The 2nd "Blue Growth Leaders Academy" was organized by EU-CONEXUS, the European Universities alliance focused on Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability, where Frederick University is a member along with eight Universities in Europe. 

Highlighting the connection to citizens and public engagement for sustainable port development, the 2-day in-person workshop was hosted by the Catholic University of Valencia, Malta, from July 9–10, 2024. Around 20 participants from nine countries came together during this event, including professionals, members of the university community, and regional development representatives. The participants gathered to exchange best practices, establish synergies, and explore solutions for a more sustainable future. The highlight of the workshop was a challenge proposed by the Valencia Port Foundation and the Valencia Port Authority, partner companies of EU-CONEXUS. It invited the participants to propose solutions for building a better connection between the port and the citizens of the City of Valencia.

Carol Bailey, consultant at the Department of Maritime Transport and Commerce, and Maria Amvrosiou, R&I Projects Officer at the University's Research and Interconnection Service, attended the Blue Growth Leaders Academy on behalf of our University. Both Bailey and Amvrosiou are members of the organizing committee of the Blue Limassol Forum, held annually at Frederick University.  

Following the kick-off of the “Blue Growth Leaders Academy” at the Catholic University of Valencia, participants joined an excursion to the port of Valencia, Spain’s leading port in terms of commercial traffic. Here, the Valencia Port Foundation and the Valencia Port Authority introduced the port and presented the impressive 2030 Net Zero Emissions Goals. Before commencing the tour of the port, the guests were presented with a group challenge: “How to improve, integrate and increase visibility and create a connection between the port and the city?”.

During the second day of the event, the international teams exchanged best practices from Athens, Limassol, Rostock and other port cities, and brainstormed solutions on how to increase citizen engagement for a more sustainable future. All presentations highlighted the importance of co-creating and engaging the public in finding sustainable solutions. A variety of public events, including food and music festivals, were proposed to create a connection between the often abstract port activities and the citizens of Valencia.

In addition, the participants shared their insights on how their sector benefits from international alliances, such as EU-CONEXUS:

“The session was a great opportunity for UCV, EU-CONEXUS and Autoridad Portuaria to cooperate and work towards achieving growth in the Blue Economy” commented Maravillas Sanchez-Barcaztegui Alvarez, strategic innovation and control officer at the Port Authority of Valencia. 

“I enjoyed the session! It was very inspiring!” said Eleftherios Papakonstantinou, Head of Quality Control at Piraeus Port Authority. 

The “Blue Growth Academy” leaders, who received training in sustainability for ports and cities, were guided by Vaidas Levickis, program director and partner for Human Resources and Organisational Development based in Lithuania. “Once again, we could see that creating change in the blue growth industry is a collaborative mission of transformational leaders who must excel in multidisciplinary problem solving to avoid falling into the trap of greenwashing,” he noted.

“Thank you for the pan-European expertise we assembled and made good use of”, said Michael Fengler, Head of the Regional Planning Association Greater Rostock. 

Blue Growth Leaders Academy is a EU-CONEXUS initiative that aims to transfer academic experiences and knowledge to companies and decision makers in ports and urban development industries. The goal of this “Academy of Leaders for Sustainable Growth” is to create change leaders for urban coastal sustainability with a focus on port areas and urban cities. In the second edition of this academy, 25 representatives of companies from the cities of the EU-CONEXUS alliance participated in training sessions alongside specialists from multiple industries under the umbrella of “blue economy,” including but not limited to aquaculture and fisheries, digitisation, green energy, smart cities, and sustainable tourism. It culminated with an in-person session, which took place in Valencia and allowed the participants to share their ideas for applying the learnings in practice.