The 12th 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

18 October 2022

SPEAKERS AND MODERATORS’ BIOGRAPHIES & ABATRACTS
AND ABSTRACTS
Opening
9:15-10:00
Moderator
Opening Addresses

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

Keynote Speech
Speaker
Michael Pitiot, Writer and filmmaker
Building Ocean Awareness, Opening New Horizons: A Key Role for Creative Media

10:00-10:30

Parallel Session 1: ‘BLUE ECONOMY’: GLOBAL TRADE FLOWS, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, AND
GOVERNANCE OF THE SEAS.
Theme 1: Sustainable Blue Economy: New Resources, Innovative Solutions for Global Economic Recovery 10:30-11:50
Theme 2: Shaping International Ocean Governance for the Future
12:10-13:30
Parallel Session 2: OCEANS OF THE FUTURE: ADVANCES IN MARINE AND MARITIME SCIENCES: NEW
TECHOLOGIES FOR NEW HORIZONSTheme 1: Harnessing the Power of Oceans: Fostering Innovation for Energy Sustainability
10:30-11:50
Theme 2: Addressing Marine Pollution, Restoring Marine Ecosystems:
12:10-13:30
Parallel Session 3: SEAS, SCIENCE AND SOCIETIES: BUILDING AWARENESS, ENGAGING COMMUNITIES.
Theme 1: Science and Society: A Holistic Approach for Healthy Oceans
10:30-11:50
Theme 2: Oceans Bridges: Building Ocean Awareness and Literacy, Engaging Communities
12:10-13:30

Interactive Workshop and Brokerage Event A(ECONOMICS) SUSTAINABLE GREEN ECONOMY – ‘LAWFARE’ AND GOVERNANCE OF THE SEAS

14:30-16:00

Interactive Workshop and Brokerage Event B(NATURAL SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY) TOWARDS GREEN ENERGY AND GREEN HYDROGEN.

14:30-16:00

Interactive Workshop and Brokerage Event C
14:30-16:00(SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES) OCEAN AWARENESS: THE ROLE OF COMMUNITIES AND THE MEDIA.
Closing Policy Keynote
16:00-16:15
Speaker
Pascal Lamy, Chair of the Mission Board, ‘Mission Restoring our Ocean and Waters by 2030’
Closing
Closing Remarks

16:15-16:30
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)

Networking Reception and Drinks

16:30-17:30

10:00-10:30

KEYNOTE SPEECHMICHAEL PITIOTAn 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 L’Odyssée du Sao Mai on this oceanic voyage forFrance 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 continent’s major harbours (Portes
d’Afrique). He then joined the Tara Expéditions Foundation, producing a collection of
documentaries on oceans and climate 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 the ice-bound exploration ship Tara, drifting for two years acrossthe Arctic Ocean, the first such expedition since the legendary Nansen’s Fram voyage of 18931896.

He then wrote and produced a series of films for France Télévision, documenting the Tara Océan
mission, an international scientific consortium’s round-the-world expedition which carried out alandmark plankton census across the world’s seas and oceans (Tara Océans, voyage aux
sources de la vie).

After meeting the celebrated ecologist and Earth photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand, he
coproduced with 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 the best cinematography award at the Monterey Blue Festival in California.
This fruitful collaboration gave birth to another 10 ocean, nature and wildlife television films,
including Méditerranée, Notre Terre, many of them available world-wide on Netflix and otherplatforms. His film Terra, the sequel to Planète 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 inPrague.

Building Ocean Awareness, Opening New Horizons: A Key Role for CreativeMedia
A recent turn in human societies has pushed the scientific world to take public positions on
climate change and the critical health of oceans. Most of these crucial issues have long been
identified by scientists who have been conducting in-depth research. However, instead of justreporting to their peers, a growing number of these scientists have taken to the microphone or
the camera in order to raise 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.

But in the meantime, audiences have reached an unprecedented level of sophisticated visual
literacy and cense critique. ‘Talking heads’ are somehow no longer enough, especially when it
comes to hard science. Stories on whales have always been easier to tell than a love affair
inside the microbiome. And today we need to understand the latter more than the whale’s life.
Keeping the audience focused on science imperatively implies being more and more creative,
both in storytelling and in film-making.

Based on a collection of award-winning films, including Planet Ocean, the Tara Oceans series,
and Journey through the Climate Machine… this keynote will demonstrate how cinematic tools
can be of crucial efficiency in helping disseminate information, for example on the fascinatingworld of planktons or the complex interaction between climate and oceans. Using theappropriate visual technology one can see the invisible and travel through geological time.
Powerful storytelling based on hard science, compelling visual effects, inspiring characters andstories: all ‘hands on deck’ are now required to raise awareness to audiences and get
communities engaged.

