The blue economy, which focuses on the preservation of marine resources as an engine of economic growth, is taking a central role in the fight for a more sustainable future. Experts from all over the world in the blue economy will meet from November 7 to 9 at the Tomorrow.Blue Economy show, the first international conference aimed at exploring the business opportunities and challenges offered by the oceans, which will take place within the framework of Smart City Expo World Congress (SCWC), at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Vía venue.
The emerging sector employs 3.34 million people in the European Union, according to the European Report on the Blue Economy 2023. In Barcelona, the latest data from Barcelona Activa from 2019 reveal that that year it employed 16,000 people in the city alone, without counting the Port of Barcelona, and generated about 4,000 million euros.
This meeting will serve to address proposals to mitigate the effects of climate change and pollution in the oceans, which include aspects as diverse as finance, offshore energy, water management, biodiversity, sustainable maritime transport, ports smart, recreational navigation, tourism and new professional careers in the blue economy sector. To this end, a wide range of experts, scientists, companies, startups and institutions will meet in Barcelona, who will discuss the importance of responsibly using ocean resources for economic growth. Interdisciplinarity and public-private collaboration will be fundamental axes in the analysis of these issues and in the application of possible solutions and innovations.
This initiative is part of Fira de Barcelona in collaboration with Barcelona City Council, the Port of Barcelona, the World Ocean Council (WOC – leading international business organization in sustainable maritime economy), and Smart Ports: Piers of the Future, an alliance of main ports that promote the digital and sustainable transformation of ports.
Precisely, the Barcelona port is planning the BlueTech Port on the Sant Bertrand dock, a space that wants to bring together startups that provide innovation in the blue economy, and which is provisionally located in the Pier-01 building of Tech Barcelona. “Now 47,000 people work in the Port and we want to increase them, but without expanding the port, but rather promoting technologically innovative projects related to the environment, providing solutions to maritime operations, attracting foreign and local companies that settle in and generate wealth. ”, explains the director of Innovation and business strategy of the Barcelona authority, Emma Cobos, who will speak at the congress.
With the presence of the main ports in the world, Tomorrow.Blue Economy “will serve to present solutions that can also be implemented in ports, in an exchange of experiences and businesses that provides wealth, jobs and innovation,” highlights the director of the congress and the SCWC, Ugo Valenti. Fira de Barcelona considers the city the best location to connect the maritime sector on an international scale and generate new business opportunities: “If we want to be the global hub of the blue economy, we have to host the reference event,” says Valenti.