good candidate for increased cooperation
between the EU and Japan, two countries sharing the same valued based approach to research.
Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch. The European Union and Japan have already a sharedunderstanding that healthy and sustainable seas and oceans are an essential prerequisite for meeting
our ambitious objectives of climate neutrality and green transition.
The G7 Science Ministersʼ communiqué of June 2022 unequivocally emphasised the importance ofthe so-called “Ocean-Climate-Biodiversity nexus” and acknowledged the key role of a healthy ocean
to an equitable, resilient and sustainable planet. We count on Japan to continue the work under its
Presidency in 2023.

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The European Union and Japan also expressed a clear support to the cross-sectoral G7 Ocean Dealand to the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative, as well as to other initiatives under the United
Nations framework.
One important ﬁeld for strengthened cooperation could be the collection and processing of reliable,
high-quality and harmonised ocean data for a sustainable transformation of the blue economy. In thisﬁeld, the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), which brings together morethan 120 organisations, makes the EU a model of best practice in sharing marine data and ocean
observations.
I would also like to mention here our European Digital Twin of the Ocean initiative, the main enablerof the Digital Ocean Knowledge System under our Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030”.
On 3 October, Ms Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Research and Innovation, visited the researchfacilities of the Institute of Industrial Science of the University of Tokyo and suggested to link thisCenter for Integrated Underwater Observation Technology with the EU Mission ʻRestore our Ocean
and Waters by 2030ʼ. We should follow-up on that and work together on reducing plastic litter at sea
and on making the blue economy climate-neutral and circular.
But there is room for more cooperation, and this was clearly established by Commissionerʼs Gabriel
who also attended the Science and Technology in Science Forum in Kyoto, and underlined theimportance of international cooperation and global partnerships to address the global challenges.
This is why our research programme Horizon Europe is open to the world. In line with the Global
Approach strategy we privilege cooperation with partners who respect fundamental values and key
research and innovation principles.
With some like-minded partners having a strong scientiﬁc capacity, we also want to go further andoﬀer association to Horizon Europe.
And this brings me to my last point, one I am very much attached to in my role of Chief Negotiator for
the European Commission of Horizon Europe Association Agreements with third countries.
At the EU-Japan Summit on May 2022, Japan conﬁrmed its interest in possibly becoming associatedto Horizon Europe.
Immediately thereafter we started the exploratory talks and I am pleased with the good progress wemade over the last months. I would like to thank the Japanese leadership for giving this process thenecessary attention, support and impetus. On our side, we remain committed to moving forward with
our fruitful discussions.
Association to Horizon Europe is the closest form of cooperation with non-EU countries such as Japanin the ﬁeld of science, research and innovation.
It allows scientists and research entities and business sector to have access to participate in nearly all
collaborative actions and instruments of the Programme on the same footing as participants from the
EU Member States and associated countries, a research family of 43 countries today.

11We strongly believe an association of Japan to Horizon Europe will not only result in a deeper
collaboration to address common challenges, but will also contribute to strengthening the role ofJapan at the global scene of scientiﬁc and technological leadership and strengthen our overall
Partnership.
Association will help Japan reversing a slight slowdown registered in the performance of its STI
ecosystem in the last years, not least by boosting international scientiﬁc co-publications and mobilityof researchers. Indeed, through association Japanese research and innovation actors will secure accessto a pool of top scientists and researchers from Europe to engage in collaborative research in key
strategic sectors, such as climate and environment, clean-tech and renewable energy, health anddigital technologies. When the leadership of a country can be strengthened through collaboration
with like-minded partners and allies, then we all agree that there is ample room for a win-win solution
to be achieved.
To conclude, I think that our role as policy-makers is not only that of enacting the right legislation, butalso that of creating a favourable environment for our researchers, research entities and innovative
companies to work together on shared missions that could set our societies on a more sustainablepath.
We have already a Green Alliance in place. Letʼs now put some “blue into the green” by fostering our
joint eﬀorts and by pooling resources to save and restore our seas and oceans. It is our mission, it isyour mission.
Thank you for inviting me and I wish you a successful edition of this important Symposium.

12Keynote Speech
Mr. Michael Pitiot
Writer and ﬁlmmaker (France)

An award-winning author, screen writer, director and producer, Michael Pitiot shot his ﬁrst reportages
in 1991. Posted as Media Attaché at the French Embassy in Ho Chi Minh City, he spent ﬁve years
developing radio and television cooperation with Vietnam, before sailing back to France on a Chinese
junk, producing an epic documentary LʼOdyssée du Sao Mai on this oceanic voyage for France
Télévisions.
The following year, he led a circumnavigation of Africa with a crew of journalists and 12 leading
French writers, including JMC Le Clézio and Jean-Christophe Ruﬁn, exploring the connection between
Africa and the rest of the world through the continentʼs major harbours (Portes dʼAfrique). He thenjoined the Tara Expéditions Foundation, producing a collection of documentaries on oceans andclimate change. This included the award-winning Tara, a Voyage Through the Climate Machine,
coﬁnanced by the European Commission, documenting the true story of a team of scientists on theice-bound exploration ship Tara, drifting for two years across the Arctic Ocean, the ﬁrst such
expedition since the legendary Nansenʼs Fram voyage of 1893-1896.
He then wrote and produced a series of ﬁlms for France Télévision, documenting the Tara Océan
mission, an international scientiﬁc consortiumʼs round-the-world expedition which carried out alandmark plankton census across the worldʼs seas and oceans (Tara Océans, voyage aux sources de lavie).
After meeting the celebrated ecologist and Earth photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand, he coproducedwith him Planète Océan, a feature-length documentary, celebrating the relations between
humankind and the ocean. This ﬁlm, produced for Universal Studios and France Télévisions, won thebest cinematography award at the Monterey Blue Festival in California. This fruitful collaboration gavebirth to another 10 ocean, nature and wildlife television ﬁlms, including Méditerranée, Notre Terre,
many of them available world-wide on Netﬂix and other platforms. His ﬁlm Terra, the sequel toPlanète Océan, was also premièred in December 2015 at COP15.
He is the author of several books, including a history of piracy. He is currently working on several
scripted projects, celebrating mankind and life.
Michael Pitiot just won the Ocean Awareness Award at the International Film Festival 2022 in Prague.

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A recent turn in human societies has pushed the scientiﬁc world to take public positions on climatechange and the critical health of oceans. Most of these crucial issues have long been identiﬁed byscientists who have been conducting in-depth research. However, instead of just reporting to theirpeers, a growing number of these scientists have taken to the microphone or the camera in order toraise awareness with the wider public. In social media, as well in traditional ones, the scientist has
become a familiar face in our over-connected world.
However, in the meantime, audiences have reached an unprecedented level of media sophistication,
visual literacy and. ʻTalking headsʼ are no longer enough, especially when it comes to hardscience. Stories on whales have always been easier to tell than a love aﬀair within the microbiome.
Yet, today we need to understand the microbiome more than the whaleʼs life. Keeping the audience
focused on science, sometimes demanding science, requires ever more creativity, both in thestorytelling and in the art of ﬁlm-making.
Using extracts from some of my award-winning ﬁlms, including
and

, the

series,… I would like to demonstrate how cinematic tools can be ofremarkable eﬃciency in helping disseminate important scientiﬁc information ‒ for example on the
fascinating world of planktons or on the highly complex interactions between climate and oceans.
Using the appropriate visual technology and creativity the ﬁlmmaker can help audiences see theinvisible and travel through geological time. Powerful storytelling based on hard science, compelling
visual eﬀects, inspiring characters, exciting stories: ʻall hands on deckʼ are now required to raiseawareness with increasingly sophisticated and diverse audiences and to get communities engaged in
the science and the beauty of our Blue Planet.

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Parallel Session 1 10:30-13:30‘BLUE ECONOMY’: GLOBAL TRADE FLOWS,ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, AND GOVERNANCE OF THE SEAS
Theme1: Sustainable Blue Economy: New Resources,
Innovative Solutions for Global Economic Recovery
Theme2: Shaping International Ocean Governance for the FutureInteractive Workshop
and Brokerage Event A 14:30-16:00(ECONOMICS)

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Session 1:
Parallel Session 1 of the Kobe-VUB Symposium focused on the economic as well as geopoliticalaspects of ocean governance. Economists, political scientists, legal scholars, public sector experts, andengineers participated in the session, discussing the topic from various angles.
Part 1 of the session was held on the theme of “Sustainable Blue Economy: New Resources, Innovative
Solutions for Global Economic Recovery,” which covered port-side management to reduce carbon
emissions, air-sea vertical integration, and geopolitical issues with regard to the ocean. Dr. Masahiko
Furuichi (International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) (Japan)) introduced the Environmental
Ship Index (ESI), which has been proposed by the IAPH in order to reduce vesselsʼ NOx, SOx, and CO2
emissions. He concluded that the ESI Programʼs incentive scheme in conjunction with IMO regulations
may generate a synergistic eﬀect on better air quality in and around ports and the decarbonization ofinternational shipping by 2050. Air transport specialist Prof. Wouter Dewulf (University of Antwerp(Belgium)) compared the maritime sector with the air sector. He also talked about air-sea vertical
integration, which has already been implemented by some big companies. Prof. Kevin Verbelen(AGORIA and Brussels Diplomatic Academy (Belgium)) provided an overview of what has happened to
global trade in recent years and how this is aﬀecting business. He pointed out that the tension insome bottlenecks will impact supply chains on a global level.
Part 2 of the session was held on the theme of “Shaping International Ocean Governance for the
Future,” which mainly concentrated on geopolitical issues. Prof. Eva Pejsova (Vrije Universiteit Brussel(Belgium)) focused on the geographical tensions arising from the rivalry between major powers andtheir inﬂuence on the governance of the ocean. She argued that maritime security and ocean
governance are unstable on a legal level, therefore the need for sustainable ocean governance has
never been more acute. Prof. Erik Franckx (Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)) presented the historicaleﬀorts of the United Nations to draw up the law of the sea (Constitution for the Oceans). He
concluded that the 1982 Convention has stood the test of time and that it will likely continue to do soin the near future. Prof. Bernard Siman (Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)) focused on “lawfare” in themaritime sector. He argued that lawfare is gradually and persistently undermining the current
interpretations of the law by the UN. The application of the Constitution for the Oceans is frequently
challenged in court, backed up by new biased interpretations, changing the physical nature ofmaritime features and naval presence.
In the afternoon, a workshop titled “Sustainable Blue Economy-ʻLawfareʼ and governance of the seas”
was held. Prof. Mikio Takebayashi (Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan))gave an overview of the circumstances surrounding current Asia-based supply chains and the impact
of net zero policy on the ocean transport network. He pointed out that strict implementation of net
zero policies will greatly aﬀect the supply chain, reducing demand in particular. However, there aresome promising options for changing the structure of the network, though a perfect solution has yet
to be found. Prof. Ramin Raeesi (Centre for Logistics and Heuristic Optimisation (CLHO), Kent Business
School, University of Kent (UK)) introduced the Dover Clean Ferry Project. This University of Kent-led
industry consortium will draw up an implementation plan for introducing hybrid and electric ferry
operations at the Port of Dover. He discussed the workability of clean ferries from technical andmanagement perspectives. As the ﬁnal presenter, Prof. Ra Mason (University of East Anglia (UK)) gave
an overview of the current situation in the East China Sea, which is the geopolitical tension hotspot in
Asia. He argued that while at ﬁrst sight the superior conventional military capabilities boasted by the
US-Japan alliance provide the basis for ongoing American-headed regional hegemony, a combinationof conﬁrmation bias and immobilism in US foreign policy have led to latent changes in the status quothat risk undermining stability across this troubled body of water.

