On 24th January took place in Faial, Azores, the Public Session: The importance of cooperation between Portugal and Norway in promoting Ocean Science and Literacy in Portugal, organized by the Norwegian Embassy in Lisbon and the Directorate-General for Maritime Policy, operator of the Blue Growth Programme of the EEA Grants 2014-2021, and the Norwegian Embassy in Lisbon.
Among the speakers are the Portuguese Minister of the Sea, Ricardo Serrão Santos, the President of Regional Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, the Norwegian Ambassador, Tove Bruvik Westberg, the President of The Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere, Miguel Miranda, the Coordinator of the Blue Growth Programme, Sandra Silva, and guests from various institutions related to Ocean science and literacy.
The Minister Ricardo Serrão Santos emphasized the excellent scientific cooperation between Portugal and Norway, two Member States of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, known as Ocean Panel, whose objectives include the promotion of health, prosperity, equity, knowledge and investment in the Ocean.
It was also highlighted the EEA Grants contribution on financing a considerable number of projects in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation in the blue economy, marine research and Ocean literacy. Among them, it was emphasized the importance of the pre-defined projects Mário Ruivo Research Vessel and Atlantic Observatory, which also participated in the session and demonstrated the results already achieved.
The public session was preceded by a visit to the Norwegian Research Vessel Statsraad Lehmkhul, which docked at Horta as part of the One Ocean Expedition, an expedition that aims to visit 36 ports around the world, with the objectives of collecting data, training researchers and communicating on the conservation of marine resources.