10:30-13:30

PARALLEL SESSION 1: ‘BLUE ECONOMY’:GLOBAL TRADE FLOWS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, AND GOVERNANCE OF THE SEAS

Joint Producers
Mikio Takebayashi, Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)
Bernard Siman, Financial Diplomacy & FinTech at the Brussels Diplomatic Academy,
the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
Theme 1: Sustainable Blue Economy: New Resources, Innovative Solutions for Global
Economic Recovery
Moderator
Bernard Siman
Financial Diplomacy & FinTech at the Brussels Diplomatic Academy,
the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
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 of experiences in port planning and development at
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Japan, served as Professor at theGraduate 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.

Environmental Ship Index (ESI) Program initiated by the IAPH
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 alonger 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 shipowners, operators and managers to improve environmental performance of their vessels’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 a result, ESI Program’s incentive scheme inconjunction with IMO regulation may generate synergy effect on better air quality in and aroundthe ports and decarbonization of international shipping toward 2050.

Wouter Dewulf
University of Antwerp(Belgium)
Prof dr. Wouter Dewulf (1970) works at the Department of Transport andRegional economics of the University of Antwerp (Belgium), and iscurrently performing research on Air Cargo Strategy, Airport Strategy,
Urban Logistics, E-commerce and Sustainability. He also is academic
director of the advanced 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
Stars’. After two Master's studies in Applied Economics and Business Engineering at the
University of Antwerp he started as a management trainee at British Airways in London. In
1997, he joined Sabena Technics to head 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 in the Benelux, as director for West
Belgium, where he became the director of Belgium, France and Luxemburg in 2008. Since
2013, Wouter has been affiliated with the University of Antwerp and the Antwerp Management
School.

Disruption, Innovation and Regulation: What Can the Maritime Industry
Learn from the Aviation Industry - Or is it Vice-Versa?
The presentation starts with an overview of Disruption, Innovation and Regulation in the airtransport industry over the past 50 years. The aviaton industry is renowned for its innovation,
regulation and agility towards disruption. The presenter gives an overview of parallels andcontrasts between the aviation and maritime sectors. In addition, it gives some insights on what
the maritime industry can learn from the Aviation Industry, and vice-versa, with a special focus
on sustainability efforts.
Kevin Verbelen
AGORIA and Brussels Diplomatic Academy (Belgium)
Kevin Verbelen is Senior Expert International Trade and Company Lawyer
at AGORIA, the association of technology companies in Belgium. He is
Chair of the Trade Group in DIGITALEUROPE and Steering Committee
Member of Belgium’s Customs Forum. He is Lecturer & Head of theInternational 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 inInternational Environmental Law. He worked at the Belgian Representation to the WTO in
Geneva and to UNEP in Nairobi and participated several times in the World Economic Forum.

Global Supply Lines: Sustainable Governance and Geostrategy
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 is affecting business. It will explore what the consequences are and how
this will affect countries, economies, business and people.

Theme 2: Shaping International Ocean Governance for the Future
Moderator
Mikio Takebayashi
Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)
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 the Brussels School of Governance (BSoG) at
the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Her research focuses on security
issues within the broader Indo-Pacific region, notably related tomaritime 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 Researchand Advice Network (#APRAN).

Rule-based Governance of the Seas: A Leading Role for the EU and Japan?
The world’s 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
and grey-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 seas’ rich living
and non-living resources have become severely depleted, putting the health of the marine
ecosystems, but also the stability 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 andvows to step up its role as a global ‘maritime security provider’. When working towards thisgoal, joining forces with Japan, one of the most active promoters of a rules-based maritime
order, can multiply its chances for success and constitute a promising area for cooperation
between the two like-minded partners.
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 deBruxelles, and acting President of the Belgian Society of International Law(2017 - ).
He is appointed by Belgium as: expert in marine scientific research for use in special arbitration
under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 Convention) (2004 - );expert in maritime 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).

International Law of the Sea: Meeting Today’s and Tomorrow’s Challenges
The United Nations has been extremely successful in codifying the law of the sea, for it was able
to achieve this result not once (in 1958), but twice (in 1982), which is quite exceptional whenviewed 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 and technological 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 the40th anniversary of the adoption of this document, it should be stressed that the developmentof technology 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 tobe considered as a constitution 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 oftime and it is expected that it will continue to do so for some time to come.