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Parallel Session 1
Theme 1: Sustainable Blue Economy:
New Resources, Innovative Solutions for
Global Economic Recovery
Bernard Siman

Financial Diplomacy & FinTech at the Brussels Diplomatic Academy,
the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Moderator

Masahiko Furuichi (by video)International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) (Japan)

Secretary-General of International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH). He received B.E. (Civil
Engineering), M.E. (Civil Engineering) from Hokkaido University, Japan, M.S. (Transportation) from
Northwestern University, USA, and Ph.D. from Hokkaido University. He has a broad range ofexperiences in port planning and development at Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism (MLIT), Japan, served as Professor at the Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University,taught “Global logistics and trade” and “Global logistics and maritime transport”, and published many
research papers in the ﬁeld of global logistics, maritime transport and seaport strategy.

Both air pollutant emission (SOx, NOx) and greenhouse gas emission (CO2) from international
shipping are regulated by International Maritime Organization (IMO). However, in fact it takes a longer
time to build a consensus on new regulation among the member states in the world. On the other
hand, World Ports Climate Declaration was adopted by major ports and major cities at C40 World
Ports Climate Conference 2008. In the context of this new stream, Environmental Ship Index (ESI)
Program was designed and created in 2011, aiming at incentivizing ship owners, operators andmanagers to improve environmental performance of their vesselsʼ emission. Incentive provider ports
encourage the ESI-registered ships to invest on the better environmental performance faster than the
IMO regulation by providing discounted port dues (as incentives) depending on their ESI score. As aresult, ESI Programʼs incentive scheme in conjunction with IMO regulation may generate synergy
eﬀect on better air quality in and around the ports and decarbonization of international shipping
toward 2050.

17

Wouter Dewulf
University of Antwerp (Belgium)

Prof dr. Wouter Dewulf (1970) works at the Department of Transport and Regional economics of the
University of Antwerp (Belgium), and is currently performing research on Air Cargo Strategy, Airport
Strategy, Urban Logistics, E-commerce and Sustainability. He also is academic director of theadvanced Master of Maritime and Air Transport Management at the Antwerp Management School;
and is visiting professor at the University of Hasselt (Belgium), Trisakti Institute of Transportation(Jakarta) and Kedge Business School (Marseille). He researched the strategy of air cargo operators andcompleted a Ph.D. on The Strategy of Air transport carriers, about Carpet Sellers and Cargo Starsʼ. After
two Master's studies in Applied Economics and Business Engineering at the University of Antwerp hestarted as a management trainee at British Airways in London. In 1997, he joined Sabena Technics tohead up the purchasing department and moved two years later to the position of Director of Supply
Chain Management. In 2002, he joined Van Gansewinkel, the largest waste management company inthe Benelux, as director for West Belgium, where he became the director of Belgium, France andLuxemburg in 2008. Since 2013, Wouter has been aﬃliated with the University of Antwerp and theAntwerp Management School.

The presentation starts with an overview of Disruption, Innovation and Regulation in the air transportindustry over the past 50 years. The aviaton industry is renowned for its innovation, regulation andagility towards disruption. The presenter gives an overview of parallels and contrasts between theaviation and maritime sectors. In addition, it gives some insights on what the maritime industry canlearn from the Aviation Industry, and vice-versa, with a special focus on sustainability eﬀorts.

18

Kevin Verbelen
AGORIA and Brussels Diplomatic Academy (Belgium)

Kevin Verbelen is Senior Expert International Trade and Company Lawyer at AGORIA, the associationof technology companies in Belgium. He is Chair of the Trade Group in DIGITALEUROPE and Steering
Committee Member of Belgiumʼs Customs Forum. He is Lecturer & Head of the International
Organizations Pillar at the Brussels Diplomatic Academy. Kevin holds a Master Degree of Law from the
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a LL.M International Trade and Business Law from the University of Arizona,
and was awarded for his excellence in International Environmental Law. He worked at the Belgian
Representation to the WTO in Geneva and to UNEP in Nairobi and participated several times in theWorld Economic Forum.

The war in Ukraine, a ship that blocks the Suez Canal, tensions over Taiwan, a pandemic, open
strategic autonomy, made in China 2025, from fossil to sustainable fuels … The world is rapidlychanging and so is business. Global Value Chains are under immense pressure and are slowly but
surely being unraveled. Some say this is a good evolution. “It will bring jobs back”. “This will provide
shorter supply chains”. “This will be a more sustainable supply chain.” But is it really? This presentation
will provide an overview of what has happened in the past years regarding global trade and how it isaﬀecting business. It will explore what the consequences are and how this will aﬀect countries,
economies, business and people.

19

Theme 2: Shaping International Ocean Governancefor the Future
Mikio Takebayashi

Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)

Moderator

Eva Pejsova
Japan Chair, Brussels School of Governance (Belgium)

Dr Pejsova leads the Japan Chair at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) of theBrussels School of Governance (BSoG) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Her research focuses on
security issues within the broader Indo-Paciﬁc region, notably related to maritime security,
sovereignty disputes, regional cooperative mechanism, as well as overall issues of good ocean
governance. She holds a PhD in Strategic Studies from the S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies (RSIS) in Singapore and has previously worked as Senior Analyst at the EU Institute for Security
Studies (EUISS) and Senior Advisor of the Asia Paciﬁc Research and Advice Network (#APRAN).

The worldʼs oceans are under ever-increasing pressure. Against the backdrop of great power rivalry
and geopolitical tensions, the international maritime environment is deﬁned by increasing
militarisation. Authoritarian regimes have become more assertive, multiplying coercive actions andgrey-zone operations at sea, exacerbating tensions in existing maritime security hotspots and shaking
the foundations of a global rules-based order. At the same time, the seasʼ rich living and non-living
resources have become severely depleted, putting the health of the marine ecosystems, but also thestability and economic prosperity of the coastal communities, at risk.
The need for sustainable ocean governance has never been more acute. While UNCLOS and its related
conventions indeed provide a sound legal basis for the management of complex maritime security
and safety issues, implementation requires leadership and political will. The European Union has
taken the leadership of the international ocean governance since 2016 and vows to step up its role asa global ʻmaritime security providerʼ. When working towards this goal, joining forces with Japan, oneof the most active promoters of a rules-based maritime order, can multiply its chances for success andconstitute a promising area for cooperation between the two like-minded partners.

20Erik Franckx
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
Nelson Mandela University (South Africa)

Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (V.U.B.), honorary professor, Nelson Mandela University (2020 - ),emeritus professor, Université Libre de Bruxelles, and acting President of the Belgian Society ofInternational Law (2017 - ).
He is appointed by Belgium as: expert in marine scientiﬁc research for use in special arbitration underthe 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 Convention) (2004 - ); expert inmaritime boundary delimitation to the International Hydrographic Organization (2005 - ); arbitrator
under the 1982 Convention (2014 - ) and was member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (2006 2012).

The United Nations has been extremely successful in codifying the law of the sea, for it was able toachieve this result not once (in 1958), but twice (in 1982), which is quite exceptional when viewed
from a general international law perspective. The second codiﬁcation eﬀort resulted in the so-called
Constitution for the Oceans and proved necessary, inter alia, because of decolonization andtechnological developments that had taken place in the meantime.
The present contribution looks into the major novelties introduced by the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea when compared to its predecessor. At the occasion of the 40th
anniversary of the adoption of this document, it should be stressed that the development oftechnology and scientiﬁc knowledge of the oceans did not stop in 1982. The 1982 Convention has
been trying to cope with these novel developments. It is consequently not to be considered as aconstitution written in stone, but rather as a ﬂexible document that has already been adapted in a
number of ways. So far, the 1982 Convention has stood the test of time and it is expected that it willcontinue to do so for some time to come.

21

Bernard Siman
Financial Diplomacy & FinTech at the Brussels Diplomatic Academy,
the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Bernard Siman is a Head, Financial Diplomacy & FinTech, Brussels Diplomatic Academy, VUB, where heteaches at the graduate ﬂagship programme in Economic Diplomacy. He is also a Senior Associate
Fellow at Egmont- The Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels covering Hybrid Threats
and Mediterranean and Maritime Aﬀairs. He is also the Senior Liaison Oﬃcer of the European
Corporate Security Association (ECSA). He lectures at several programmes and institutions, including
the European Security and Defence College of the EU and the Royal Military Academy, Belgium.
After ﬁnishing his undergraduate studies in Belgium, he completed his MPhil at the London School of
Economics, Oxford Brooks University and Kyoto University (Japan).

Lawfare is a rising Hybrid threat to the rules-based governance regime of the seas. The aim of Lawfare
is to undermine the current interpretations of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS) gradually and persistently by constantly challenging its application through court
challenges, backed up by new biased interpretations, changing the physical nature of maritime
features, and naval presence.
Lawfare subverts, over time, sovereignty and economic rights and aﬀects connectivity in a direct andconcrete manner, thus aﬀecting, inter alia, global trade ﬂows, minerals and resources rights, accessand allied costs, such as insurance and naval capacity building. The South China Sea is a current
example. However, attention should also be paid to how Lawfare will aﬀect the Arctic whether in theextraction of resources, sovereign rights or connectivity through the Northeast Passage. Europe is
directly aﬀected by developments in the Arctic whether economically or strategically. It is crucial that
Europe, both in terms of the EU and also of its Member States, pre-empties the impact of possible
Lawfare operations against its interests as stipulated by the existing international regulations andtreaties and counters the impact of Lawfare ahead of time. Japan is equally exposed to the impact ofLawfare in the China Seas whether through sovereign rights, resources or crucially the impact onmaritime connectivity.

22

EURAXESS Japan Presentation
Judit Erika Magyar
EURAXESS-Japan Country Representative

In keeping with the EU ʻGlobal Approachʼ to international Research and Innovation cooperation,
EURAXESS Japan oﬀers all users hands-on opportunities to develop their careers and ﬁnd
collaboration opportunities with European researchers and research organizations. It also acts as abridge between Japanese and European funding agencies and programmes.
EURAXESS Japan is an information and networking tool supporting researchers working and studying
in Japan who wish to connect or stay connected with Europe, using the opportunities oﬀered by
Horizon Europe and the EU Member Statesʼ research programmes. EURAXESS Japanʼs target audienceis both Japanese and EU researchers at various stages in their careers, PhD students to professors.
EURAXESS Japan is an all-in-one networking platform and information tool for talented researchers
who wish to explore and develop careers in Europe. Whether you are looking for insights into EU
research policy and funding, Horizon Europe Work Programmes and Calls, practical tips to pursue ascientiﬁc career in Europe, or you wish to build contacts and meet with other researchers, EURAXESSJapan is here for you.
Funded by the European Commission, with the support of Japanese and European organisations,
EURAXESS Japan focuses on three key activities to promote EU-Japan researcher exchange andmobility:
to provide regular, tailored and reliable information
to organise networking and information sessions across Japan, and participate in key researchersʼ
mobility events (science fairs, events organised by Japanese funding agencies, the EU Delegation
to Japan, Member States Embassiesʼ S&T Departments among others)
to build on the strength of a 6500-strong EURAXESS community in Japan to exchange informationand experiences, as wells as practical tips on jobs and funding.
Since its launch in 2013, EURAXESS Japan has established contact with thousands of researchers andorganizations via multiple SNS platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn); organised over 100 events
attended by over 3,000 participants; been visited by nearly 100,000 users via its portal; published over
40 newsletters; opened a satellite oﬃce at Kobe University in addition to the Tokyo headquarters.
In short, whether you want to know more about European Research and Innovation policy,
programmes, funding and collaboration opportunities, EURAXESS Japan has a dedicated team, readyto assist you. Please visit our websites:
https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/worldwide/japan
https://www.oﬃce.kobe-u.ac.jp/intl-euraxess/index.html

23

Interactive Workshop andBrokerage Event A

Mikio Takebayashi

Joint Producers and Moderators

Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)

Bernard Siman

Financial Diplomacy & FinTech at the Brussels Diplomatic Academy,
the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Mikio Takebayashi
Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)

Professor of the Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University, Japan. Received a Ph. D. (inCivil Engineering) from Kyoto University, Japan. After working as an associate professor (2000-2010 at
Kobe University), he joined the Graduate School of Maritime Sciences as a professor. His researchinterests are infrastructure planning and management, especially policy and management related toports and airports. He has published many academic papers in major international journals such as
Trans. Res. Part A. He has been a member of various committees hosted by Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, City of Kobe, etc., holding important roles such ascommittee chair.

