Joint meeting of IOCCP Scientific Steering Group & Surface Ocean CO2 Monitoring Network planning team
2021-11-25 | Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot Poland, Sopot, Poland
On 25 November, the Surface Ocean CO2 Monitoring Network planning team will hold a joint meeting with the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP) scientific steering group. The meeting will discuss the way forward with establishing a strategy writing team and planning an international workshop to develop the strategy and an initial International Mission Team to take the work of developing the global network forward.
By invitation only.
Meeting hosts: IOCCP; Contact for G7 FSOI activity: Richard Sanders (EU ICOS-Ocean and IOCCP) and Maria Hood (EU G7 FSOI Coordination Centre)
This meeting will follow the 16th Session of the IOCCP Scientific Steering Group meeting & GOOS Biochemistry Panel which will take place from 22 to 24 November 2021.
Context and G7 FSOI support to IOCCP on surface ocean CO2 monitoring
The IOCCP, which acts as the GOOS Biogeochemistry Panel, is working to develop an internationally-agreed strategy for Surface Ocean CO2 Monitoring, a priority of the G7 FSOI. This IOCCP-led activity carried out with G7 FSOI support will work to catalyse and facilitate the development of global strategy for monitoring surface ocean CO2, which is needed to guide coordinated joint investment by governments to implement the global surface ocean CO2 monitoring network, building on existing observing programmes, data management structures and coordination bodies where possible.

Useful links:

G7 FSOI support to IOCCP project, which acts as GOOS Biochemistry Panel on developing a global ocean carbon monitoring strategy and network
News article: International scientists signal missing ocean data in global climate policy

G7 Ocean Decade Navigation Plan Workshop
2021-12-09 | Online
The workshop will take place virtually, hosted by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to discuss:

possible cooperative structures for the G7 to use to implement the G7 Ocean Decade Navigation Plan and contribute to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development,
best practice regarding international collaboration with a range of partners, and
how the G7 can identify priorities to translate to actionable initiatives.

The group will focus on three spotlight priorities: Global Ocean Indicator Framework, Digital Twin Oceans, and Net-Zero Oceanographic Capability.
Useful links:

G7 adopt UN Ocean Decade Navigation Plan
Communiqué from G7 Climate & Environment Ministerial May 2021
G7 FSOI support to developing a Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Ocean Capability (Resource Strategy Group)
G7FSOI support to GOOS on developing a Global Ocean Monitoring Indicators Framework for Assessments and Observing System Evaluation
G7 FSOI support to enabling Digital Twin Ocean Capability (Resource Strategy Group)

Engaging early career ocean professionals in the UN Ocean Decade
2022-01-19 12:00 - 13:30 UTC | Online
Online workshop to learn more about global ocean activities and involvement opportunities for Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPS) in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021 – 2030). This event is organised by the UK Government, IOC-UNESCO and the ECOP Programme.
For agenda and more information, click here.
Useful links

G7 FSOI and the Ocean Decade
UN Ocean Decade website

G7 FSOI Resource Strategy Group meeting for global Biogeochemical Argo Array
2022-03-28 - 2022-03-29 | Online
The first meeting of the G7 FSOI Resource Strategy Group (RSG) for Biogeochemical Argo Array 2030 will take place online from 28 to 29 March 2022, bringing together representatives from the G7 member states (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA and the European Commission). Hosted by the European coordinator of the G7 FSOI Coordination Centre, the meeting serves to share information between the G7 members and the International Mission Team on implementation progress and funding commitments for the global BGC Argo Array. It will also review scientific, technical and logistical challenges and identify priorities for coordinated G7 investment or joint activities.
The G7 FSOI RSG works to support the development of a sustained Global Biogeochemical Argo Array by encouraging and facilitating G7 commitment for the implementation of the full-1000 float Array by 2030. This activity contributes to G7 FSOI Action Areas 1, 3, and 4.
For more information on the G7 FSOI Resource Strategy Group on BGC Argo, click here.

