Hydrospatial Infrastructure and Blue Economy Summit Theme: Hydrospatial Infrastructure Enabling Integrated Ocean Knowledge Solutions

15-16 May 2024

Agenda

0930 - 1130 Session 1: Blue Economy - Unlocking Ocean of Opportunities for a Prosperous and Sustainable Future

Session Highlight

  • What is blue economy, and how can it unlock ocean as the next great economic frontier?
  • Opportunities for innovation, economic growth, and employment in the blue economy.
  • Contribution of blue economy to sustainable development.
  • Stakeholder ecosystem of the blue economy and demand for ocean knowledge.
  • Future of hydrography and oceanography to meet evolving demands of blue economy stakeholders.

Moderator

Denis Hains

President & CEO
H2i
Canada

Keynote

John Nyberg

Director
IHO
Monaco

Claire Jolly

Head of Unit - STI Ocean Economy Group, Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation
OECD
France

Robert Hoddenbach

Global Director, Climate & Nature Markets
Fugro
The Netherlands

Lisa Simone de Grunt

Director of Programmes
World Ocean Council
USA

Tina Silovic

Market Development Officer
Mercator Ocean International
France

1130 - 1230 Visit to Exhibition & Tea/Coffee Break
Visit to Exhibition & Tea/Coffee Break | Sponsored by : Marble Imaging
1230 - 1330 Lunch
1330 - 1500 Session 2: Roadmap for Blue Economy Development: Global, Regional, and National Strategies and Initiatives

Session Highlight

  • National-level strategies, blueprints, action plans, and initiatives for blue economy development - best practices.
  • Global frameworks for ocean knowledge and hydrospatial information to support blue economy.
  • Integration of ocean knowledge and hydrospatial information in blue economy strategies and frameworks.
  • Blue economy frameworks and strategies spurring innovation and growth of industry to meet rising demand for ocean knowledge.

Moderator

Clinton Heimann

Deputy Director General Spatial Planning and Land Use Management
National Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development
South Africa

Evert Flier

International Coordinator
Norwegian Mapping Authority
Norway

TNC Karthik

Scientist
INCOIS
India

Eng. Zeyad Ashanqity

Manager of Installing Tide Gauge Stations
GEOSA
Saudi Arabia

Katherine Cooke

Senior Technical Policy and Sustainability Consultant
Oxford Policy Management
UK

Amar Nayegandhi, CP, CMS, GISP

SVP
Dewberry
USA

1500 - 1600 Tea/Coffee Break & Visit to Exhibition
1600 - 1730 Session 3: Integrated Approach to Ocean Knowledge in the Blue Economy

Session Highlight

  • Enhancing interoperability of hydrospatial datasets.
  • Integration of marine and terrestrial geospatial infrastructures.
  • Unlocking private sector ocean data - data sharing and integration opportunities.
  • Integration of hydrospatial information with wider digital information ecosystems.
  • Business and collaboration models for integrated ocean knowledge solutions.

Moderator

David Vincentelli

President
IFHS
France

Steve Hall

Head of Partnerships
Seabed 2030
UK

Kate Larkin

Head of EMODnet Secretariat
EMODnet
Belgium

Laurence Janssens

COO
Hub Ocean
Belgium

Christian Thellufsen

Senior Consultant
Danish Geodata Agency
Denmark

1000 - 1130 Session 4: Technology Innovation Enabling Transition to Demand-driven Ocean Knowledge Solutions

Session Highlight

  • Technology trends and directions in hydrospatial data collection, maintenance, knowledge creation, and dissemination.
  • Adoption of frontier technology for ocean knowledge creation, and its integration with hydrospatial technologies and information.
  • Demand drivers supporting technology innovation and transition to demand-driven ocean knowledge solutions.
  • Blue economy business opportunities associated with technology innovation, and its impact.
  • Digital twins of the ocean enhancing decision-making and governance.

Moderator

Leendert Dorst

Deputy Hydrographer
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Netherlands

Hannah Brocke

CSO
PlanBlue
Germany

Brian Connon

Vice President-Ocean Mapping
Saildrone Inc
USA

Ed Cesare

Venture Partner
SeaAhead
USA

David Vincentelli

President
IFHS
France

1130 - 1200 Networking Break
1200 - 1300 Session 5: Enhancing Access to Ocean Knowledge and Impact of Blue Economy

Session Highlight

  • Ocean knowledge impact on ocean wealth, health, equity, and finance.
  • Digital ecosystem enhancing availability and access to hydrospatial information.
  • Capacity development of users across domains to enhance impact of ocean knowledge and blue economy.

Moderator

Hermen Westerbeeke

Director
The Daria Group
Germany

Meghna Sengupta

Postdoctoral Researcher
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)
Germany

Anzhelika Kamza

Geoscientific System & Data Specialist I
RioTinto Exploration
Kazakhstan

Edward Steele

Science Manager
Met Office
UK

Liam Murray

Global Business Lead-Geospatial Information Systems
Global Maritime
UK

1300 - 1400 Lunch
1400 - 1500 Session 6: Recommendations & Way Forward

Session Highlight

  • Learnings from the summit.
  • Hydrospatial infrastructure at global and national levels - state of play.
  • Way forward and recommendations for developing a hydrospatial infrastructure to enhance access and impact of ocean knowledge in blue economy.

Moderator

Ruban Jacob

Associate Director - GKI
Geospatial World
India

Denis Hains

President & CEO
H2i
Canada

Leendert Dorst

Deputy Hydrographer
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Netherlands

Hermen Westerbeeke

Director
The Daria Group
Germany

Clinton Heimann

Deputy Director General Spatial Planning and Land Use Management
National Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development
South Africa

David Vincentelli

President
IFHS
France

Overview

The world’s ocean economy is worth between USD 3 trillion and USD 6 trillion, as per UNCTAD’s Trade and Environment Review, and offers vast opportunities for developing countries to build resilience. In addition to conventional ocean-based sectors like fisheries, ports and shipping, coastal and marine tourism, etc., countries around the world are exploring new avenues for growth, including ocean-based renewable energy, deep sea exploration, underwater infrastructure, etc. This necessitates the development of a blue economy which strikes the right balance between benefitting from the ocean, and protecting its resources.

The development of blue economy raises the need for evolution of the domain of hydrography and oceanography, and its stakeholders. Hydrospatial or marine geospatial information is crucial for all activities under the umbrella of blue economy, and beyond. The development of hydrospatial infrastructures which encompass policies, technology, data, collaborations, standards, and other components for the holistic development of marine geospatial ecosystem, is imperative for this integration.

The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development aims to generate qualitative and quantitative ocean knowledge to inform the development of solutions which can help in achieving its vision of ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. The development of holistic hydrospatial infrastructures considering the evolving use cases and demand will support innovation, and aid in the generation of knowledge and the development of solutions for equitable and sustainable development of the blue economy under changing environmental, social and climate conditions.

Missed the Abstract Submission Deadline? No Worries! It's not too late to be a part of this transformative event. Reach out to us at papers@geospatialworldforum.org.

TARGET SEGMENTS

National hydrographic agencies
National geospatial agencies
Multilateral agencies
Geospatial technology providers
IT industry
Hydrographic associations
Standards organizations
Port authorities
Fishery industry
Renewable energy industry
Maritime industry
Infrastructure and utility companies
Raw material extraction industry, etc.