“Net Zero by 2050” is quite an ambitious concept for maintaining the global environment for coming
generations. On the other hand, this concept will change our way of life, especially in regard totransport and logistics. The current transport system heavily depends on fossil fuels. The international
trade and supply chain relies greatly on ocean transport, and should be changed to reduce GHG
emissions. In this presentation, which focuses on intra-Asian and trans-Eurasian markets, we will
discuss what kind of future would result from following the direction indicated by the Net Zeroconcept. First, we will give an overview of the current situation for supply chains based in Asian
countries. Second, we will pick out some interesting phenomena backed by the Net Zero concept andconsider their future directions, especially changes to the transport network. Finally, we will look atsome potential questions that arise when pushing the Net Zero concept further.

24

Ramin Raeesi
Centre for Logistics and Heuristic Optimisation (CLHO), Kent
Business School, University of Kent (UK)Dr Ramin Raeesi is a Senior Lecturer in Management Science and the Director of the Centre for
Logistics and Heuristic Optimisation (CLHO) at Kent Business School (KBS). His main area of researchcorresponds mainly to optimisation problems that arise in supply chain, logistics and transport
networks with a particular focus on decarbonisation. He was/is the principal investigator of several
funded projects on decarbonising the road and maritime transport sectors and is actively conducting
funded research on hydrogen supply chain design, new fuel and net-zero technologies adoption,
maritime transportation, port operations, renewables adoption optimisation, and infrastructure andfuel portability.

Situated on the Southeast tip of England, Dover is the closest British port to the continent, and thus ofparticular strategic importance to the cross-channel traﬃc. It contributes to 33% of all UK ‒ EU tradeand handles 2.4m trucks (i.e., 31% of the total HGVs transiting through UKʼs major seaports) and 30%
of all ro-ro ferry arrivals into the UK. To sustainably deliver the unique beneﬁts of Dover's geographic
position, estimated to be worth £3 billion to the economy, the “Dover Clean Ferry Power (DCFP)”
project brought together a consortium of key business and academic partners to study thetechno-economic feasibility of potential electric power solutions for Short Straits ferries. To accelerate
the adoption of hybrid or fully electric propulsion vessels in the Short Straits (Dover to Calais andDunkirk) ferry ﬂeet, the DCFP consortium led by the University of Kent focused on accurately
identifying energy demand by current and future ferries operating at the port over diﬀerent planninghorizons and real operating conditions, and potential innovative, realistic, and reliable energy supply
pathways within the infrastructural and operational constraints of the port. This presentation
discusses several highlights, insights and ﬁndings from this university-industry collaborative project.

25

Ra Mason (by video)
University of East Anglia (UK)Ra Mason is Sasakawa Associate Professor of International Relations and Japanese Foreign Policy at
the University of East Anglia (UEA). He was previously Course Leader of Asia Paciﬁc Studies at the
University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), JSPS Fellow at the University of the Ryukyus, and Associate
Professor of Public Policy at Tohoku University. Ra is author of Japanʼs relations with North Korea andthe Recalibration of Risk and co-author of Regional Risk and Security in Japan and Risk State(Routledge), in addition to publishing widely on Okinawa, Djibouti and the DPRK, as well as writing for
the Asahi Shimbunʼs Asia Japan Watch (AJW), The Conversation UK (TCUK) and The Asan Forum. This
presentation illuminates the changing dynamics of the East China Sea.

In an environment of rising geostrategic tensions across the Indo Paciﬁc, as the conﬂuence ofcompeting interests contested by the worldʼs three largest economies, among others, the East China
Sea (is a potential ﬂashpoint with global implications. This paper argues that while at ﬁrst sightsuperior conventional military capabilities boasted by the US Japan alliance provide the basis forongoing American headed regional hegemony, a combination of conﬁrmation bias and immobilism
in US foreign policy have led to latent changes in the status quo that risk undermining stability acrossthis troubled body of water. Ultimately, more conceptual awareness and ﬂexibility will need to be
demonstrated by successive American administrations, and greater legal and narrative alignment
prioritized by all parties, if the ECS is to avoid drifting from a site of lawfare into one of warfare.

26

Parallel Session 2 10:30-13:30
OCEANS OF THE FUTURE: ADVANCES IN MARINE AND
MARITIME SCIENCES: NEW TECHOLOGIES FOR NEW HORIZONSTheme1: Harnessing the Power of Oceans:
Fostering Innovation for Energy Sustainability
Theme2: Addressing Marine Pollution, Restoring Marine Ecosystems

Interactive Workshop
and Brokerage Event B 14:30-16:00(NATURAL SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY)27

Session 2: Oceans of the future: Advances in marine and maritime sciences: New technologies for
new horizons
Session 2 consisted of two Themes relating to new technologies for sustainable seas and oceans, andone Interactive Workshop/Brokerage Event for green energy and hydrogen. The lectures were given
by a variety of speakers with diverse backgrounds in academia, including those from Kobe University,
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, University of Kent, and their partner universities (Kiel University, University of
Florence, Aix-Marseille University), and Ochanomizu University.
Theme 1: Harnessing the Power of Oceans: Fostering Innovation for Energy Sustainability
Martin Visbeck (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Kiel University) presented“Digital Twins of the Ocean - Opportunities to future-proof sustainable development” in which heintroduced the international programme DITTO (Digital Twins of the Ocean) in the context of the UN
Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Minoru Takeda (Graduate School of Maritime
Sciences, Kobe University) gave a presentation on “Applications of Superconductivity in the Field ofMaritime Sciences” and explained a helical-type seawater magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) generation
system, a new MHD method of separating oil from contaminated seawater, and fundamental
technologies for marine transportation of liquid hydrogen. Makoto Aoki (Radioisotope ResearchCenter, Ochanomizu University) presented the “Study of Electrode Surface Structure for the
Improvement of the Seawater Electrolysis Eﬃciency and Reaction Selectivity” by means of online
system. She investigated the surface structure and layer-by-layer composition of Pt-M (M=Co, Ni, etc.)
electrodes using a synchrotron radiator. Benedetto Allotta (Interuniversity Center of Integrated
Systems for the Marine Environment (ISME), and the University of Florence) presented “Perspectives inUnderwater Robotics: Current Activities at ISME” and introduced ISME, a consortium of nine Italian
universities that has been carrying out underwater robotics research for more than 20 years.
Theme 2: Addressing Marine Pollution, Restoring Marine Ecosystems
Yue Gao (AMGC, The Vrije Universiteit Brussel) gave a presentation on the “Biogeochemical cycle ofinorganic contaminants in the North Sea and Baltic Sea - measurement of trace metal bioavailability”.
She explained her research on bioavailability in the marine environment, which is inﬂuenced byphysio-chemical parameters including salinity, pH, redox potential as well as complexation andprecipitation processes. Robert Barkerʼs (University of Kent) presentation entitled “Safe Harbours:
Industry-University Collaborations in Environmental Protection” was unfortunately cancelled. Richard
Sempéré (CNRS, Director of Ocean Sciences Institute, Aix-Marseille University) talked about “Plastics
and their organic additives in the marine environment: Proposals to limit the risks for theMediterranean Sea” in which he discussed risks and impact predications regarding the MediterraneanSea, which has been reported as one of the major plastic contamination hotspots in the world. Simon
Barnes (University of Kent) presented “Decarbonising the maritime sector; complex, challenging andcostly?” and introduced new and novel technologies that might be adopted by ﬂeets in diﬀerent
regions, and what this could mean for continued operations in ports and on vessels.
Interactive Workshop/Brokerage Event B: Towards Green Energy and Green Hydrogen
After morning session 2, ﬁve industry and academia panelists from various regions talked about how
renewable resource-based electricity, as well as hydrogen energy, will help the world become carbon
neutral by 2050. Dominik Richter (Hydrogen Europe) presented “Towards Green Energy and Green
Hydrogen: A European Approach”, giving insight into hydrogen-related regulatory developments,
targets and measures on a European level. He also talked about reducing European dependency on
Russian gas and how to achieve the ambitious climate goals. Minoru Takeda (Graduate School of
Maritime Sciences, Kobe University) gave a presentation on “Marine Transportation of Hydrogen
Energy: Challenges and Opportunities - the Kaitaku Project” and predominantly explained theongoing CO2-free hydrogen supply chain project between Japan and Australia. This project is using
the liquid hydrogen carrier “Suiso Frontier” and a CO 2 capture and storage technology. Ivar
Kruusenberg (CEO, PowerUP Energy Technologies/KBFI) presented “Hydrogen as a game changer forthe maritime sector” and appealed to the maritime industry to drastically reduce CO2 emissions withthe eventual goal of decarbonisation. As an example, he introduced a liquid hydrogen marinetransportation project supported by the Japanese government. Isabel Francois (WaterstofNet vzw,
Turnhout) gave an online presentation entitled “Hydrogen Status: Flanders-Belgium”. She gave an
overview of the hydrogen pilot projects and developments that have been implemented in the
Flanders region, which focus on transporting hydrogen and developing related technologies andexpertise. Ander Martinez Alonso (MOBI ‒ The Vrije Universiteit Brussel) gave a presentation on“Hydrogen as an energy vector, a Multi-Energy System Approach” in which he explored howhydrogen can be used as a sustainable energy source in combination with other renewable energy
sources and technologies. He highlighted the importance of techno-economic assessments andoptimal operation of these systems in order to transition towards a carbon neutral European economy
by 2050.

28

Parallel Session 2
Theme 1: Harnessing the Power of Oceans: Fostering
Innovation for Energy Sustainability
Minoru Takeda

Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)

Moderator

Martin Visbeck
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Kiel
University (Germany)

Martin Visbeck is head of research unit Physical Oceanography at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for
Ocean Research Kiel and professor at Kiel University, Germany. His research interests revolve aroundoceanʼs role in the climate system, ocean circulation, upwelling systems, integrated global ocean
observation, digital-twins of the ocean and the ocean dimension of sustainable development. He led
the ʻFuture Oceanʼ Network in Kiel to advance integrated marine sciences by bringing together
diﬀerent disciplines to work on marine issues. He serves on a number of national and international
advisory committees including member of the Governing Board of the International Science Council(ISC)

Digital twins are ﬁne-grained virtualizations of physical objects and systems which have been widely
applied in the engineering realm for tasks such as engine optimization and port management. For the
Ocean and Earth in particular, digital twinning means to intuitively bundle and provide easy access tomarine data, models, and simulations to explore “what if” scenarios. A well-constructed digital twin of
the ocean will enable a wider range of users to interact with digital assets to explore current andfuture scenarios, especially related to human interactions with the ocean. High-value application areas
include ﬁsheries and mariculture, marine protected areas, ocean-based tourism, ecologicalforecasting, nature-based solutions, marine infrastructure development, and the interactions between
all of these with an ever-growing collection of data streams.
Recently we initiated an international programme DITTO - The Digital Twins of the Ocean in thecontext of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. DITTO intends to build a
Digital Twin of the Ocean Framework that allows users to create a family of application-focussed digital
twins that collectively twin the ocean as a whole, with access to a range of ocean data and forecastingand predictive systems. This powerful framework will enable users to visualize and explore ocean

29knowledge and empower ocean professionals and models, forecasts, citizen scientists, policymakers,
and the general public alike. This session aims to showcase global applications and pilots of digital
twins and discuss possible applications for the ocean system (https://ditto-oceandecade.org/).

