9:00 – 9:10 AM: Opening

9:10-10:10 AM: From Nice to Bizerte, a symbolic handover between the two
shores of the Mediterranean.

10:10-11:10 AM:

🔹 Presentation of the Starfish Barometer (20 min)
🔹Presentation of the European Pact (20 min)
🔹Presentation of the Alliance of Coastal Regions and Cities
● Representative of the Nice Region:
● Représentant de la Tunisie

11:10 AM – 11:30 AM: Coffee Break

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
🔹 European Programme, Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters (30 min)
Presentation of the Blue Mission Med project outputs.

🔹 Marine Pollution (20 min)
MedWaves Workshop – ML Med Plus Project
Regional solutions against marine and plastic pollution.

🔹 SMILO: Testimony from the Implementation of the Programme in Tunisia (20 min)
Governance, sustainable management, and resilience of small islands.

🔹 GALPA Project: Presentation (20 min)

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Free lunch

2:30 PM – 4:00 PM: Regenerative Blue Economy

🔹 Startups and Youth: Presentation of the Hackathon Winners – Esprit Tunisia (30 min)
Theme: Blue innovation and youth entrepreneurship.

🔹 Experience Sharing from Cyprus (30 min)
Presentation of an innovative island project led by the Cypriot delegation.

🔹 Blue Economy: Ports, Banking, Private Sector… (30 min)

4:00 PM – 4:45 PM: Women Actions for the Ocean

🎬 Screening of the documentary “WAO – Women Actions for the Ocean” (45 min)
An inspiring moment highlighting women’s commitment to the ocean.

4:45 PM – 5:00 PM: Partnership for Conservation of Seagrass Meadows
Signing of the Partnership between France and Tunisia for the Conservation of the “Posidonia” Seagrass Meadows: WWF North Africa, the AFD, and the Tunisian Ministry of Environment.

5:00 PM – 5:15 PM: Drafting of Conclusions and Recommendations

5:15 PM – 5:30 PM: Presentation of the Summary of the Forum Mondial de
la Mer Bizerte

Saturday, 13 September

Boat trip – location and schedule to be specified later.

8:00-8:30 am: Welcome

8:30-9:15 am : Opening and presentation of the implementation of the European Union Mission “Restoring our Ocean and Waters, by 2030 in the Mediterranean region and beyond”

• Welcome by Rym Benzina, President of La Saison Bleue

• Pascal Lamy, President of the Forum Mondial de la Mer – Bizerte

• Karim Amellal, Ambassador, Interministerial Delegate for the Mediterranean, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs

• Elisabetta Balzi, Head of “Ocean, Seas and Waters” Unit, European Commission

• Review of previous years’ conclusions and the Mediterranean exchanges by Gauthier Carle, Head of Advocacy, Plateforme Océan & Climat

• Fedra Francocci, Researcher at the National Research Council, Institute for the Study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in the Marine Environment, Italy

• Geneviève Pons, DG of Europe Jacques Delors. 

• Guillaume Sainteny, Chairman of Plan Bleu

9:15-11:45 am : Preservation of marine ecosystems: Sustainable solutions for a blue future

9:15-10:30 am : What are the challenges and solutions for restoring Biodiversity of the Mediterranean?

• Bechir Béjaoui, Research Professor at National Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Tunisia

• Giuseppe Di Carlo, Directeur, Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy

• Fedra Francocci, Researcher at the National Research Council, Institute for the Study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in the Marine Environment, Italy

• Mahmoud Elyes Hamza, Director de SPA/RAC

• Clément Lavigne, Director of Ocean Policy at the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, Albert 1st Prince of Monaco Foundation

• Maher Mahjoub, Director, IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation

• Shweta Naik, IOC Member, Ocean Literacy Group of Experts (GoE), India

• Patricia Ricard, President, Institut Océanographique Paul Ricard

• Rania Mechergui, Researcher in Biodiversity Conservation at the National Institute of Rural Engineering, Water, and Forests (INRGREF Tunisia)

10:30-11:00 am : How to address pollution in the Mediterranean?

