More than 1100 participants gathered in Logomo in Turku on 18 - 19 May 2016 for the European maritime community´s annual meeting point European Maritime Day to network, discuss and foster future developments. The theme of the conference was Investing in competitive blue growth - smart and sustainable solutions.

Within the conference there were some twenty workshops and five thematic sessions. Discussions covered a wide range of topics such as innovation, smart specialisation and sustainable solutions for blue growth, potential and challenges for sectors like cruise tourism and ocean energy among others.

The importance of investments for Blue Growth was discussed in Wednesday’s main talk.

Commissioner Karmenu Vella, who is responsible for maritime affairs in Europe, thanked Turku for good arrangements and co-operation. In his speeches he especially emphasized the importance of co-operation that is regional and crosses sector borders, as well as developing the governance of all seas globally.

“Sustainable blue economy is not an obstacle but a key competitive advantage for Europe”, Commissioner Karmenu Vella says. “We are here in Turku to innovate, learn and adapt.”

In his opening speech Mayor of Turku Aleksi Randell emphasized that Blue Growth has immense untapped potential for creating jobs, growth, and investments.

“We need investments in the blue economy. And we emphasize smart, sustainable approaches to save our seas and oceans.”

Celebration of the European Maritime Day continued throughout the weekend 20-22 May in Turku. The weekend included various events for all ages and it attracted around 10 000 visitors.

In the opening session of the European Maritime Day the maritime opinion leaders discussed solutions for promoting blue and green growth. Photo: Kari Vainio

 

The exposition section was decorated by students of Turku education institutions. The decorations were made as environmentally friendly as possible starting from the selected materials. In the exposition section the maritime experts can exhibit their operations and network with others. Photo: Hannu Aaltonen
 
Greetings from the European Commission were brought by Karmenu Vella. Photo: Hannu Aaltonen
 
We would like to thank all visitors and everyone who participated in the charity concert for the Baltic Sea on Friday evening 20th of May! Photo: Kari Vainio