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 he teaches at the graduate flagshipprogramme 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” as a Hybrid Maritime Threat to Global GovernanceLawfare 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 physicalnature of maritime features, and naval presence.
Lawfare subverts, over time, sovereignty and economic rights and affects connectivity in a
direct and concrete manner, thus affecting, inter alia, global trade flows, minerals and resources
rights, access and 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 the extraction of resources, sovereign rights or connectivity through theNortheast 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 and treaties and counters the impact ofLawfare ahead of time. Japan is equally exposed to the impact of Lawfare in the China Seas
whether through sovereign rights, resources or crucially the impact on maritime connectivity.

14:30-16:00

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP/BROKERAGE EVENT ASUSTAINABLE GREEN ECONOMY –‘LAWFARE’ AND GOVERNANCE OF THE SEAS

Joint Producers&Moderators
Mikio Takebayashi, 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. (in Civil 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 aprofessor. His research interests are infrastructure planning andmanagement, especially policy and management related to ports and airports. He has publishedmany academic papers in major international journals such as Trans. Res. Part A. He has been amember of various committees hosted by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism of Japan, City of Kobe, etc., holding important roles such as committee chair.

Net Zero and Its Effect on the International Cargo Transport Network“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 inregard to transport and logistics. The current transport system heavily depends on fossil fuels.
The international trade and supply chain relies greatly on ocean transport, and should bechanged to reduce GHG emissions. In this presentation, which focuses on intra-Asian and transEurasian markets, we will discuss what kind of future would result from following the direction
indicated by the Net Zero concept. 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 and consider their future directions, especially changes to thetransport network. Finally, we will look at some potential questions that arise when pushing the
Net Zero concept further.
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 research corresponds
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 fueland net-zero technologies adoption, maritime transportation, port operations, renewables
adoption optimisation, and infrastructure and fuel portability.

The Port of Dover ‘Clean Ferries’ Project: An Example of University-industry
Cooperation
Situated on the Southeast tip of England, Dover is the closest British port to the continent, andthus of particular strategic importance to the cross-channel traffic. It contributes to 33% of all
UK – EU trade and handles 2.4m trucks (i.e., 31% of the total HGVs transiting through UK’s
major seaports) and 30% of all ro-ro ferry arrivals into the UK. To sustainably deliver the uniquebenefits 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 andacademic partners to study the techno-economic feasibility of potential electric power solutionsfor Short Straits ferries. To accelerate the adoption of hybrid or fully electric propulsion vessels
in the Short Straits (Dover to Calais and Dunkirk) 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 planning horizons and real operating conditions, andpotential innovative, realistic, and reliable energy supply pathways within the infrastructural andoperational constraints of the port. This presentation discusses several highlights, insights andfindings from this university-industry collaborative project.
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 ofCentral Lancashire (UCLan), JSPS Fellow at the University of the
Ryukyus, and Associate Professor of Public Policy at Tohoku University. Ra is author of Japan’s
relations with North Korea and the Recalibration of Risk and co-author of Regional Risk andSecurity in Japan and Risk State (Routledge), in addition to publishing widely on Okinawa,
Djibouti and the DPRK, as well as writing for the Asahi Shimbun’s Asia Japan Watch (AJW), The
Conversation UK (TCUK) and The Asan Forum. This presentation illuminates the changing
dynamics of the East China Sea.

Claiming and calming greyzones in the East China Sea: dangers of the drift
from lawfare to warfare
In an environment of rising geostrategic tensions across the Indo Pacific, as the confluence ofcompeting interests contested by the world’s three largest economies, among others, the EastChina Sea (is a potential flashpoint with global implications. This paper argues that while atfirst sight superior conventional military capabilities boasted by the US Japan alliance provide
the basis for ongoing 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 across this troubled body of water. Ultimately, more conceptual awarenessand 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 siteof lawfare into one of warfare.

10:30-13:30

PARALLEL SESSION 2: OCEANS OF THE FUTURE:
ADVANCES IN MARINEAND MARITIME SCIENCES: NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR NEW HORIZONSJoint Producers
Minoru Takeda, Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)
Yue Gao and Thierry Coosemans, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
Robert Barker, University of Kent (UK)

Theme 1: Harnessing the Power of Oceans: Fostering Innovation for Energy
Sustainability
Moderator
Minoru Takeda
Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)
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 around ocean’s 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 ‘Future Ocean’ 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 andinternational advisory committees including member of the Governing Board of the International
Science Council (ISC)

Digital Twins of the Ocean - Opportunities to future-proof sustainable
development
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 to marine 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 withdigital assets to explore current and future scenarios, especially related to human interactions
with the ocean. High-value application areas include fisheries and mariculture, marine protectedareas, ocean-based tourism, ecological forecasting, 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 tobuild a Digital Twin of the Ocean Framework that allows users to create a family of applicationfocussed digital twins that collectively twin the ocean as a whole, with access to a range ofocean data and forecasting and predictive systems. This powerful framework will enable users
to visualize and explore ocean 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 theocean 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 in1986 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 andSuperconductivity Society of Japan. His research focuses on applications of superconductivity inthe field of maritime sciences, and on cryogenics related to production, storage andtransportation of liquid hydrogen.