10h30-11h  : Grand Ocean vs. Mediterranean: From Cherbourg to Bizerte, are the battles the same? (Duplex with guests from Grand Ocean, Cherbourg)

Animation : 

Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Ambassador for Ocean and Poles, special envoy of the French President for the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference

11h – 11h50 am: What science for the Ocean?

• Opening by Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of the IOC, with the rank of Assistant Director-General of UNESCO

Speakers: 

• Ward Appeltans, Program Specialist, in charge of the IOC Ocean Biodiversity Information System

   

• Pierre Bahurel, Managing Director, Mercator Ocean International

• Mehdi Ben Haj, Interim Director General at the Coastal Protection and Development Agency

• Jean Pierre Gattuso, CNRS Research Director, online

• Amel Hamza, Professor at the University of Sfax and Member of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences-Beit al Hikma

• Marina Lévy, IRD Oceans Advisor

• Geneviève Pons, DG of Europe Jacques Delors. 

• Francesco Petracchini, Director of the Department of Earth System Science and Environmental Technologies, National Research Council

   

• Andreea Strachinescu Olteanu, Head of European Union Unit, European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries 

11:50 – 1:00 pm: Drivers for a sustainable, regenerative blue economy

• Opening by Elyès Ben Rayana, General Manager, Value Tunisia

12:00 – 12h20 am: Fisheries and aquaculture: presentation of challenges and innovative solutions

12:00 – 12:05 am: Key Speaker : 

•  Miguel Bernal,  Executive Secretary, General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean – FAO, pre-recorded video.

Speakers: 

• Lobna Ben Nakhla, Species Conservation Program Manager, SPA/RAC

• Mounir Boulkout, Managing Director, SELT Marine Group

• Othman Jarboui, Program Coordinator of MedSea4Fish

• Mohamed Ben Ahmed, CEO AQUADEEP
  
  

• Stefania Campogianni, Regional Project Manager for Plastic Pollution, Mediterranean Marine Initiative, WWF

12:20 – 12:40 am: Challenges and innovation in maritime and port transport

• Opening by Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), online

Speakers:

• Sarah Amri, Director of Finance and member of the Management Board, Port of Marseille FOS

• Slim Bouakez, Business Manager of  WaterSec
  
  

• Beladjine Boumediene, Company Coordinator at the Laboratory of Maritime and Environmental Engineering (LSIM)

• Salem Miladi, Blue Economy Expert at Ecorys and European Commission

12:40 – 01:00 pm: Sustainable tourism: presentation of challenges and innovative solutions

Speakers:

• Margherita Cappelletto, Coordinator of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, Ministry of University and Research TBC

• Manel Ben Ismail, Responsable of Alliances de Destination, Tunisie

• Ahmed Ayadi, Co-Founder & Project Manager at Tuniboat 

• Claire Richard, Coordinator BeMed

• Anis Zarrouk, President, Yachting Club Association, Port Director, Marina Gammarth

2:30 pm – 4:30 pm: High-Level Segment, key witnesses, and distinguished speakers

2:30 – 4:00 pm: From Bizerte to Nice: how to address the Mediterranean at UNOC3, Nice 2025? Preparations for the Mediterranean Day (June 10, 2025)

Speakers:

• Mehdi Ben Haj, Interim Director General at the Coastal Protection and Development Agency
• Richard Brisius, CEO The Ocean Race

• Sieglinde Gruber, Senior Advisor to the European Commission

• Pascal Lamy, President of the Bizerte Forum

• Rémi Parmentier, President, The Varda Group

• Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Ambassador for Poles and Maritime Issues, MEAE, Special Envoy of the French President for the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference
  

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM: Opening

• Welcome by Rym Benzina, President of The Blue Season
• 2023, A Year Unlike Any Other” by Pascal Lamy, President of the Bizerte Forum
• Review of the Bizerte Declaration 2022 and Future Prospects by Gautier Carle, Advocacy Manager, Ocean and Climate Platform.
• Emmanuelle Lachaussée, Deputy Director Climate & Environment, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France

