EMSEA Annual Conference 2026 comes to Barcelona, connecting Blue Education, citizen science and ocean literacy

• September 16, 2026

The European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA) Annual Conference 2026 will take place in Barcelona from 30 September to 2 October, hosted at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC). The conference will bring together +130 people from the international marine education community to exchange experiences, research and innovative approaches to ocean literacy and Blue Education.

ICM-CSIC will also contribute to the scientific programme. On Thursday, 1 October, Jaume Piera, researcher at ICM-CSIC and PI from WP2, will present the talk “Citizen Observatories: Innovative Learning Environments for Blue Education”, focusing on the potential of citizen observatories to create learning environments that connect education, citizen science and marine research.

The conference will be preceded on 29 September by a special local training event aimed particularly at teachers, education professionals, public administrations and organisations working in Blue Education. Hosted at the Centre de la Platja de Barcelona and ICM-CSIC, the programme will combine talks, participatory activities and workshops exploring how ocean literacy, citizen science and the ocean can be further integrated into education and public policy.

PHAROS supports this local initiative as part of its work to strengthen ocean literacy, citizen science and the Blue Schools Network, helping to connect educational communities with marine research and biodiversity observation.

For the third consecutive year, the EMSEA Annual Conference has been officially endorsed as a Decade Activity under the UN Ocean Decade for Sustainable Development.

More info: https://www.emseanet.eu/conferences/2026-barcelona-spain