Applications of Superconductivity in the Field of Maritime Sciences
Our research is entitled “Oceans and Hydrogen Energy: Applications of Superconductivity in the
Field of 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 and superconducting devices. First, a helical-type seawater magnetohydrodynamics(MHD) generation system, which generates electricity used to produce hydrogen, is explained aswell as a helical-type MHD ship thruster. Second, a new MHD method of separating oil fromcontaminated seawater using a high-field superconducting magnet, which is based on the
difference in the electric conductivity between seawater and oil, is explained with goodquantitative agreement between the experimental data and the equation for the separation.
Third, fundamental technologies for marine transportation of liquid hydrogen, which has aboiling point of 20 K, are explained, focusing on a superconducting magnesium diboride (MgB2)
liquid level sensor. An overview of the marine transportation of liquid hydrogen (including topics
related to the production and storage of liquid hydrogen) in Japan will be given at theinteractive workshop and brokerage event B.

Makoto Aoki (by video)Radioisotope Research Center, Ochanomizu University (Japan)
Makoto Aoki is an assistant professor of the Radioisotope ResearchCenter, Ochanomizu University. She obtained her PhD in Sciencefrom Ochanomizu University, Japan in 2016. After working for the
Fuel Cell Nanomaterials Center of the University of Yamanashi, shejoined 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 the development of
a hydrogen production system that uses renewable energy from the ocean.

Study of Electrode Surface Structure for the Improvement of the SeawaterElectrolysis Efficiency and Reaction Selectivity
Understanding the electrochemical reactions on the electrode/electrolyte solution interface andthe surface structure of the electrode are important for constructing high-performance devices
such as batteries, 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 thesurface structure and layer-by-layer composition of Pt-M (M = Co, Ni, etc.) electrodes (which
are posited to serve as an electrode 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 aunique system that transforms the kinetic energy of ocean and tidal currents directly into
electric energy.
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. ofIndustrial Engineering, University of Florence. Chairman of the ScientificCommittee of SeaLab (https://isme.unige.it/research/sealab), a jointlaboratory 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
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pisa. Courses taught in Robotics, and Mechanism
Design. Current research interests: robot design, marine and underwater robotics, control ofrobots, mechatronics, sensor fusion in navigation systems.

Perspectives in Underwater Robotics: Current Activities at ISME
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 of Autonomy (LoA) of commercially available systems is still rather low. In particular,
in industrial practice, close inspection of submerged infrastructures and intervention tasks, suchas 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 toimplement 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 inunderwater robotics for more than 20 years. Some recent experiences of ISME nodes in thedevelopment of underwater robot technology will be shown, with emphasis on the projects
performed by the Tuscan Universities of Pisa and Firenze.

Theme 2: Addressing Marine Pollution, Restoring Marine Ecosystems
Moderator
Thierry Coosemans
the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
Thierry Coosemans obtained his PhD in Engineering Sciences from Ghent
University in 2006. After several years in the industry, he became amember of the MOBI research team at the VUB, where he works 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 involved in 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 Initiativeand Flux 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 groupas 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 (highnutrient–low chlorophyll) regions of oceans. She has published 80 peer reviewed papers with H
index of 28.

Biogeochemical cycle of inorganic contaminants in the North Sea and Baltic
Sea- measurement of trace metal bioavailability
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
as well 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 filtered seawater 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 the resin gel layer irreversibly binding theappropriate solutes. Based on Fick’s law, the fluxes and eventually the solute concentrations canbe calculated. This technique has been widely applied in aquatic systems including freshwater,seawater, sediment and soil to measure labile (bioavailable) metal fractions. In the Belgian Partof North Sea (BPNS), the combination of classic filtration of samples and DGT passive sample
makes the determination of metal bioavailability in seawater possible and the assessment ofhigh-resolution metal profiles in sediment feasible.

Robert Barker
University of Kent (UK)

Safe Harbours: Industry-University Collaborations in Environmental
Protection
This speaker’s CV & Abstract shall be published in the final reports.