9:30 AM – 1:00 PM: The Ocean 2050 as we envision it the Future

The Ocean has never held such a high place on the global political agenda. In just a year, significant progress has been made in biodiversity protection, High Seas governance, combating plastic pollution, and regulating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. However, these advancements reveal the need to go further and faster. Urgencies and future threats require more than goodwill, complex treaties, and a lack of a virtuous economic and financial dynamic. The Ocean needs effective and responsive instruments, a mobilizing and pragmatic agenda, and meeting clauses.

2050 is a long way off, but it is also the horizon that allows us to evaluate risks, opportunities, and consequences for ecosystems and populations, to build these new instruments:

• A scientific assessment dedicated to decision-making.
• A fresh mobilization of economic and financial actors for equitable development
• True co-construction with sea users and citizens.

Moderator: Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Ambassador for Ocean and Polar Affairs, Special Envoy of the President of the Republic for the United Nations Ocean Conference.

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: What Do Scientists Tell Us About Ocean Boiling?

• Opening by Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO.

Speakers:

• Béchir Bejaoui, Researcher at the National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies, Tunisia
• Joachim Claudet, Research Director and Ocean Advisor at CNRS
• Amel Hamza-Chaffai, Professor at the University of Sfax and Member of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences-Beit al Hikma
• François Houllier, CEO of IFREMER
• Marina Lévy, Oceanography Research Director, Deputy Director of the Ocean Department at IRD

10:30 AM – 11:40 AM: Geopolitics of the Ocean: Scenarios for 2050

• Opening by Tiago Pitta e Cunha, Chief Executive Officer of the Oceano Azul Foundation, Lisbon.

Speakers:

• Pierre Bahurel, Chief Executive Officer of Mercator Ocean International
• Elyes Ben Rayana, Chief Executive Officer of Value
• Gilles Kleitz, Executive Director of Sustainable Development, French Development Agency
• Clément Lavigne, Director of Ocean Policy, Oceanographic Institute, Albert 1st Foundation, Monaco
• Mikaa Mered, Lecturer in Hydrogen Geopolitics and Overseas Geopolitics, Sciences Po / Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco
• Patricia Ricard, President of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute
• Julia Tasse, Co-director of the Defense & Climate Observatory, Research Director at IRIS
• Thomas Puga, Commander, French Navy.

11:40 AM – 12:00 PM: Live Duplex from Marseille with the 6th Edition of “Méditerranée du Futur.”

Speakers:

• Renaud Muselier, President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region
• Karim Amellal, Ambassador, Interministerial Delegate for the Mediterranean
• Nasser Kamel, Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean
• Discussion with participants from the Bizerte Sea Forum.

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM: Europe and the Ocean: The 2050 Agenda

Speakers:

• Catherine Chabaud, Navigator, Member of the European Parliament, Brussels
• Sieglinde Gruber, Senior Advisor for the European Commission
• Claudia Pecoraro, Policy Officer, European Commission-Healthy Oceans & Seas Unit, DG Research & Innovation
• Geneviève Pons, Director General, Vice President, Jacques Delors Institute Europe, Brussels

Discussions.

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM: Live Duplex from the United Nations, New York, for the Conclusions of the Climate Action Summit

Speaker:

• Ashok Adicéam, International Affairs and Negotiations Manager for the United Nations Ocean Conference, Special Envoy

Discussions and Morning Conclusions.

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Lunch at Nour Hotel.

2:00 PM – 6:00 PM: The Mediterranean: A Sea in Boil?

• Opening by Almotaz Abadi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean.