Net Zero Oceanographic Capability Virtual Webinar
2022-03-29 12:00 - 13:00 (Europe/Paris) | Online
This webinar aims to share learning outcomes of the UK Net Zero Oceanographic Capability (NZOC) project and explore opportunities for international collaboration, including through relevant international initiatives such as the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO) and the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas.
During the UK G7 Presidency 2021, a G7 Ocean Decade Navigation Plan was agreed, which highlighted the development of Net Zero Ocean Capability as a key priority for coordinated action.
For more information and to register, click here.
To access the NZOC project summary report, click here.
Useful links

G7 FSOI Resource Strategy Group on Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Ocean Capability

International Digital Twins of the Ocean Summit 2022
2022-05-04 08:00 - 2022-05-05 17:00 UTC
Building on the outcomes of the UK G7 Presidency 2021, the UK Government will host an International Digital Twins of the Ocean Summit in London, led by the Digital Twins of the Ocean (DITTO) programme of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, with support from the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (G7 FSOI). The Summit will be an in-person high-level event with live stream Q&A, and will include a programme of virtual satellite events hosted by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany.
For more information, the agenda and to register, click here to go to the event page.
For information on the G7 FSOI Resource Strategy Group on Enabling Digital Twin Ocean Capability, click here.

UN Ocean Conference 2022: Ocean and Coastal Observation and Monitoring at scale
2022-07-01 16:00 - 17:30 (Europe/Lisbon) | Altice Arena, Side Event Room 2, Lisbon, Portugal
The UN Ocean Conference 2022 will focus on Scaling up Ocean Action Based on Science and Innovation for the Implementation of Goal 14: Stocktaking, Partnerships and Solutions. Building on the first Ocean Conference held in 2017, this year’s edition will take place from 27 June to 1 July in Lisbon, Portugal. Formore information, visit the Conference website: https://www.un.org/en/conferences/ocean2022.
The G7 FSOI, UNEP, IOC-UNESCO, and GOOS are hosting a side event at the UN Ocean Conference 2022 entitled “Ocean and Coastal Observation and Monitoring at scale: Co-Designing the value chain from data to impact through a partnership approach“, emphasizing the importance of partnerships and easily accessible and relevant data for coastal and marine resource management, policy setting and decision-making. The event will take place at the Altice Arena in Lisbon on Friday, 1 July from 16h00 to 17h15 GMT+1 (Official UN Ocean Conference accreditation is required).
To see the full list of of official side events, click here.

GOOS Dialogues with Industry
2022-09-14 | Online
The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the Marine Technology Society (MTS), NOAA, and industry partners launched a new Ocean Decade action – a forum for compact and meaningful dialogue with new and established companies, academia, and government.
The Dialogues will take place over a series of workshops focused on the following four topics:

14 Sept – Instrument provision: Supply and development of sensors and platforms
13 Oct – Multi-sectoral ocean architecture: Integrating new observing networks and business models
9 Nov – User driven ocean information services: Core and downstream services
7 Dec – Looking ahead: New technology for the Ocean Decade

Each dialogue will be carried out in a format of a 3-hour moderated discussion, open to about 25 participants from both the public and private sectors, representing specific disciplines for each session.
To access the background paper, click here.
For more information and to register for a session, click here.

G7 FSOI Working Group Meeting 2022
2022-11-29 - 2022-11-30 | Berlin, Germany
The G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative (FSOI) will hold its next working group meeting in Berlin from 29 to 30 November 2022. The first day will discuss the ocean-climate climate biodiversity nexus with sessions on progress and new findings related to Digital Twins of the Ocean, new frontiers of ocean observation and a tour de table from G7 FSOI national focal points.
Day 2 will focus on the scoping exercise to examine the ways and means of expanding the G7 FSOI mandate to include priorities of the G7 Ocean Decade Navigation Plan.
Organised and hosted by the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), day 2 will be implemented by the EU and UK offices of the FSOI Coordination Centre, with meetings held at the Japanese-German Centre in Berlin in honor of the upcoming Japanese presidency of the G7 in 2023.
Click on the links below to see:

Day 1 meeting agenda | 29 Nov 2022
Day 2 meeting agenda | 30 Nov 2022

IOC UNESCO Integrated Ocean Carbon Research Workshop
2023-05-03 - 2023-05-05 | Brussels, Belgium
The IOC UNESCO working group Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R) workshop will take place from 3 to 5 May 2023 in Brussels, Belgium. The workshop is co-sponsored by IOC UNESCO, the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative, Ocean Decade Programme Ocean Negative Carbon Emission (ONCE) and hosted by the European Commission and its EU4OceanObs action. Besides IOC UNESCO, IOC-R is supported by the Integrated Marine Biosphere Research Project (IMBeR), the Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS), the Climate and Ocean Variability, Predictability and Change project (CLIVAR), the Global Carbon Project and International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP).
Established in 2018, the IOC Expert Working Group of the Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R) aims at filling knowledge gaps in relation to ocean inorganic carbon by designing and promoting the implementation of a new generation of integrated ocean carbon research.
The workshop has the following objectives:

Review the IOC-R vision document and identify areas requiring an update,
Identify a subset of emerging issues/knowledge gaps and/or areas to focus on in light of existing activities and articulate these in an updated vision document and other communications,
Structure the revised vision document and identify key messages,
Identify key actions in the field of ocean observation and research to fill the identified gaps in ocean carbon research
Identify section lead authors and contributors,
Produce a roadmap / timeline of activities.