Minoru Takeda
Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)

Minoru Takeda is a professor in the department of Marine Engineering, Graduate School of Maritime
Sciences, Kobe University, Japan. He obtained an MSc and a PhD in Physics from Osaka City University,
Japan in 1986 and 1993, respectively. In 1997, he was a visiting researcher in the National High
Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida State University, USA. This year he became the co-director of the
Cryogenics and Superconductivity Society of Japan. His research focuses on applications ofsuperconductivity in the ﬁeld of maritime sciences, and on cryogenics related to production, storage
and transportation of liquid hydrogen.

Our research is entitled “Oceans and Hydrogen Energy: Applications of Superconductivity in the Fieldof Maritime Sciences.” It is being conducted at the Cryogenics and Hydrogen Laboratories located on
the Fukae Campus of Kobe University. Our main goal is to establish a carbon neutral society based on
renewable and hydrogen energies, using advanced technologies including cryogenic andsuperconducting devices. First, a helical-type seawater magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) generation
system, which generates electricity used to produce hydrogen, is explained as well as a helical-type
MHD ship thruster. Second, a new MHD method of separating oil from contaminated seawater using ahigh-ﬁeld superconducting magnet, which is based on the diﬀerence in the electric conductivity
between seawater and oil, is explained with good quantitative agreement between the experimental
data and the equation for the separation. Third, fundamental technologies for marine transportationof liquid hydrogen, which has a boiling point of 20 K, are explained, focusing on a superconducting
magnesium diboride (MgB2) liquid level sensor. An overview of the marine transportation of liquidhydrogen (including topics related to the production and storage of liquid hydrogen) in Japan will begiven at the interactive workshop and brokerage event B.

30

Makoto Aoki (by video)Radioisotope Research Center, Ochanomizu University (Japan)

Makoto Aoki is an assistant professor of the Radioisotope Research Center, Ochanomizu University.
She obtained her PhD in Science from Ochanomizu University, Japan in 2016. After working for the
Fuel Cell Nanomaterials Center of the University of Yamanashi, she joined Kobe University as an
assistant professor from 2017 to 2022. Her research focuses on the construction of an energy
conversion system using renewable energy. Her current interest is water electrolysis for thedevelopment of a hydrogen production system that uses renewable energy from the ocean.

Understanding the electrochemical reactions on the electrode/electrolyte solution interface and thesurface structure of the electrode are important for constructing high-performance devices such asbatteries, fuel cells, electrolytic cells. In order to clarify the mechanism behind electrochemical
reactions and to practically apply them to devices, we designed and developed various
electrochemical cells and methods for in-situ measurement. By conducting in-situ measurement
using synchrotron radiation and single crystal electrodes, we investigated the surface structure andlayer-by-layer composition of Pt-M (M = Co, Ni, etc.) electrodes (which are posited to serve as anelectrode catalyst for various devices such as fuel cells) and clariﬁed the factor for the improvement of
catalytic activity.
I will also talk about a seawater magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generator which has a uniquesystem that transforms the kinetic energy of ocean and tidal currents directly into electric energy.

31Benedetto Allotta
Interuniversity Center of Integrated Systems for the Marine
Environment (ISME) and University of Florence (Italy)

Full professor of Robotics and Mechanism Design at the Dept. of Industrial Engineering, University of
Florence. Chairman of the Scientiﬁc Committee of SeaLab (https://isme.unige.it/research/sealab), a
joint laboratory between ISME http://www.isme.unige.it/ and the CSSN of the Italian Navy forexperimentation on heterogeneous autonomous vehicles. 1992: Ph.D. degree in Robotics magna cum
laude from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa. 1987: Laurea degree (M.S.) in MechanicalEngineering from the University of Pisa. Courses taught in Robotics, and Mechanism Design. Current
research interests: robot design, marine and underwater robotics, control of robots, mechatronics,
sensor fusion in navigation systems.

Underwater robots are largely used in the oﬀshore industry, mainly Oil&Gas, in military applications,and in ocean sciences, including marine archaeology and geomorphology. However, the Level ofAutonomy (LoA) of commercially available systems is still rather low. In particular, in industrial
practice, close inspection of submerged infrastructures and intervention tasks, such as manipulation,
are still performed by tethered, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV). Ongoing research in underwater
robotics is aimed at increasing the LoA of vehicles and ﬂeets of vehicles. Artiﬁcial Intelligence (AI)techniques are being exploited in order to allow underwater robots to implement reactive behaviors,such as active sensing of the environment aimed at increasing quantity and quality of acquired data,and semi-autonomous manipulation. Cooperation among underwater vehicles and hybrid (optical ‒acoustic) perception of the environment are hot topics as well. ISME, a consortium of nine Italian
Universities, has been performing research in underwater robotics for more than 20 years. Some
recent experiences of ISME nodes in the development of underwater robot technology will be shown,with emphasis on the projects performed by the Tuscan Universities of Pisa and Firenze.

32Theme 2: Addressing Marine Pollution, Restoring
Marine Ecosystems

Thierry Coosemans

Moderator

the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Thierry Coosemans obtained his PhD in Engineering Sciences from Ghent University in 2006. Afterseveral years in the industry, he became a member of the MOBI research team at the VUB, where heworks now as the co-director of the EVERGi team on sustainable energy communities. He is currently
involved in the scientiﬁc support for the Green Energy Park Zellik, and had an active role in Flanders
Make and the Living Labs Electric Vehicles Flanders. On a European level, Thierry was and is involvedin the H2020 and FP7 projects SafeDrive, OPERA4FEV, SuperLIB, Smart EV-VC, Batteries20202, GO4SEM(coord), FIVEVB, ELIPTIC, MOBILITY4EU, FUTURE-RADAR, OBELICS, INTERCONNECT, ENSEMBLE,
REDIFUEL, CEVOLVER, and RENAISSANCE, which he coordinates. His main research interests are thedevelopment of CO2-neutral Sustainable Local Energy Systems, electric and hybrid propulsion
systems, and the performances of automated electric-vehicle ﬂeets under real-life conditions,
including in a V2G perspective. Thierry Coosemans is an active member of the Bridge Initiative andFlux 50.

Yue Gao
AMGC, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Professor at Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
Awarded MSc and PhD from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium in 2003 and 2009, respectively. After
working at VUB as FWO postdoc fellow, joined in the same research group as academic member. My
research focus on investigation of diverse pollutants in diﬀerent environmental compartments
including water, sediment and soil. Beside this, she also developed novel passive sampling technique
for the measurement of limiting elements in the HNLC (high nutrient‒low chlorophyll) regions ofoceans. She has published 80 peer reviewed papers with H index of 28.

33

Bioavailable toxic trace metals are a concern for all ecosystems. In the marine environment,bioavailability is inﬂuenced by physio-chemical parameters including salinity, pH, redox potential aswell as complexation and precipitation processes. The classic procedure to estimate bioavailable
metal concentrations in marine systems is to measure the dissolved metal concentration in a ﬁlteredseawater sample. However, the dissolved metal concentration includes ions, labile and strong metal
complexes and colloids, of which the last two cannot be consumed by phytoplankton, and thus
overestimates the bioavailable fraction. The passive sampling technique of DGT uses two hydrogel gel
layers, with the diﬀusive layer allowing only solutes smaller than 10 nm to pass through and with theresin gel layer irreversibly binding the appropriate solutes. Based on Fickʼs law, the ﬂuxes andeventually the solute concentrations can be calculated. This technique has been widely applied inaquatic systems including freshwater, seawater, sediment and soil to measure labile (bioavailable)
metal fractions. In the Belgian Part of North Sea (BPNS), the combination of classic ﬁltration of samples
and DGT passive sample makes the determination of metal bioavailability in seawater possible andthe assessment of high-resolution metal proﬁles in sediment feasible.

Richard Sempéré
CNRS senior scientist, Director of Ocean Sciences Institute,
Aix-Marseille University (France)

Richard Sempéré, PhD, is oceanographer, marine and atmospheric geochemist and director of
research at CNRS. He is currently Director of the Aix-Marseille University ʻOcean Sciences Instituteʼ. His
own research studies concern exploration of sources and sinks of natural organic matter in aquatic
environments, the intersection of the carbon cycle and microbial communities under global change
conditions. He is also studying plastics, plastic additives, endocrine disruptors, and organic
contaminants in atmospheric and aquatic systems. Richard Sempéré has been student in French
Universities and post-doctoral fellow in Tokyo, Japan. He has been a member of several Frenchgovernmental committees and PI of several research projects. He is author or co-author of more than
110 scientiﬁc publications in peer review journals and supervised studies of numerous PhD andpost-doctoral researchers. The last 20 years Richard Sempéré has created and be the director
successively of the research laboratories LMGEM, Mediterranean institute of Oceanography andrecently the Aix-Marseille University (AMU) -graduate school Ocean Sciences Institute gathering 14
laboratories in marine sciences from Oceanography to law of the sea.

34

With 400 million tons of plastics produced each year for packaging (for a signiﬁcant part),
construction, automotive, electrical, electronics, clothing, agriculture activities, plastic pollution is onevery visible indicator of the Anhropocene. Plastics constitute between 8 and 15% of waste mass
generated by human activities. Nonetheless, and even if they are produced in urban areas, their
physical and chemical properties make them the predominant part of the litter in naturalenvironments. They also constitute an increasing threat for land and hydrosphere ecosystems. Plastic
litter also causes severe economic losses through damage to vessels and ﬁshing gear, negative eﬀects
on the tourism industry, and increased shoreline cleaning eﬀorts.
However, about 40% of all plastic products are thrown away within one month and only a very minor
part (7%) is eﬀectively recycled. Of the total, 84% end up on beaches and the remaining 16% in thewater column or on the seaﬂoor. The issue of widespread plastic waste in the environment isexacerbated by the durability and persistence of these materials in the environment. Land-based
activities are, undoubtedly, the main source of marine litter, particularly in a highly populated closed
sea basin, such as the Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, the Mediterranean has been reported as one of the
major hotspots of plastic contamination in the World. However, despite the existence of regional
action plans, legally binding measures and the common will of many countries to end plastic
pollution, the eﬀective and eﬃcient implementation of measures is made diﬃcult by theheterogeneous demographic, economic and geopolitical situation of coastal countries. In thispresentation, we will recall the risks and prospects of impacts on the Mediterranean Sea. A set ofsolutions using an interdisciplinary and inter-sectorial strategy is also proposed. This work is largely
based on the discussions of the CleanMed consortium initiated in 2022.

35

Simon Barnes
University of Kent, Canterbury (UK)

Simon Barnes is the Strategic Partnership lead at the University of Kent, he joined the University in2017 after 30 years in industry. During that time, he was a Director of the Society of Maritime
Industries and Chair the Sustainability Working Group in the City of London.
Simon now represents the sector on the Maritime UK Regional Board for the South East of England.
For the University he brings together academics from the Business School, Engineering, Natural
Sciences and partners to address and research the challenges of maritime decarbonisation in all its
aspects.

Legacy ﬂeets, a plethora of technology, diﬀerent investment strategies, regional, national andinternational policy and regulation make decarbonisation of the maritime sector especiallychallenging. This complexity is compounded by a complex energy supply and demand relationship,
one that has historically been addressed through a single energy source, widely available, but is in the
future likely to be a number of diverse, fragmented ʻenergy optionsʼ. The structure of the sector isquite distinct from other transport sectors where for example the number of technology providers is
less fragmented (aerospace) or the industry is following a progressive technology pathway(automotive). The need to re-equip legacy vessels and ports brings unique challenges in energy
supply for which existing systems are not ﬁt for purpose. In his presentation Simon will share histhoughts on how and where new and novel technology might be taken up by diﬀerent ﬂeets in
diﬀerent regions, what this means for continuity of operations both in port and on for vessels. Allwithin the context for the increased demand for decarbonisation from customers and governments
for green supply chains.