Richard Sempéré
CNRS senior scientist, Director of Ocean Sciences Institute, Aix-Marseille
University (France)
Richard Sempéré, PhD, is oceanographer, marine and atmosphericgeochemist and director of research at CNRS. He is currently Director of
the Aix-Marseille University ‘Ocean Sciences Institute’. His own researchstudies concern exploration of sources and sinks of natural organic matterin aquatic environments, the intersection of the carbon cycle andmicrobial 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 French governmental 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 and post-doctoral researchers. The
last 20 years Richard Sempéré has created and be the director successively of the researchlaboratories LMGEM, Mediterranean institute of Oceanography and recently the Aix-Marseille
University (AMU) -graduate school Ocean Sciences Institute gathering 14 laboratories in marine
sciences from Oceanography to law of the sea.

Plastics and their organic additives in the marine environment: Proposals tolimit the risks for the Mediterranean Sea
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 one very visible indicator of the Anhropocene. Plastics constitute between 8 and 15% ofwaste 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 innatural environments. They also constitute an increasing threat for land and hydrosphereecosystems. Plastic litter also causes severe economic losses through damage to vessels andfishing 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 the water column or on the seafloor. The issue of widespread plastic waste in theenvironment is exacerbated by the durability and persistence of these materials in theenvironment. 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, theMediterranean has been reported as one of the major hotspots of plastic contamination in theWorld. However, despite the existence of regional action plans, legally binding measures and thecommon will of many countries to end plastic pollution, the effective and efficient
implementation of measures is made difficult by the heterogeneous demographic, economic andgeopolitical situation of coastal countries. In this presentation, we will recall the risks andprospects of impacts on the Mediterranean Sea. A set of solutions 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.
Simon Barnes
University of Kent, Canterbury (UK)
Simon Barnes is the Strategic Partnership lead at the University ofKent, he joined the University in 2017 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 Boardfor the South East of England. For the University he brings together academics from theBusiness School, Engineering, Natural Sciences and partners to address and research thechallenges of maritime decarbonisation in all its aspects.

Decarbonising the maritime sector; complex, challenging and costly?
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 ‘energy options’. The
structure of the sector is quite distinct from other transport sectors where for example thenumber 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 his thoughts on how and where new and novel technology
might be taken up by different fleets in different regions, what this means for continuity ofoperations both in port and on for vessels. All within the context for the increased demand for
decarbonisation from customers and governments for green supply chains.

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP/BROKERAGE EVENT B

14:30-16:00

TOWARDS GREEN ENERGY AND GREEN HYDROGEN

Joint Producers
Minoru Takeda, Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University (Japan)
Thierry Coosemans, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
Moderator
Thierry Coosemans, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
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 andholds 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 theEuropean hydrogen industry players and trade matters.

Towards Green Energy and Green Hydrogen: A European Approach
Everyone is aware of the events that led to recent energy uncertainties in Europe and thecontinent will certainly face challenging years ahead. Consequently, the European Commission
instated REPowerEU, meant to battle Europe’s 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 andmeasures in regard to hydrogen on a European level, putting it in a global context.

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 in1986 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 andSuperconductivity Society of Japan. His research focuses on applications of superconductivity inthe field of maritime sciences, and on cryogenics related to production, storage andtransportation of liquid hydrogen.

Marine Transportation of Hydrogen Energy: Challenges and Opportunities –the KaitaKu Project
Our research is entitled “Oceans and Hydrogen Energy: Applications of Superconductivity in the
Field of 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 and superconducting devices. First, a helical-type seawater magnetohydrodynamics(MHD) generation system, which generates electricity used to produce hydrogen, is explained aswell as a helical-type MHD ship thruster. Second, a new MHD method of separating oil fromcontaminated seawater using a high-field superconducting magnet, which is based on the
difference in the electric conductivity between seawater and oil, is explained with goodquantitative agreement between the experimental data and the equation for the separation.
Third, fundamental technologies for marine transportation of liquid hydrogen, which has aboiling point of 20 K, are explained, focusing on a superconducting magnesium diboride (MgB2)
liquid level sensor. An overview of the marine transportation of liquid hydrogen (including topics
related to the production and storage of liquid hydrogen) in Japan will be given at theinteractive workshop and brokerage event B.
Ivar Kruusenberg
CEO, PowerUP Energy Technologies/ KBFI (Estonia)
Dr.Ivar Kruusenberg is a scientist and an entrepreneur holding a Master
Degree in molecular technology 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, heis applying his knowledge in cleantech entrepreneurship, serving as CEO and founder ofPowerUp 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 andMember of the Board of the Estonian Research Council.

Hydrogen as a game changer for the maritime sector
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 Japanand from 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

Isabel François
WaterstofNet vzw, Turnhout (Belgium)
Isabel François started at WaterstofNet in 2016 as project manager
and has established the ‘Hydrogen Industry Cluster’. 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 thedevelopment of high-pressure discharge lamps.
Isabel has studied Physics at the KULeuven and obtained a PhD on superconductivity at
KULeuven/IMEC.

