On the 11-12th of July, Laurent Mortier (ARMINES) and Aodhan Fitzgerald (Marine Institute) participated as EC expert to the G7 Science and Technology Ministerial and G7 FSOI events in Bologna, promoting AMRIT and AQUARIUS to high level stakeholders (GSO-GRI, Missions).
On July 11th 2024, Italy hosted the G7 ministerial meeting on science and technology in Bologna, where on the following day there was also a side event organised by the G7 Future Seas and Oceans Initiative (G7-FSOI) Working Group on the integration and harmonisation of marine research infrastructures.
This G7-FSOI WG endorsed a theme on the integration and harmonization of marine research infrastructure as a 2024 emerging topic. It highlighted the large number of RIs and marine observing systems, their heterogeneity and complementarity, and the urgent need for a harmonized approach requiring a coordinated action to integrate and interlink the different RIs and national integrated ocean observing systems. This need was also highlighted at the recent UN2024 Ocean Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Conference in Barcelona.
As a first step toward harmonization and integration, this meeting aimed at developing a common definition of Marine Research Infrastructure in the context of Sustained Ocean Observing, mapping the existing facilities and observing networks currently sustained by long-term investments, reviewing and assessing the current limitations to sustained operations and barriers to global infrastructure sharing and collaboration, and to agree on a common vision and strategy for the integration and harmonization.
These concerns of marine research infrastructure integration and harmonization are at the root of AMRIT philosophy and our alignment with the objectives of this event was showcased by Laurent Mortier, who participated as EC expert. This was an occasion for him to disseminate the project toward high level stakeholders (Group of Senior Officials on Global Research Infrastructures (GSO-GRI), EU Ocean & Water Mission).