The The 3rd BlueMissionBANOS Mission Arena, held in Amsterdam in November 2024, focused on the North Sea region, encompassing the Netherlands, Belgium, northern France, western Germany, and western Denmark. This event continued the mission of fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders to advance the European Union’s Mission Ocean & Waters. This Mission emphasises protecting and restoring marine ecosystems, addressing pollution, and steering the blue economy toward carbon neutrality and circularity.
As a key European maritime region, the North Sea is pivotal in renewable energy, innovation, and economic activities. During the Arena, the 300+ participants explored solutions tailored to the North Sea’s unique context, such as integrating multi-use zones into maritime spatial planning, promoting marine energy production, advancing digital and secure ocean technologies, and strengthening marine governance frameworks. The Arena was made up of 24 thematic workshops covering seven themes: Offshore wind & multi-use, marine protection & restoration, citizen engagement & education, blue bio-resources, governance, business support, and secure & digital oceans. It was hosted in collaboaration with the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership and was made possible due to the contributions of many projects and institutions around the North Sea.
The event culminated in a Stakeholders’ Assembly, in which the action points that had been co-created during the workshops were voted upon by the Arena’s participants. The results of this vote have been published in the Roadmap for the Arena 3 region with artwork created live during the workshops. These action points represent a ranking of the most important steps that need to be taken in the region to achieve the goals of the EU’s Mission Ocean and Waters.
Find the presentations and workshop summaries from the event here.
Photos: Delphine Chevalier
Arena 3 Roadmap Art: Jereon Steehouwer, Draw Up