36Interactive Workshop andBrokerage Event B

Thierry Coosemans

the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Moderator

Dominik Richter
Hydrogen Europe (Belgium)

Dominik Richter graduated in M.Res. Degree in Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and their Applications in 2022 at
the University of Birmingham in the UK. He has been working at Hydrogen Europe since March, 2021
and holds the title of Innovation Analyst.
He is part of the Hydrogen Europe, Innovation Team, which manages the industry-private
contributions to the public-private partnership, the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, between Hydrogen
Europe, Hydrogen Europe Research and the European Commission. Besides this, his tasks include a
one of its kind supply chain mapping of the European hydrogen industry players and trade matters.

Everyone is aware of the events that led to recent energy uncertainties in Europe and the continent
will certainly face challenging years ahead. Consequently, the European Commission instated
REPowerEU, meant to battle Europeʼs dependency on Russian gas imports.
Within REPowerEU, hydrogen was identiﬁed as one of the key pillars to do both, reducing European
dependency on Russian gas as well as achieving the ambitious climate goals.
Those are just the latest developments of a trend that has been accelerating over recent years ‒hydrogen is here to stay.
This presentation will give insight and summarise the regulatory developments, targets and measuresin regard to hydrogen on a European level, putting it in a global context.

37

Minoru Takeda
Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)

Minoru Takeda is a professor in the department of Marine Engineering, Graduate School of Maritime
Sciences, Kobe University, Japan. He obtained an MSc and a PhD in Physics from Osaka City University,
Japan in 1986 and 1993, respectively. In 1997, he was a visiting researcher in the National High
Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida State University, USA. This year he became the co-director of the
Cryogenics and Superconductivity Society of Japan. His research focuses on applications ofsuperconductivity in the ﬁeld of maritime sciences, and on cryogenics related to production, storage
and transportation of liquid hydrogen.

Our research is entitled “Oceans and Hydrogen Energy: Applications of Superconductivity in the Fieldof Maritime Sciences.” It is being conducted at the Cryogenics and Hydrogen Laboratories located on
the Fukae Campus of Kobe University. Our main goal is to establish a carbon neutral society based on
renewable and hydrogen energies, using advanced technologies including cryogenic andsuperconducting devices. First, a helical-type seawater magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) generation
system, which generates electricity used to produce hydrogen, is explained as well as a helical-type
MHD ship thruster. Second, a new MHD method of separating oil from contaminated seawater using ahigh-ﬁeld superconducting magnet, which is based on the diﬀerence in the electric conductivity
between seawater and oil, is explained with good quantitative agreement between the experimental
data and the equation for the separation. Third, fundamental technologies for marine transportationof liquid hydrogen, which has a boiling point of 20 K, are explained, focusing on a superconducting
magnesium diboride (MgB2) liquid level sensor. An overview of the marine transportation of liquidhydrogen (including topics related to the production and storage of liquid hydrogen) in Japan will begiven at the interactive workshop and brokerage event B.

38

Ivar Kruusenberg
CEO, PowerUP Energy Technologies/ KBFI (Estonia)

Dr.Ivar Kruusenberg is a scientist and an entrepreneur holding a Master Degree in moleculartechnology and Ph.D. in chemistry.
For many years, researcher in institutions around the world like DLR, the European Commission's Joint
Research Center, Arizona State University, and the University of California, Berkeley.
After a long career as a scientist and together with a strong desire to have a greener world, he isapplying his knowledge in cleantech entrepreneurship, serving as CEO and founder of PowerUp
Energy Technologies.
With 17 years of experience in the hydrogen, fuel cells and energy technologies industry, he is one of
the leading CleanTech entrepreneurs in the region.
He is also a member of the Science and Innovation Council of the Estonian Government and Memberof the Board of the Estonian Research Council.

Maritime sector is well known to be one of the industry sectors hardest to be decarbonized.
Annual CO2 emission of the maritime sector was around 44 million tonnes in 2019
Recently enormous eﬀorts have been deployed to decarbonize the maritime sector by introducing
hydrogen technology.
Boats, ferries, and cargo ships will be running on hydrogen because battery technology has been
proven to be too heavy and not suitable for the shipping industry.
Shipping is the only transportation that allows us to transport Hydrogen from Australia to Japan andfrom Middle-east to Europe.
Japan was one of the ﬁrst countries to commit to pursuing hydrogen as an alternative energy source
and invested 84.8 billion yen (US$802 million) in ﬁscal 2021.
Japanese government has published a roadmap with targeted indicators with the aim of achieving
the decarbonization of ships.
For hydrogen fuel cell ships, the roadmap outlines the following prospects:
To achieve commercial operation of zero-emission ships by 2028
Achieve the conversion to hydrogen, ammonia, and other alternative fuels in the shipping
sector by the year 2050

39

Isabel François
WaterstofNet vzw, Turnhout (Belgium)

Isabel François started at WaterstofNet in 2016 as project manager and has established the ʻHydrogen
Industry Clusterʼ. This industrial network has now 140 members in Belgium and the Netherlands, allcompanies that have activities over the entire hydrogen value chain.
Within WaterstofNet, Isabel is also working on the reinforcement of the link between the Flemish
knowledge institutes and the industry.
Before starting at WaterstofNet, she has worked for Philips Lighting for 20 years, on the developmentof high-pressure discharge lamps.
Isabel has studied Physics at the KULeuven and obtained a PhD on superconductivity at KULeuven/ IMEC.

This presentation will give an overview of the hydrogen pilot projects and developments that havebeen realized in the region Flanders-Belgium-South of the Netherlands, with WaterstofNet as a
facilitator.
For the near future, regional and federal hydrogen strategies have been developed in Belgium, withfocus on import of hydrogen and development of technology & expertise to become leading region
in hydrogen.
Plans for infrastructure (hydrogen backbone) are ready to be rolled out and large hydrogenproduction projects in the port areas are being developed.
Several technology players with a diversity of products related to hydrogen are ready to implement
their products in various application areas.

40Ander Martinez Alonso
MOBI - Vrije University Brussel (Belgium)

Ander Martinez graduated in M.Sc. Degree of Industrial Engineering in 2015 at the Public University ofNavarre in Spain after successfully completing an exchange program with the INP-ENSEEIHT, in France
where he achieved the specialization in Renewable Energies. He also holds a Bachelorʼs Degree in
Mechanical Engineering from University of La Rioja.
He is currently doing his Ph.D. in MOBI ‒ Evergi at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and is expecting to get a
joint-PhD awarded with Kobe University. His research interests include modelling and control ofMulti-Energy Systems, Hydrogen Technology and Optimization.

The energy transition towards a carbon-neutral European economy by 2050 is catalyzing a new era ofinvestment and research activities to develop hydrogen as a sustainable energy vector. The fast
increase in wind and solar electricity generation, among other Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in
combination with hydrogen power-to-gas and/or power-to-power technologies, can not only enable
extensive decarbonization, but also help to increase renewable penetration and enhance operational
ﬂexibility and economic performance of energy systems.
Techno-economic assessments and optimal operation of these systems, which necessarily implies a
Multi-Energy System (MES) approach, are key in the realization of the potential of green hydrogen as
an energy vector. Not only because its multi sector coupling ability, but also because electrolysers andfuel cells necessarily connect, at least, two diﬀerent energy vectors: Hydrogen molecules andelectrons. If not more, as cert<in technologies can increase their eﬃciency with heat recovery
systems.
Hydrogen is not the magic solution to the whole problem of decarbonizing the planet and evolving
towards a greener future. Itʼs overall low energy eﬃciency process makes it very challenging tointegrate. However, along with other factors and technologies, we can ensure that it will deﬁnitively
play a key role in the upcoming years, and in order to overcome all its challenges, optimization
models for optimal operation and techno-economic assessment must be developed.

41

42

Parallel Session 3 10:30-13:30
SEAS, SCIENCE AND SOCIETIES: BUILDING AWARENESSENGAGING COMMUNITIESTheme1: Science and Society: A Holistic Approachfor Healthy Oceans
Theme2: Oceans Bridges: Building Ocean Awarenessand Literacy, Engaging Communities

Interactive Workshop
and Brokerage Event C 14:30-16:00(SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES)

43

Session 3:
Parallel Session 3 was produced by two Kobe University professors, Ken-ichi Yoshida and Chiaki
Ogino, and Professor Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium) Entitled “Seas,
Science, and Societies: Building Awareness, Engaging Communities”, the session was divided into twothemes as follows.
Theme 1: “Science and Society: A Holistic Approach for Healthy Oceans” was moderated by Mr.
Patrick Vittet-Philippe, an Adviser to KUBEC. The ﬁrst speaker was Professor Chiaki Ogino (Graduate
School of Engineering, Kobe University) (by video), who talked about the technological developmentof sustainable, marine-adapted new materials, including itaconic acid-based polymers. Next, Ms. Sigi
Gruber, Active Senior Expert at the European Commission, gave an excellent talk on restoring theMediterranean by reducing plastic pollution. Professor Michel Claessens of the Vrije Universiteit
Brussel (Belgium), followed on from this with a presentation on ocean science and society,emphasizing the importance of science education. The last speaker was Professor Siri Granum Carson,
NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She spoke passionately about tacklingcomplex marine issues that cannot be solved by technology alone. These presentations inspired lively
discussions and exchanges of ideas.
Theme 2: “Oceans Bridges: Building Ocean Awareness and Literacy, Engaging Communities”
was moderated by Professor Farid Dahdouh-Guebas. The session was initiated by Professor Stefano
Cannicci, University of Florence (Italy), who spoke about the importance of mangrove forests forcarbon sequestration and the need for multidisciplinary understanding of the various roles played bythese ecosystems. Next, a joint video presentation was given by Professor Laura Bocchi, University ofKent, and Professor Nobuko Yoshida, University of Oxford. They introduced their collaboration with
the NSF project Ocean Observatories Initiative, in which they applied typing theories for
programming languages to support the governance of cyberinfrastructures for ocean observation.
The last presentation was made by Professor Margaret Chen (VUB), who spoke about rising sea levels
and eﬀorts to build up the resilience of coastal areas. This session prompted many questions fromparticipants.
In the afternoon, Professor Ken-ichi Yoshida moderated Interactive Workshop C: "Ocean
Awareness: The Role of Communities and Media" with the following three talks co-produced by Mr.
Vittet-Philippe and Prof. Ken-ichi Yoshida. The ﬁrst speaker via video link was Mr. Robin Takashi-Lewis,
the co-founder of MyMizu. MyMizu is a global movement that combines technology and community
involvement to address the problem of plastic waste. Mr. Takashi-Lewis shared some examples of how
they have reduced plastic waste through technology, citizen participation, and community building.
The next speaker, Mr. Jonas Abs of the German Aerospace Centre, gave a speciﬁc presentation on
ʻPlastic Pirates - Go Europe!ʼ. This citizen science initiative helps researchers identify sources of plastic
pollution and come up with appropriate mitigation measures. The project has been funded by the EU
Commission for 30 months in recognition of its pioneering nature It is set to massively expand upon
existing data and improve scientiﬁc understanding and knowledge, which may result in systematic
solutions to prevent, reduce, and eliminate plastic waste in rivers and oceans. The fact that theGerman government is already supporting such a collaboration between scientists and citizens
strongly impressed the audience with its progressive nature. The ﬁnal speaker was Mr. Tetsuji Ida (byvideo link), a famous journalist from Kyodo News in Japan, who has been covering environmental anddevelopment issues for more than 35 years as a correspondent and reporter in various countries andhas published numerous books. Mr. Ida described various aspects of the ocean crisis, including global
warming, acidiﬁcation, oxygen depletion, eutrophication, plastic pollution, declining marine
resources, and biodiversity loss. One of the most impactful statements he made during the lecture
was the warning that "The crisis in the ocean is invisible to us." He stressed the urgent need tostrengthen international cooperation and establish a multistakeholder forum for comprehensive
policy-making. The audience appreciated his willingness to answer their questions online despite thetime diﬀerence, which nicely concluded the day.