Hydrogen status Flanders-BelgiumThis presentation will give an overview of the hydrogen pilot projects and developments thathave been 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,with focus 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.
Ander Martinez Alonso
MOBI - Vrije University Brussel (Belgium)
Ander Martinez graduated in M.Sc. Degree of Industrial Engineeringin 2015 at the Public University of Navarre in Spain after successfullycompleting an exchange program with the INP-ENSEEIHT, in France
where he achieved the specialization in Renewable Energies. He also
holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universityof 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 andcontrol of Multi-Energy Systems, Hydrogen Technology and Optimization.

Hydrogen as an energy vector, a Multi-Energy System approach.
The energy transition towards a carbon-neutral European economy by 2050 is catalyzing a newera of investment 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 ofgreen hydrogen as an energy vector. Not only because its multi sector coupling ability, but also
because electrolysers and fuel cells necessarily connect, at least, two different energy vectors:
Hydrogen molecules and electrons. If not more, as cert<in technologies can increase theirefficiency with heat recovery systems.
Hydrogen is not the magic solution to the whole problem of decarbonizing the planet andevolving towards a greener future. It’s overall low energy efficiency process makes it very
challenging to integrate. However, along with other factors and technologies, we can ensurethat 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.

10:30-13:30

PARALLEL SESSION 3: SEAS, SCIENCE AND SOCIETIES:BUILDINGAWARENESS, ENGAGING COMMUNITIESJoint Producers
Ken-ichi Yoshida, Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University (Japan)
Chiaki Ogino, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University (Japan)
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, Université Libre de Bruxelles and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)

Theme 1: Science and Society: A Holistic Approach for Healthy Oceans
Moderator
Patrick Vittet-Philippe
Kobe University Brussels European Centre (Belgium)
Patrick Vittet-Philippe is a former senior European Commission official,with special interest in international cooperation in research andinnovation, 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 culturalattaché with postings in Tel Aviv, London and New York. After a period with the European TV
industry, he joined the Commission as expert-adviser on Information Society Technologies andthe digital economy, representing the EC in key international fora (OECD, World Economic
Forum), and at parliamentary hearings, think tanks events (CSIS, Brookings Institution) andmajor industry conferences (MIP-TV, COMDEX, Internet World).
He moved in 2001 to DG Research and Innovation as press and Information officer, responsible
for commissioning TV magazines and documentaries on EU research (e.g. Futuris magazine onEuronews), and organising press conferences and science events (EU-China S&T Week atShanghai World Expo). Moving to the International Cooperation Directorate, he was in charge of
the Japan and Russia 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 EUJapan summits, as well as in the scoping exercises for the EU-Japan EPA and SPA. He launchedmany EU-Japan research cooperation 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 forthe development 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.

Chiaki Ogino (by video)
Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University (Japan)
Chiaki OGINO is a professor of the Department of Chemical Science andEngineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, Japan. He
received his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Kobe
University, Japan. He has supervised more than 70 master’s course
students, and 15 doctoral course students at Kobe University. He is theauthor or co-author of over 265 peer-reviewed journal papers and 40 reviews and bookchapters. His extensive research interests concern: the production of biofuels and chemicals
from biomass based on synthetic biotechnology using yeast, fungi and Actinomycetes, and thedevelopment of novel drug and gene delivery systems based on nanobiotechnology. His mostrecent aim is to develop a bio-degradable polymer by using several microbes from renewable
resources.

Development of Marine Degradable Polymers to Create a Sustainable Marine
Environment
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
through dimerization. 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 in agriculture, as well as in the pharmaceutical industry. Consequently, the demandfor 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 with food production.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop bioprocessing for IA producers that are capable of utilizing
renewable carbon sources such as lignocellulosic biomass. In the current study, we evaluatedthe effectiveness of using different carbon sources in the production of IA from
Corynebacterium glutamicum. We also assessed the effects of C. glutamicum’s usage of a
mixture of substrates on cell growth and IA production. In this workshop, we would like todiscuss the current development progress for sustainable, marine-adapted new materials,
including IA-based polymers and other polymers.

Sigi Gruber
Active Senior Expert – European Commission (Belgium)
Prior to her recent retirement, she was the Head of Unit for the EC’s
Healthy Ocean and Seas Unit, in the Directorate General for Research andInnovation. The work of the Unit focused – amongst others - on co-creating the European Mission on ‘Restoring our Ocean and Waters by 2030’; 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
with responsibilities in the area of Education and Training, Researchers Careers, the European
Institute for Technology (EIT), Research and Universities, and International Cooperation. Prior
to joining the European Commission, she worked in the public and private sector in Italy andGermany.

