WHAT'S ON

Smart Coast Project starts with Coastal Pilot visit in Piélagos

On 11–12 December, the Smart Coast project held its kick-off meeting in Piélagos (Santander, Spain). The two-day event focused on developing a common, replicable strategy for sustainable management of visitor flows. Through cooperation among Atlantic regions facing mass tourism, the project, led by Smart Groupement d'Intérêt Public Littoral en Nouvelle-Aquitaine, aims to improve understanding, management, and sustainable access to coastal areas.

‘Listening’ to the Atlantic using submarine fibre optic cables

On 20–21 November, the ATLAS project held its kick-off meeting, focusing on listening to Atlantic acoustics using submarine fibre optic cables. Led by PLOCAN, partners addressed technical and scientific planning to use seabed fibre optics as acoustic sensors to detect cetaceans, map underwater noise, improve geological risk alerts, and enhance biodiversity protection and maritime safety.

Project DIBEST recognised
at the Sun&Blue Awards

The DIBEST project, led by the Irish organisation Western Development Commission, has been recognised at the Sun&Blue Awards, achieving 3rd place in the category “Cooperation in the Blue Economy”. Promoted by Beon Agency under the framework of the Sun&Blue Congress in Almería, Spain, the Sun&Blue Awards aim to consolidate this event as a leading forum for the blue economy and coastal tourism.

Survey Points to Youth
as drivers of Blue Economy growth

As part of the ATLIC project, Institute for Methods Innovation conducted a transnational survey across Portugal, Spain, France, and Ireland, gathering 546 responses on the Blue Economy. The study highlights youth as a key yet underused asset, while identifying major challenges including climate risks, regulation, funding constraints, labour shortages, weak infrastructure, limited innovation support, and low public awareness.

Open Call for Youth Policy Dialogue

The European Commission is looking for young people (18-30) to take part in the 2026 edition of the Youth Policy Dialogue on ocean matters. The event will take place in Cyprus, on 19 March 2026, when 30 young people will have the unique opportunity to sit down with Commissioner Kadis and Commissioner Micallef to discuss the EU's ocean governance and policies. The focus will be on blue career opportunities, the future of fisheries and aquaculture, and the preservation of underwater cultural heritage.

New call to support transnational consortia of media organisations

The European Commission has launched a new call for proposals to support transnational consortia of media organisations. The aim is to foster media transformation, trustworthy reporting and skills for news media professionals, for instance by developing media production standards, new business models, new types of newsrooms and journalistic formats, sharing of best practices, etc. Each project will be granted a maximum of EUR 2 million.

EU launches new call to boost
communication on Cohesion Policy

The European Commission has launched a new call for proposals to support the production and dissemination of information and content linked to the EU Cohesion Policy. According to the call, “proposals can cover the transnational dimension of the policy, including, where appropriate, coverage of neighbouring non-EU members via Interreg programmes”. It is open to media outlets, universities, agencies and public/private bodies.

‍Joint Secretariat

js@atlanticarea.eu

Managing Authority 

ma@atlanticarea.eu