44

Parallel Session 3
Theme 1: Science and Society: A Holistic Approachfor Healthy Oceans

Patrick Vittet-Philippe Moderator
Kobe University Brussels European Centre (Belgium)

Patrick Vittet-Philippe is a former senior European Commission oﬃcial, with special interest ininternational cooperation in research and innovation, science communication and science diplomacy.
A graduate of Ecole Normale Supérieure, he taught at Trinity College Dublin and Merton College
Oxford, and was attaché de recherche at the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientiﬁque.
Before joining the EC, he spent 14 years in the French Diplomatic Service, as press and cultural attachéwith postings in Tel Aviv, London and New York. After a period with the European TV industry, hejoined the Commission as expert-adviser on Information Society Technologies and the digital
economy, representing the EC in key international fora (OECD, World Economic Forum), and atparliamentary hearings, think tanks events (CSIS, Brookings Institution) and major industry
conferences (MIP-TV, COMDEX, Internet World).
He moved in 2001 to DG Research and Innovation as press and Information oﬃcer, responsible forcommissioning TV magazines and documentaries on EU research (e.g. Futuris magazine onEuronews), and organising press conferences and science events (EU-China S&T Week at Shanghai
World Expo). Moving to the International Cooperation Directorate, he was in charge of the Japan andRussia Desks between 2011 and 2015. In this capacity he was directly involved in the preparation of
successive EU-Japan Joint S&T Committees, of the S&T chapters of the EU-Japan summits, as well as in
the scoping exercises for the EU-Japan EPA and SPA. He launched many EU-Japan researchcooperation projects and initiatives, such as Concert Japan.
Patrick Vittet-Philippe was invited by Kobe University to join its Kobe University Brussels European
Centre, as adviser responsible for communication and outreach, policy watch, and for thedevelopment of cooperation and joint projects between the University and its EU partners. He has
been a lead organiser of the last ﬁve editions of Kobe University Annual Symposium.

45

Chiaki Ogino (by video)
Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University (Japan)

Chiaki OGINO is a professor of the Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate Schoolof Engineering, Kobe University, Japan. He received his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineeringfrom Kobe University, Japan. He has supervised more than 70 masterʼs course students, and 15
doctoral course students at Kobe University. He is the author or co-author of over 265 peer-reviewed
journal papers and 40 reviews and book chapters. His extensive research interests concern: theproduction of biofuels and chemicals from biomass based on synthetic biotechnology using yeast,
fungi and Actinomycetes, and the development of novel drug and gene delivery systems based on
nanobiotechnology. His most recent aim is to develop a bio-degradable polymer by using several
microbes from renewable resources.

There is an urgent need to develop marine degradable polymers to replace petroleum-based
polymers. Itaconic acid (IA) is monomer molecule, and it can be made marine degradable throughdimerization. Thus, this dimerrized monomer has attracted attention as a new marine degradable
polymer. IA is also known as one of 12 bio-based chemicals with extremely useful applications inagriculture, as well as in the pharmaceutical industry. Consequently, the demand for IA is increasing
and market value has exceeded 102.3 Million USD in 2022.Therefore, lowering the production costs is
an urgent requirement.
The ﬁlamentous fungus Aspergillus. terreus exhibited the highest productivity and 400 t of IA are
produced every year using glucose. However, IA production from edible carbon-sources clashes withfood production. Therefore, it is necessary to develop bioprocessing for IA producers that are capableof utilizing renewable carbon sources such as lignocellulosic biomass. In the current study, weevaluated the eﬀectiveness of using diﬀerent carbon sources in the production of IA from
Corynebacterium glutamicum. We also assessed the eﬀects of C. glutamicumʼs usage of a mixture of
substrates on cell growth and IA production. In this workshop, we would like to discuss the current
development progress for sustainable, marine-adapted new materials, including IA-based polymers
and other polymers.

46

Sigi Gruber
Active Senior Expert ‒ European Commission (Belgium)

Prior to her recent retirement, she was the Head of Unit for the ECʼs Healthy Ocean and Seas Unit, inthe Directorate General for Research and Innovation. The work of the Unit focused ‒ amongst others on co-creating the European Mission on ʻRestoring our Ocean and Waters by 2030ʼ; implementing the
All Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance and other European and global initiatives; shaping marine
research in Horizon Europe. Sigi Gruber started to work for the European Commission in 1991 withresponsibilities in the area of Education and Training, Researchers Careers, the European Institute forTechnology (EIT), Research and Universities, and International Cooperation. Prior to joining theEuropean Commission, she worked in the public and private sector in Italy and Germany.

The Mediterranean is polluted by an estimated 730 tonnes of plastic waste every day. How can we
prevent plastic pollution from destroying vulnerable marine ecosystems, the food we eat, the beaches
we love? How can research and innovation turn this problem into solutions, into new opportunities
and develop value chains?
How will the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030 contribute to ensure that our ocean andwaters will be less polluted? The session will provide some answers to these questions and showcase
examples of good practice funded by the EU Framework Programme for Research&Innovation and byother key stakeholder to inspire participants and invite them to engage to jointly provide the muchneeded solutions.

47

Michel Claessens
Free University of Brussels (Belgium)

Michel Claessens (Ph.D. ULB, Brussels) is a retired EU oﬃcial and professor of science communication
at the Free University of Brussels. He has published 15 books and about 35 articles and book chapterson European science and technology. He is an active member of international networks on science
communication (PCST, ESOF, etc.) and a frequent speaker at international conferences (Chinese
National Association for Innovation Strategy, AAAS, TEDx, etc.). He is currently developing aninternational alliance to promote science culture. His latest books, “ITER, The Giant Fusion reactor” and“The Science and Politics of Covid-19”, have been published by Springer (2018 and 2020).

Why doesnʼt society pay the right tribute to ocean science? The presentation will review case studies
highlighting the interactions between science and society, and science and politics. Although there isevidence that scientiﬁc results disseminate slowly, there are also interesting initiatives in articulating
the scientiﬁc and political worlds, which are then interacting with each other and progressing jointly,
even if there is no global consensus. The aim should for the society be to achieve a “co-construction”
of expertise and decision-making in order to provide scientiﬁc grounds for political decisions andpresent research results in a suitable way for political action.
The presentation will review good practices developed in the past years for scientists dealing withmedia and politics. Still, science is not the magic trick that can solve the planet's problems. This is not
its role, although some discoveries and innovations may create wonders. It is up to scientists not toleave any ambiguity.
There is no doubt that science has here an important role to play. According to the latest
Eurobarometer (2021), 68% of Europeans believe that scientists should intervene in political debates
to ensure that decisions take into account scientiﬁc evidence. However, the survey shows that science
literacy is not progressing. A huge project is left behind: science education.

48

Siri Granum Carson
NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway)

I am director of NTNU Oceans, a strategic research area at the Norwegian University of Science andTechnology, and leader of the National committee for the UN Ocean Decade in Norway. As a Professorof Applied Ethics, my disciplinary background is in philosophy of agency. My main research area is
corporate social responsibility, focusing on the role of business organization in a globalized economy,
speciﬁcally in the Nordic context. At NTNU, I have been teaching research ethics, business ethics andprofessional ethics at all levels and parts of NTNU. At NTNU Oceans, my job is to “connect the dots”
between diﬀerent parts of ocean science and technology, encouraging interdiscipinarity in research,education, and innovation.

Technology will be instrumental in reaching the goals of the Ocean Decade, such as a comprehensive
ocean observing system. However, we cannot forget that technological development is also what has
literally fueled some of the problems of our oceans today: Over-ﬁshing, pollution, biodiversity loss.
Technology is what makes us capable of destroying the very foundation of our existence on this blue
planet, and this demands us to apply precaution even when we act with the best intentions. Because
technology alone cannot solve the challenges.
This is a starting point for us at NTNU Oceans, a strategic research area at Norwayʼs largest university,
aiming to address complex ocean challenges through interdisciplinary cooperation. We connect
researchers and students from technology and the social sciences, from natural sciences and the arts,
from humanities and economy.
Responsible ocean research and innovation depends on an ability to view our challenges as well as
the proposed solutions from all perspectives, to try to anticipate possible outcomes and how they
may aﬀect all stakeholders. The decade of ocean science is not only about engaging the scientists, butrather, it is about expanding ocean science to reach across disciplines and sectors. It even calls for theactive participation of citizens.

49Theme 2: Oceans Bridges: Building Ocean Awarenessand Literacy, Engaging Communities

Farid Dahdouh-Guebas

Moderator

Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Department of Organism Biology, Université Libre de Bruxelles(Belgium)
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, Head of ULB/VUB Systems Ecology and Resource Management Research Unit
and Founding/Managing Director of the Erasmus Mundus excellence Master in Tropical Biodiversity
and Ecosystems (TROPIMUNDO), seeks to understand and predict how and why spatio-temporal
dynamics in mangrove vegetation and landscapes occur, using transdisciplinary approaches (tropicalbotany, VHR-remotesensing and ground-truth, ethnobiology, historic archive research,...), an
integrative analysis (GIS, multivariate-multicriteria analyses,...) to generate outputs for fundamental
understanding of ecosystem functioning (health, resilience) and for its management (conservation,
restoration, governance). The research is done on spatial scales from case-studies in diﬀerent
countries to the global level and explores the science-policy interface.

Stefano Cannicci
Department of Biology, University of Florence (Italy)

Stefano Cannicci is the Vice President for Postgraduate Studies and Full Professor of Zoology in the
Department of Biology, University of Florence, Italy. He is also Honorary Associate Professor at the
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, where he was Associate
Professor and Associate Director of the Swire Institute of Marine Science from 2015 to 2022. He
obtained his PhD in Behavioral Ecology from the University of Florence in 1994 working on theecology of mangrove associated fauna in East Africa. The ecological role of mangrove fauna is still his
main research focus.

Mangrove forests are considered a crucial component of tropical and subtropical seascapes. The
perception of their ecological importance, however, changed only recently and their ecological status50

has gone from zero to hero thanks to the “blue carbon” paradigm. Once perceived as putrid forests to
be cleared for coastal development, over the last decade they gathered increasing interest amongscientists and stakeholders, due to their high carbon sequestration potential. This new focus on
mangrove carbon dynamics is shaping the approaches to mangrove management and rehabilitation,
which are supposed to facilitate climate change adaptation.
Carbon sequestration is increasingly used as justiﬁcation for mangrove restoration, but large researchgaps remain in the other ecosystem functions played by these forests and in the socio-economic
sciences and humanities domains. Mangrove forests are multi-purpose and multifunctional
ecosystems, and their faunal and ﬂoral components are providing services that go beyond blue
carbon. Moreover, holistic studies assessing the socio-economic implications of blue carbon initiatives
for local communities remain poorly considered. Incorporating knowledge of the ecological role andfunctions of the various ecosystem components and of diverse social and cultural values will also
improve restoration practices and approaches.

Laura Bocchi
University of Kent, Canterbury (UK)

Laura is a Reader in Computing at the University of Kent. She is interested in static and dynamic
veriﬁcation of distributed systems by using behavioural types (ie., types that describe desitable
patterns of communication behaviour). Her current research is on time-sensitive systems and reliable
systems. She is currently a WP leader in the EU RISE project ʻBehAPIʼ on behavioural APis, and in the
EPSRC project 'Session Types for Reliable Distributed Systems (STARDUST)'. As a postoctoral
researcher at Imperial College London, she contributed to the NSF project
Ocean Observatories Initiative (Subcontract for OOI CI) Conversations and Governance.

51

Nobuko Yoshida (by video)
University of Oxford (UK)Yoshida's research in Computer Science focuses on the development of theories, and supporting
programming languages and software for the foundations of concurrent and distributed systems. Her
particular interest is in session types, a type-based approach to the veriﬁcation of message-passing
programs. She is currently holding an EPSRC Established Career Fellow, a fellow of British Computing
Society and an Honorary Fellow of Glasgow University. She is appointed as a Statutory Chair of Oxford
University, Christopher Strachey Chair of Computing from October 2022. Built on the theory of session
types, she deployed runtime monitoring to cyber infrastructure in the US Ocean Observatories
Initiative.