Fighting Plastic Pollution, Restoring our Ocean: from the Mediterranean to
the World
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
and waters will be less polluted? The session will provide some answers to these questions andshowcase examples of good practice funded by the EU Framework Programme for
Research&Innovation and by other key stakeholder to inspire participants and invite them toengage to jointly provide the much needed solutions.
Michel Claessens
Free University of Brussels (Belgium)
Michel Claessens (Ph.D. ULB, Brussels) is a retired EU official andprofessor of science communication at the Free University of Brussels. He
has published 15 books and about 35 articles and book chapters on
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 an international 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).

Ocean Science and Society: Securing the Role of Science in the PoliticaldebateWhy doesn’t society pay the right tribute to ocean science? The presentation will review casestudies highlighting the interactions between science and society, and science and politics.
Although there is evidence that scientific results disseminate slowly, there are also interesting
initiatives in articulating the scientific and political worlds, which are then interacting with eachother and progressing jointly, even if there is no global consensus. The aim should for thesociety be to achieve a “co-construction” of expertise and decision-making in order to providescientific grounds for political decisions and present research results in a suitable way forpolitical action.
The presentation will review good practices developed in the past years for scientists dealing
with media 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 toscientists not to leave 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 politicaldebates 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.
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 and Technology, 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 therole of business organization in a globalized economy, specifically in the Nordic context. At
NTNU, I have been teaching research ethics, business ethics and professional ethics at all levels
and parts of NTNU. At NTNU Oceans, my job is to “connect the dots” between different parts ofocean science and technology, encouraging interdiscipinarity in research, education, andinnovation.

An Ocean of Knowledge – Towards a More Inclusive Ocean Science
Technology will be instrumental in reaching the goals of the Ocean Decade, such as acomprehensive ocean observing system. However, we cannot forget that technologicaldevelopment is also what has literally fueled some of the problems of our oceans today: Overfishing, 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 evenwhen 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 Norway’s largest
university, aiming to address complex ocean challenges through interdisciplinary cooperation.
We connect researchers and students from technology and the social sciences, from naturalsciences and the arts, from humanities and economy.
Responsible ocean research and innovation depends on an ability to view our challenges as wellas 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 thescientists, but rather, it is about expanding ocean science to reach across disciplines andsectors. It even calls for the active participation of citizens.

Theme 2: Oceans Bridges: Building Ocean Awareness and Literacy, Engaging
Communities
Moderator
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas
Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Department of Organism Biology, Université Libre de Bruxelles(Belgium)
Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, Head of ULB/VUB Systems Ecology andResource Management Research Unit and Founding/Managing Directorof the Erasmus Mundus excellence Master in Tropical Biodiversity andEcosystems (TROPIMUNDO), seeks to understand and predict how and why spatio-temporal
dynamics in mangrove vegetation and landscapes occur, using transdisciplinary approaches(tropical botany, 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 fromthe University of Florence in 1994 working on the ecology of mangrove associated fauna in East
Africa. The ecological role of mangrove fauna is still his main research focus.

Functional Mangrove Restoration Beyond Blue Carbon: Communities’ Rolesand Impact
Mangrove forests are considered a crucial component of tropical and subtropical seascapes. The
perception of their ecological importance, however, changed only recently and their ecologicalstatus 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 among scientists 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
research gaps remain in the other ecosystem functions played by these forests and in the socioeconomic sciences and humanities domains. Mangrove forests are multi-purpose andmultifunctional ecosystems, and their faunal and floral components are providing services that
go beyond blue carbon. Moreover, holistic studies assessing the socio-economic implications ofblue carbon initiatives for local communities remain poorly considered. Incorporating knowledgeof the ecological role and functions of the various ecosystem components and of diverse socialand 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 isinterested in static and dynamic verification of distributed systems byusing behavioural types (ie., types that describe desitable patterns ofcommunication behaviour). Her current research is on time-sensitive
systems and reliable systems. She is currently a WP leader in the EU
RISE project ‘BehAPI’ 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.

Nobuko Yoshida (by video)
University of Oxford (UK)Yoshida's research in Computer Science focuses on the development oftheories, and supporting programming languages and software for thefoundations of concurrent and distributed systems. Her particular interest
is in session types, a type-based approach to the verification of messagepassing programs. She is currently holding an EPSRC Established Career
Fellow, a fellow of British Computing Society and an Honorary Fellow ofGlasgow 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, shedeployed runtime monitoring to cyber infrastructure in the US Ocean Observatories Initiative.
Laura Bocchi & Nobuko Yoshida

Applying typing theories of programming languages to ocean observation& the Ocean Observatories Initiative (Subcontract for OOI CI) Conversationsand GovernanceThis talk is about adapting and applying typing theories for programming languages to support

governance of cyberinfrastructures for ocean observation. It reports on our collaboration (20112013) with the NSF project Ocean Observatories Initiative.
Most modern systems are a composition of distributed software entities that interact by sending
and receiving 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 theconversations of these 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 and Governance -- we have been looking at applying session types to discipline
conversations across a large-scale cyberinftrastructure for ocean observation. The requirementsof OOI have ignited new research directions, such as the enrichment of session types withassertions, time-constraints, and the pairing of static verification with run-time monitoring. We
will discuss how the learnings from our collaboration with OOI has steered our research focus
on typing theories for programming languages.