   The summer of 2023 was the hottest ever recorded in the Mediterranean, with an average sea temperature reaching 28.4°C in July, surpassing the previous record by 0.15°C. This rapid warming of the sea’s surface is due to natural factors such as lack of wind and clouds, with immediate impacts on populations and marine biodiversity in countries like Italy, Greece, Turkey, Algeria, and Tunisia. Corals, gorgonians, sea urchins, and mollusks are suffering from these extreme temperatures, threatening some local species. Furthermore, extreme weather events, drought, and rising sea levels pose risks to populations, agriculture, food security, and natural heritage in the Mediterranean region. A 2019 report indicated that more than half of the world’s cities most exposed to rising sea levels are in the Mediterranean.

   Is the Mediterranean, considered the most threatened basin by global warming and the most polluted sea, now the hot spot of the climate crisis?

Moderator: Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Ambassador for Ocean and Polar Affairs, Special Envoy of the President of the Republic for the United Nations Ocean Conference.

2:15 PM – 3:45 PM: Barcelona: 50 Years and Beyond?

• Opening by Tatjana Hema, Coordinator of the Action Plan for the Mediterranean (PAM) – United Nations Program.

Speakers:

• Giulia Antidormi, The Coalition of Mayors for Mission Ocean
• Khadija Amine, Sustainable Development and foresight Manager, Plan Bleu
• Romy Hentinger, Director of Advocacy and International Cooperation, Tara Ocean Foundation
• Rémi Parmentier, President of the Varda Group, Madrid
• Josep Canals, Secretary General, MedCities
• Jamel Jrijer, Director of WWF North Africa
• Salem Miladi, Expert in Blue Economy, Westmed.

3:45 PM – 5:15 PM: Mediterranean Projects: Experiences and Testimonies

• Opening by Mehdi Ben Haj, Interim Director of the Coastal Protection and Development Agency, Tunisia.

Speakers:

• Mehdi Aissi, Marine Program Manager, WWF, Tunis
• Martial Bardolet, Head of Posidonia Seagrass Monitoring Service, Balearic Islands
• Borhène Daoudi, Architect – Smart & Resilient Cities Coordinator, Mediterranean Development Director – Setec International
• Imed Hamdi, Head of growth
• Ahmed Ghedira, President, Notre Grand Bleu Association, Monastir
• Vesna Kuralt, Project Manager, REMEDIS
• Mohamed Ali Marouani, Representative of IRD-CIRAD, Tunisia
• Bernard Mossé, Head of Education, Training, and Research, Neede, Marseille
• Lina Silveira, Project Manager, REMEDIS
• Christina Zeri, Blue Mission Med project.

5:15 PM – 6:00 PM: Drafting of Conclusions and Recommendations.

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Presentation of Conclusions and Recommendations in the presence of the Tunisian Minister of the Environment, Leïla Chikhaoui, and other guests.

8:30 PM: Dinner at Café le Pacha and “Fêtes de la Mer” Evening, Old Port of Bizerte (transfer from Nour Hotel at 8:20 PM).

8:30: « 2050, welcome, opening forum, presentation of the exercice and “Ocean 2050?” survey results»

Rym Benzina, Chairwoman of La Saison Bleue

Pascal Lamy, President of the Forum Mondial de la Mer-Bizerte

Gauthier Carle, Advocacy Officer of mission POC (Ocean & Climate Platform) (surveyresults presentation)

9:00-10:15 – PANEL 1: « 2050, governance, geopolitics, security ? »

Yann Briand, Head of the Strategy and Policy Office, Office of the Chief of Staff of the French Navy

Catherine Chabaud, Initiator of the appeal for the Ocean as a common good for humanity, sailor, member of the European Parliament Renew Europe (Renaissance list)

Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Ambassador for the poles and maritime issues, Special Envoy of the Presidency of the Republic

Julia Tasse, Researcher, head of the Climate, Energy, Security program at IRIS

10:15-11:30 – PANEL 2:« 2050, climate, biodiversity, effects of populations ?»

Joachim Claudet, Director of Research, CNRS

Rémi Parmentier, President-The Varda Group

Geneviève Pons, Vice Chair, “Europe Jacques Delors” Institute

Romain Troublé, President of the Ocean & Climate Platform, Director General Manager of the Tara Ocean Foundation

Coffee break from 11:30 to 11:45 a.m