Laura Bocchi & Nobuko Yoshida

This talk is about adapting and applying typing theories for programming languages to support
governance of cyberinfrastructures for ocean observation. It reports on our collaboration (2011-2013)
with the NSF project Ocean Observatories Initiative.
Most modern systems are a composition of distributed software entities that interact by sending andreceiving messages to each other. Several problems may occur during these interactions: an entity
may receive unexpected communications (wrong data types, senders, …) or receive expected
communications too late or not at all. Session types can be used to discipline the conversations ofthese distributed entities, providing formal guarantees that they will enjoy safety properties and obey
certain pre-deﬁned behavioural protocols.
In 2011-2013, in a subcontract project for OOI CI -- Ocean Observatories Initiative Conversations andGovernance -- we have been looking at applying session types to discipline conversations across alarge-scale cyberinftrastructure for ocean observation. The requirements of OOI have ignited new
research directions, such as the enrichment of session types with assertions, time-constraints, and thepairing of static veriﬁcation with run-time monitoring. We will discuss how the learnings from ourcollaboration with OOI has steered our research focus on typing theories for programming languages.

52Margaret Chen
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Margaret Chen is professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium). Her expertise is in the researchdomains of hydraulic, hydrodynamics, morphodynamics, and sediment dynamics. Her researchencompasses engineering applications and nature-based solutions to mitigate and adapt to globalchange. Recent research includes climate resilient coast, coastal structure-process interaction, ﬂood
defense in riverine, estuarine and coastal environments, and integrated sustainable watershedmanagement. She is a member of the Coastal Resilience at European Marine Board.

Coastal zones are the most popular settlement areas throughout human history. Nearly 2.4 billion
people (about 40% of the worldʼs population) live within 100 km of the coast. Sandy coastlines areunder threat of erosion. The erosion process is being driven by sea-level rise, meteorological andmarine forces, anthropogenic activities, and other factors. This leads to increased vulnerability whichbecomes increasingly important to protect our coasts against ﬂooding in view of changing climate
and sea level rise.
The Belgian coast is one of the most vulnerable coastlines in Europe. Our coast research is to protect
the coastal region until 2050 and beyond against a 1000-year storm. To build coast resilience, besides
rigorous interdisciplinary research, we promote participatory approaches to engage coastal
stakeholders in identiﬁcation and formulation of regional priorities and ambitions, to get feedback
and assessment of our research and development, to share beneﬁts of research with coastal
communities at large. To monitor and to achieve coast resilience, with the engagement of local
governments and coastal communities, lately coastal defense strategies have progressively evolved
from conventional hard engineering and soft engineering to the concept of building with-nature. Thisultimately leads to directly and indirectly safeguarding coast resilience.

53

Interactive Workshop andBrokerage Event C

Ken-ichi Yoshida

Moderator

Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe
University (Japan)

He obtained a PhD at Kyoto University in 1993, and has held faculty positions at Fukuyama University(-2004), INRA France (1996-97), and Kobe University (2004-). He has specialized in the structural andfunctional genomics of bacteria since the very beginning of his career to date. He once served as a
Program Oﬃcer in MEXT (2005-07). He was the executive director of Kobe University Brussels
European Centre (2014-19), and the Executive Director, Centre for EU Academic Collaboration of Kobe
University (2019-2022). Currently, he is a Professor of Applied Microbiology (2009-), in parallel acting
as FEMS Ambassador (2019-), Head of Europe & Africa division, Oﬃce for International Strategic
Planning (2022-), and again the executive director of Kobe University Brussels European Centre(2022-).

Robin Takashi-Lewis (by video)
Co-Founder, Mymizu
Representative Director, Social Innovation Japan
Board Member, Shibuya QWS (Japan)

Robin is an award-winning social entrepreneur and educator based in Japan. He is the Co-founder of
mymizu, a global platform to reduce plastic waste through the power of technology and community.
He is also the Representative Director of Social Innovation Japan, a platform for social good focusing
on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), named by Nikkei as one of the '100 companies
building the future of Japan' and a two-time winner of Japan's 'Minister of Environment Prize'. For 10+
years, Robin has worked with social enterprises, NGOs and inter-governmental organisations,
including the World Bank and UNDP, and has managed sustainable development projects around theworld, including in Japan, Haiti, Vanuatu and Mozambique.

54

In 2022, he took on a sponsored expedition to walk 1,000+kms along Japanʼs coastline to document
the changing landscapes since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis and promote tourism to thedisaster-aﬀected area. In 2020, he was recognised by M.I.T. Technology Reviewʼs ʻInnovators Under-35ʼ
Awards and in 2022, won Business Insider Japanʼs ʻBeyond Millennialsʼ Award. He holds Board
Member positions at Shibuya QWS, serves as an advisor/mentor to a wide range of impact
organisations, and graduated with an M.A. in International Business from Edinburgh in the University.

"Every minute, over 1 million plastic bottles are used around the world, many of which end up as
waste in landﬁlls, waterways and oceans. Furthermore, plastic pollution globally is set to double by2030, and the UN predicts that there will be more plastic than ﬁsh in the oceans by 2050.
This session will dive into the issue of plastic waste through the lens of a case study that highlights theuse of technology, citizen engagement, and community building to tackle the plastics crisis. mymizu(“mizu” means water in Japanese) is an award-winning initiative to tackle plastic waste. The freely
available mymizu smartphone app - a crowdsourced web platform - connects people to 200,000 freewater reﬁll stations globally and has enabled users to save millions of plastic water bottles throughco-creation and gamiﬁcation. Using mymizu, itʼs possible to reﬁll your water bottle anywhere ‒ itʼsgood for the planet, the body and the wallet!
The organisation behind mymizu, Social Innovation Japan, also provides creative educational
experiences and sustainability leadership training to thousands of people every year, building a
movement for sustainable living across age groups and sectors."

Jonas AbsDLR Project Management Agency

Project Manager and Senior Consultant at German Aerospace Centre Project Management Agency |European and International Cooperation | Cooperation with Third Countries and International
Organizations. He holds a Master Degree and is lecturer for international politics and geopolitics.
Jonas Abs is working on several projects at national and European level especially in strategiccooperation.

While there is already a fair understanding of the origins of plastic litter in a few selected European
regions and river systems, research data across Europe so far is largely fragmentary, if existent at all. By
applying the citizen science approach to investigate the importance of rivers as pathways to ocean
pollution, the ongoing Plastic Pirates ‒ Go Europe! citizen science initiative enables researchers to55

identify sources of and mitigation measures for plastic pollution. Citizen science projects will only
reach their full potential and maximum EU added value if implemented on a transnational andEurope-wide level. It can massively extend existing data, improve scientiﬁc understanding andknowledge and, thus, help to develop systematic solutions for the prevention, reduction, and removal
of marine and riverine pollution, particularly plastics. As part of the ERA campaign “Bring Sciencecloser to Citizens”, the expansion of the initiative contributes to the realignment of the ERA (ERA
Policy Agenda 2022-2024). As one of the ﬁrst pilot initiatives, “Plastic Pirates ‒ Go Europe! has apioneering character for future initiatives of the new European Research Area, also in other thematic
areas. The EU Commission is funding its introduction across Europe over a period of 30 months. DLR iscoordinating the entire initiative and supporting the new partner countries.

Tetsuji Ida (by video)
KYODO NEWS (Japan)

Born in Tokyo in 1959, graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1983
He has covered environmental and development issues for more than 35 years as a sciencecorrespondent, a Washington correspondent, and a senior staﬀ reporter for Kyodo News, He hasreported on environmental destruction and poverty in more than 70 countries in Asia, Africa, andLatin America, as well as the people working to solve these problems. He has also covered many
international conferences, including the UNFCCC and CITES. He has authored or coauthored morethan twenty books on primate conservation, climate change, toxic chemicals and ocean environment

Global warming is causing ocean heat waves, ocean acidiﬁcation and oxygen depletion.
Eutrophication in coastal areas, plastic pollution, and decline in ﬁsheriesʼ resources and loss of
biodiversity are also serious issues. Destruction of coastal mangrove forests and decreasing amountsof seaweed in cold-water systems is happening in many places.
The ocean environment is now facing multiple crises. However, ocean crises are invisible to people. It
is not so diﬃcult to see deforestation on the land, but it is diﬃcult to see the decline in kelp forests
under the sea. It is not very easy for people to notice the ﬁsh stock crisis, because huge amounts ofseafood are delivered to our table every day. In Japanese restaurants and supermarkets, endangeredﬁsh species like eels, tuna, and shark are sold in large quantities.
We need to make fundamental social and economic changes to solve these multiple crises.
However, in addition to the fact that the crisis is invisible, it is very diﬃcult to achieve transformativechange with so many stakeholders involved. Increased investment and the elimination of harmful
subsidies, increased international cooperation, and the establishment of a multi-stakeholder forum for
a comprehensive policy-making system are urgently needed.

56

Policy Keynote
Pascal Lamy
Coordinator of the Jacques Delors Think Tanks (EU)Former DG of the WTO; former EU Commissioner for Trade
Chair, Mission

Pascal Lamy is the President of the Paris Peace Forum and of the European branch of the Brunswick
Group. He coordinates the Jacques Delors Institutes (Paris, Berlin, Brussels).
He is also President or member of various boards with a global, European or French vocation(European Starﬁsh Mission (ocean), Mo Ibrahim Foundation, European Climate Foundation, IFPRI,PECC, CERRE, TMEA, Antarctica 2020, Transparency International, Alpbach Forum, Beijing Forum,
World Trade Forum, WEF, Global Risks, Europaeum, Collegium international, Musiciens du Louvre,
Institut Mendes-France, Colbert Foundation, etc.).
Pascal Lamy is Chairman of the Mission Board for Horizon Europe Mission Starﬁsh 2030 ‒ Restoring
our Oceans and Waters by 2030
He is an aﬃliated professor at the China Europe International Business School CEIBS (Shanghai) and at
HEC (Paris).
From 2005 to 2013, Pascal Lamy served two consecutive terms as Director General of the World Trade
Organization (WTO). He was previously Trade Commissioner (1999-2004), Director General of Crédit
Lyonnais (1994-1999), Chief of Staﬀ of the President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors andhis G7 Sherpa (1985-1994), Deputy Chief of Staﬀ of the French Prime Minister (1983-1985) and to the
French Minister of the Economy and Finance (1981-1983).
Last publication Strange New World (Odile Jacob 2020), Où va le monde ? (Odile Jacob 2018).

Please let me thank Nakamura-sensei for this introduction and, of course, thank KUBEC for its
invitation to this symposium

The focus of my remarks this afternoon (this morning on this side of the Paciﬁc), is our new European,and hopefully global, new endeavour: building a Digital Twin of the Ocean. I believe that Europe andJapan should work together, given their common concern for the Ocean ‒ an issue which mattersgreatly to both - and their respective commitments to harness new digital technologies.
I will address two questions. First, why do we need a Digital Twin of the Ocean? And second, how can
we achieve such an ambitious target?