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

Rising Sea Levels: Involving Coastal Stakeholders for Building Coast
Resilience
Coastal zones are the most popular settlement areas throughout human history. Nearly 2.4
billion people (about 40% of the world’s population) live within 100 km of the coast. Sandy
coastlines are under threat of erosion. The erosion process is being driven by sea-level rise,meteorological and marine forces, anthropogenic activities, and other factors. This leads toincreased vulnerability which becomes increasingly important to protect our coasts against
flooding in view of changing climate and sea level rise. The Belgian coast is one of the mostvulnerable 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 andassessment 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. This ultimately leads to directly and indirectly safeguarding coast resilience.

14:30-16:00

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP/BROKERAGE EVENT C

OCEAN AWARENESS:
THE ROLE OF COMMUNITIES AND THE MEDIA

Joint Producers
Ken-ichi Yoshida
Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University (Japan)
Patrick Vittet-Philippe
Kobe University Brussels European Centre (Belgium)

Moderator
Ken-ichi Yoshida
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), andKobe 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 inJapan. He is the Co-founder of mymizu, a global platform to reduce plastic
waste through the power of technology and community. He is also theRepresentative 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 aroundthe world, including in Japan, Haiti, Vanuatu and Mozambique. In 2022, he took on a sponsoredexpedition to walk 1,000+kms along Japan’s coastline to document the changing landscapes sincethe 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis and promote tourism to the disaster-affected area. In 2020,
he was recognised by M.I.T. Technology Review’s ‘Innovators Under-35’ Awards and in 2022, won
Business Insider Japan's 'Beyond Millennials' 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 the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

The ‘mymizu’ (My Water) Movement: Leveraging Community and Technology
to Tackle Plastic Waste"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 by 2030, 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 thathighlights the use of technology, citizen engagement, and community building to tackle theplastics crisis. mymizu (“mizu” means water in Japanese) is an award-winning initiative totackle plastic waste. The freely available mymizu smartphone app - a crowdsourced web
platform - connects people to 200,000 free water refill stations globally and has enabled users
to save millions of plastic water bottles through co-creation and gamification. Using mymizu, it’s
possible to refill your water bottle anywhere – it’s good 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 Abs, DLR 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 andgeopolitics. Jonas Abs is working on several projects at national andEuropean level especially in strategic cooperation.

Plastic Pirates – Go Europe!”: On a Mission to Fight Plastic Waste Together
with Citizen Scientists
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 to 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 and Europe-wide level. It can massively extend existing data, improvescientific understanding and knowledge and, thus, help to develop systematic solutions for theprevention, reduction, and removal of marine and riverine pollution, particularly plastics. As partof the ERA campaign "Bring Science closer to Citizens", the expansion of the initiative
contributes to the realignment of the ERA (ERA Policy Agenda 2022-2024). As one of the firstpilot initiatives, "Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! has a pioneering 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 is coordinating 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 science correspondent, a Washington correspondent, and asenior staff reporter for Kyodo News, He has reported 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 more than twenty books on primate conservation, climate change, toxic chemicals
and ocean environment

Facing a multidimensional crisis of the ocean environment
Global warming is causing ocean heat waves, ocean acidification and oxygen depletion.
Eutrophication in coastal areas, plastic pollution, and decline in fisheries’ resources and loss of
biodiversity are also serious issues. Destruction of coastal mangrove forests and decreasing
amounts of 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 theland, 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 of seafood
are delivered to our table every day. In Japanese restaurants and supermarkets, endangered
fish 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 achievetransformative change 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 policymaking system are urgently needed.

16:00-16:15

CLOSING POLICY KEYNOTEPASCAL LAMY
Coordinator of the Jacques Delors Think Tanks (Paris, Berlin,
Brussels), President of Paris Peace Forum, Former DG of WTO andEU Commissioner for Trade
Pascal Lamy is the President of the Paris Peace Forum and of theEuropean branch of the Brunswick Group. He coordinates theJacques 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 and his G7 Sherpa (1985-1994), Deputy Chief of Staff of theFrench 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).