Limassol Municipality and Frederick University’s Department of Maritime Transport and Commerce jointly organize the Blue Limassol Forum 2025, to be held on Thursday 15th May. The 5th edition of the Blue Limassol Forum will be hosted by DP World Limassol at the new Limassol Port.

EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, will deliver the keynote speech, leading the dialogue on coastal sustainability.

The Blue Limassol Forum is annually held by Frederick University and Limassol Municipality, with the aim to address key issues and initiatives related to the Blue Economy and Coastal Sustainability. This year's Blue Limassol Forum, titled “Ongoing Limassol Coastal Transformation: How can we establish an inclusive approach?” focuses on exploring ways to establish an inclusive approach for the coastal city's ongoing transformation. The challenge for coastal cities is balancing urban development with environmental sustainability, ensuring that growth benefits all citizens. This includes ensuring citizen inclusivity, where local communities actively participate in decision-making processes related to the development of their city.

The Mayor of Limassol, Mr Yiannis Armeftis, as well as Frederick University's Rector, Professor George Demosthenous, will address the Forum. Captain Eugen-Henning Adami, Chairman of Cyprus Foundation of the Sea (CyFoS), will moderate the Forum and the panel discussions.

Experts from academia and the shipping industry are invited to share their expertise during four presentations and two panel discussions. Professor Radu Vacareanu will present an “Inclusive Coastal Planning for a Sustainable Future”. Prof. Vacareanu is Chair of the Governing Board of EU-CONEXUS, the European University for smart urban coastal sustainability to which Frederick University is an active member. Carola Hein, Professor of History of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Technical University of Delft, will share her views on 'Green Mobility: integrating land and sea and connecting people to Blue Activities.” Dr Vittorio Torbianelli, Special Commissioner of the Port Network Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea, will discuss the challenge of energy transition in port cities while Dr Andreas Constantinides, Associate Professor at Frederick University's Department of Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Informatics, and Professor Dan Feldman, Head of the New Robotics & Big Data Labs at the University of Haifa, will present their research project on developing an e-platform and drones for risk assessment and marine pollution monitoring. The platform is developed in the framework of the EMMERA project, a cross-border collaboration between Frederick University, the University of Haifa, the University of Piraeus and the Cyprus Ports Authority.

Invited to discuss these issues along with the Forum presenters are Mr Prabhat Kumar Jha, Group Managing Director and CEO of MSC Shipmanagement Limited, Cyprus, Mr Alexandros Josephides, Director General of the Cyprus Chamber of Shipping, Maria Boile, Professor of Port and Terminal Policy and Management, Director of the MSc in Shipping and Director of the Quantitative Analysis in Shipping Laboratory, at the University of Piraeus, and Associate Professor Angelos Menelaou, Head of the Department of Maritime Transport and Commerce. Limassol's Mayor will offer the Forum's closing remarks.

Two key events will take place on the same day and place, to strengthen the Blue Limassol Forum’s goals:

• A Roundtable Discussion will bring together academics, industry leaders, government bodies, and research institutions from Cyprus and abroad, with the aim to focus on advancing inclusivity in Limassol’s coastal transformation.
• A Research and Innovation (R&I) and Career Fair Exhibition, organized by the Cyprus Foundation for the Sea (CyFoS), will highlight innovative research and projects driving a carbon-neutral, sustainable, and inclusive blue economy.

Furthermore, as part of this year’s Forum, a survey is conducted to understand citizen perceptions of Limassol’s ongoing transformation and explore collaborative solutions. Limassol citizens are encouraged to participate by completing the survey (in English or in Greek).

The Blue Limassol Forum presentations and discussions are conducted in English. Simultaneous translation into Greek will be provided.

Register to the event here. For more information, www.frederick.ac.cy and tel. 25730975.