57

To start with the ﬁrst question: why do we need a Digital Twin of the Ocean ? I see three reasons forthat. First, we need to act. Second, we do not know enough. And third, we have a very little time left.
We are confronted with a major threat for the planet. We need to act to stop the degeneration of ourhydrosphere - the system that includes the ocean, the seas, the lakes, the rivers, the water tables. Our
hydrosphere is in serious danger and needs regeneration. We are faced with the rapid andcatastrophic degradation of the hydrosphere. This links of course with the issues of global warming,the loss of biodiversity, the acidiﬁcation of the oceans, overﬁshing, the rise in sea levels, extreme
weather events, just to name a few.
The second reason, is that we do not know enough about our hydrosphere to act properly. We know
Planet Mars better than Planet Ocean. We are confronted with a huge knowledge gap: we do notknow 2/3 of what we should know to properly act on this challenge.
The third reason why we need a Digital Twin of the Ocean is that we have a very little time to ﬁgureout this science gap. Traditional observation and exploration systems of the ocean have improved inrecent decades. But they do not improve fast enough. Figuring out this ʻscience gapʼ with traditional
technologies we use at present would probably take some 80 years. But we only have roughly 20
years to act! After that, it would be too late. We would have reached too many irreversible tipping
points. So we need a shortcut for science, whose name is AI - Artiﬁcial Intelligence. This is what a
Digital Twin of the Ocean is about.
Which takes me to my second question, which is the operational one. We believe in Europe that wemust commit to building of Digital Twin of the Ocean. What is a Digital Twin? A Digital Twin is acombination of models, a digital replica of a real system which aims to describe and emulate the mainfunctions and properties of that system. Based on observations, on equations, on data, and on thelatest technological advances such as AI, it is a computing environment which allows new
knowledge-based input for more and better informed decision-making across diﬀerent situations andscenarios. A Digital Twin of the Ocean will unlock all the new knowledge we need, and then allows us
to translate this into actions. It is a digital ʻco-creationʼ across all diﬀerent disciplines and diﬀerent
communities.
This is why the European Union is proposing is a two-pronged approach. The start is to build a
European core prototype of the Digital Twin of the Ocean by 2025. And then, hopefully, to move to a
Global Digital Twin of the Ocean by 2030. The implementation of the EU Digital Twin by 2025 has
already been decided, as announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Brest
Ocean Summit in February 2022. The funding has already been allocated - and it is quite substantial within the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme. This is a key objective of theso-called EU ʻStarﬁshʼ Mission

whose board I have theprivilege to chair.
This is a major new development for EU research. To get there we will need to work on many
challenging issues mostly related to data, and to services that the Digital Twin of the Ocean can
provide. We need data with a higher deﬁnition, with better observation, and with the necessary
degree of precision. We need to collect more, and more interoperable, data, and making them widely
available to the scientiﬁc community. Getting data from space is relatively easy and cheap. However58getting data from the ocean itself is more challenging. In order to achieve this we will need to harness
new technologies such as marine drones, or sea-borne instruments which beam data directly tosatellites. This implies a collective eﬀort by EU ocean data collectors and data owners to collect andmake these data available, and treatable using Artiﬁcial Intelligence. We have a good basis for this, forexample with the Copernicus programme of ocean observation, and with the 20 or 30 EU actions andprogrammes. These are the products of more than two decades of EU investment in Research
Infrastructures to regenerate our hydrosphere.
Assuming that we get these data, we will also need to develop a large array of applications andservices that can digest, manipulate, and restitute these data. For this we will need to deﬁne common
collective structural rules in order to be able to plug local or speciﬁc ʻtwinsʼ into an EU Digital Twin of
the Ocean. In this area, we are dealing with a rather classic case of EU governance, as we need tomove beyond the coexistence of national programs or local Digital Twins. In a word, we need to
evolve from coexistence to convergence. This is the ﬁrst aim of the ʻStarﬁshʼ Mission ‒ a Mission
whose progress will be regularly evaluated and assessed.
But we have a larger and more ambitious objective: to move from the European Digital Twin to a
Global Digital Twin. For this we expect similar challenges as those we are used to address within theEU, except that this should happen at a global level, and at a much larger worldwide scale. Building
only an EU Digital Twin would make no sense, if we do not achieve, at the end of the day, a global,
planet-wide Digital Twin of the Ocean. This is imperative, as the ocean is a system in the scientiﬁc
acceptation of the term ‒ a system whose parts permanently interact in ways that cannot be
understood without assessing how these various systems work together.
We will of course build on the programmes run by the International Ocean Commission - the UN body
dealing with ocean science. The IOC is driving the UN Decade for Ocean Science ‒ a timeline which
ﬁts with our target of 2030. The IOC has substantial experience in coordinating various international
research and innovation programmes on ocean research. However, unlike the EU which has alreadyallocated the money, the IOC at the moment does not have any serious funding for a Digital Twin.
That issue of funding at an international level will need to be addressed. So will be the best ways andmechanisms to ensure the transparency, free access, and beneﬁt-sharing of a Global Digital Twin ‒ inparticular for less developed countries who do not have the ﬁnancial, nor the scientiﬁc capacities toembark on such a venture.
To conclude, let me express the wish that, together, we European and Japanese researchers andpolicy-makers can join forces in delivering this Global Digital Twin of the Ocean ‒ which I see as amajor scientiﬁc achievement needed for the survival of our Planet.

59

Closing Remarks
Tamotsu Nakamura
Executive Vice-President, Kobe University (Japan)

Good Afternoon to Brussel and Good Evening to Kobe!
Distinguished Guests, Esteemed Colleagues, Loved Students, Ladies and Gentlemen;
It has been my great pleasure to be with you at this symposium today.
On behalf of Kobe University, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your support andparticipation in this 12th Kobe University Brussels European Centre Symposium. I am quite conﬁdent
that this symposium addressed themes common to Europe and Japan, and enabled participants to
exchange the latest research information.
Kobe Universityʼs long-term vision is to further advance and develop as a “global hub for themultidisciplinary co-creation of research and education that cultivates profound knowledge andoutstanding innovations”. Promoting international partnerships with other organisations is vital inorder for us to achieve this great vision. We are determined to strengthen our collaborative
relationships with the VUB, the University of Kent and other European partners who have kindly
supported our activities and enhanced our presence in Europe so far.
I hope that the excellent presentations and active discussions that took place in each session andworkshop will serve as a stepping stone to future exchanges. Todayʼs symposium has been an
opportunity to hear about various fascinating research projects and I am sure that it has inspired
many of you. I hope that the syposium will encourage further collaborations.
In addition to research collaborations, student exchanges and educational collaborations such as
double degree programmes are key components of mutual understanding. Kobe University has
participated in various Erasmus+ programmes including Jean Monnet CoE, Jean Monnet Chair andmany International Credit Mobilities. I am quite sure that we can work together in these ﬁelds as well.
Once again Iʼd like to thank all of you for participating in todayʼs symposium and I am grateful for yourcontinued warm support.
Last month, I was so impressed with the Archbishop of Canterburyʼs Sermon for the State Funeral of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He concluded his beautiful with the title of very very popular song in
the UK. I would like to repeat it here: We Will Meet Again.
Iʼm looking forward to working with you more closely in the near future.
Thank you very much.

60

Jeremy Carette
Dean for Europe, University of Kent (UK)Distinguished guests, the University of Kent has been delighted to support this 12 th joint annual
symposium organised by our close partners Kobe University and the VUB. This is the second year that
we have had the privilege of being involved in this notable event, bringing together research andinnovation from across the globe. The University of Kent, as many of you know, is the nearest
university to mainland Europe. The University of Kent is linked to our neighbours by the sea, thechannel, the; it is our connection, our livelihood and our meaning. As part of our heritageof being the UKʼs European university, we have a campus just down the road; the Brussels School ofInternational Studies, as well as a campus in Paris; the Paris School of Arts and Culture. And this is apart of our connectivity; but connectivity requires that we also respond to the challenges of our time.
This conference has brought together some of the most vital and important issues for sustaining ourlife here on planet Earth. The impact of marine pollution, rising sea levels, the challenges in thetransition to greener technology, the pressures around logistics… But we are also here to ﬁnd
solutions to those problems; identifying them and implementing them through policy andconnectivity. Keeping these things at the forefront of our mind, the marine challenges are aﬀecting us
all; they are aﬀecting our communities and it is imperative that we act and this conference is a part ofthat act.
We have heard from experts today bringing together the sciences, the social sciences, and the artsand humanities. Our keynote speakers have shown the importance of engaging the community more
widely as through cinema; engaging people initially through the beauty of our world but then also
understanding the impact and our need to engage. And also we heard about the importance oftechnology in responding to those issues. From beauty to technology, it is our challenge to ﬁnd thosesolutions, to ﬁnd the cross-pollination of ideas.
Universities are crucial in this voyage to discovery and knowledge and understanding. It is about
driving partnerships further and further to create opportunities and deeper understanding, bringing
together our common values for the common purpose of saving our planet. Kent understands thatconnectivity is vital and our connectivity to our university communities here in Brussels, to the VUB,
and our global connectivity, to Kobe University, are vital for our mission going forward. We believe inthe strengths of working together. It is the common good of our educationʼs power that will be oursolution.
To reﬂect on Emerson, the poet of the 19th century, in his poem ʻWaterʼ, he said “Ill used, it will
destroy”. We have to understand the importance and quality of water, and that what has brought us
here. On behalf of University of Kent, I would like to thank Kobe University Brussels (European) Center,
VUB for inviting us to be part of this event. We are proud to support this symposium and proud tocontinue the work of our researchers in the eﬀorts for the future our seas and oceans and our planet.
Thank you.

61

Hugo Thienpont
Vice-Rector, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my honour to close todayʼs event. And it was a special event once again. This year the symposium
was held around the exciting but challenging topic : “Blue Economy, Green Horizons: healthy,
sustainable seas and oceans”.
Today was the 12th edition of this symposium, and it was our pleasure to be a part of it.
It has once again allowed us to forge strong relationships with Kobe Universityʼs Brussels oﬃce, andwe sincerely hope that this way forward may continue for a very long time.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank some of the actors who have made this symposium
possible.
To start oﬀ with, we have ‒ Mr. Ryu Uwagawa ‒ from Kobe University. He was an intern at VUB,
working partly at the VUB International Relations oﬃce and partly at the Kobe University Brussels
oﬃce. His return to help organize this yearsʼ symposium is another testimony of the important
relationship between Kobe University and the VUB, and of our valuable work together.
I would like to thank our Japanese visitors for travelling all this way to join us here today and for theirprecious contributions, in particular, Professor Ken-Ichi Yoshida, driving force behind the symposium,
and with him I would like to acknowledge all of his colleagues.
Another driving motor behind the symposium is Mr. Patrick Vittet-Philippe, advisor to Kobe University.
Thank you Patrick for devoting your precious time, and for your help and support.
A recent addition to the symposium is the cooperation with Kent University. Our UK colleagues
contributed to the symposium by delegating speakers and providing session producers.
In particular, I would like to thank Mrs. Primrose Paskins for exploring the opportunities to team up
with all of us.
In addition, my thanks go out to His Excellency, Mr. Yasushi Masaki, Ambassador of Japan to theEuropean Union, and to Mrs Signe Ratso, Director-General at the European Commissionʼs DG for
Research and Innovation. Thank you both for your great contributions this morning.

62

Last, but not least, I would like to put my VUB colleagues from the International Relations oﬃce in the
spotlights.
Dr. Jacqueline Couder and Mr. Steven Verhulst who made the organisation of this event possible.
Today, through lectures and open interactive workshops, we have looked at some highly relevant
issues:“Economics” ‒ more speciﬁc blue economy, global trade ﬂows and governance of the seas;“Natural sciences” with a speciﬁc focus on scientiﬁc advances in marine and maritime science;and “Social Sciences and Humanities”, looking at the link between seas and societies; awarenessbuilding and engaging communities.
And already at this stage I dare to say that a lot was accomplished in one day.
Weʼve taken in a lot of information, and - as always - this leaves us with a lot to consider andcontemplate. Indeed today was only a start, but a good one.
Finally, I would like to thank all the speakers of today, all the moderators and session leaders, but also,
all of you in the room. Thank you for your active participation in the workshops.
We now have a solid basis to further explore and develop excellent EU-Japan research projects;
We have food for thought on sharing mutual scientiﬁc interests and kicking-oﬀ collaborations andjoint research on sustainable seas and oceans.
So, thank you ‒ all of you in this room and all those who participated, in making today yet anothersuccessful Symposium.
Hereʼs to a successful and continuous cooperation between our universities! Kampai!

63

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Edited and published by

Institute for Promoting International Partnerships

Kobe University
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E-mail: intl-relations@office.kobe-u.ac.jp
https://www.office.kobe-u.ac.jp/ipiep/index_en.html
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