G7 Science and Technology Ministerial 2023
2023-05-12 - 2023-05-14 | Sendai, Japan
The G7 Science and Technology Ministers’ Meeting will take place from 12 to 14 May 2023 in Sendai, Japan. Topics of discussion will include, strengthening scientific and technological cooperation to solve global issues (such as environmental, food, and energy problems), including ocean actions and committments.
For more information visit the meeting website: https://en.g7sendai.jp/

32nd session of the IOC Assembly
2023-06-22 | Paris, France
The 32nd session of the IOC Assembly will take place from 21-30 June 2023 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The IOC Assembly meets once per biennium with the purpose to review the work of the Commission, including the work of the Member States and the Secretariat, and formulate a common work plan for the coming two years.
For more information, click here.
IOC UNESCO Ocean Science Day | 22 June
A traditional part of the Assemblies of the IOC UNESCO is the Ocean Science Day, which brings together panels, lectures and discussions on emerging issues that require international collaboration in marine science and technology. It also highlights priorities for new ocean science and technologies to benefit society and explores the role of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in catalyzing innovative and transformative ocean science and knowledge for sustainable development.
This full-day session, which is open to Assembly delegates and publicly livestreamed, provides an opportunity to showcase the relevance of ocean science for the sustainability of our planet and to engage both the scientific community and national decision-makers in cross-cutting thematic discussions.

Panel Discussion on Key Challenges for Ocean-Climate Science
This session will allow to illustrate the importance of integrated Ocean Carbon Research, which aims at filling knowledge gaps in relation to ocean carbon by designing and promoting the implementation of a new generation of integrated ocean carbon research. The segment includes panelists and partner presentations, including a presentation from the G7 FSOI Coordination Centre, around the major themes, which urgently need to be addressed to understand the ocean carbon cycle, and the ocean’s role in the regulation of our climate.
To see the Ocean Science Day full programme, click here.

Arctic Science Summit Week 2024
2024-03-21 - 2024-03-29 | Edinburgh, Scotland
The Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) is organised annually by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) to provide opportunities for coordination, cooperation and collaboration between the various scientific organisations involved in Arctic research. It was initiated by the IASC in 1999 and has evolved into the most important annual gathering of the Arctic research organisation. For more information, visit https://www.assw.info/.
During the week, the Arctic Observing Summit will be held from 27 to 29 March 2024. For more information, click here: https://arcticobservingsummit.org/summits/aos-2024/.

G7 Science and Technology Ministerial 2024
2024-07-09 - 2024-07-11 | BOLOGNA AND FORLÌ
The Science and Technology Ministers of the Group of Seven, including the European Union, will convene from 9 to 11 July 2024 in Bolognia and Forlì, Italy.
For more information, visit: https://www.g7italy.it/en/

G7 FSOI Workshop on Marine Research Infrastructures integration and harmonization
2024-07-12 | Bologna, Italy
Research Infrastructures (RIs) are large-scale facilities that include instruments, resources, data, and services used by scientists for research in their respective fields. Marine RIs consist of specialized vessels, platforms, and marine facilities dedicated to research and monitoring, including sustained ocean observation systems. These systems enable continuous ocean observations that support scientific research, public services, marine resource management, spatial planning, meteorological forecasts, hazard response, climate services, policy needs, and the blue economy. Due to the number, heterogeneity, and complementarity of oceanic observing systems, a coordinated effort is required to integrate and interlink different RIs and national integrated ocean observing systems, as emphasized at the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona.
To address this issue, the G7 FSOI Working Group endorsed a theme on the integration and harmonization of marine research infrastructures as a 2024 emerging topic. The aim is to develop a common definition of marine research infrastructure in the context of sustained ocean observing, to map the existing facilities and observing networks currently sustained by long-term investments, to review and assess the current limitations to sustained operations and barriers to global infrastructure sharing and collaboration, and to agree on a common vision and strategy for integration and harmonization.
The workshop will take place in Bologna, Italy on July 12, 2024. Invited participants include a) representatives of national agencies or ministries who finance ocean observing networks, b) leading experts and/or managers of national or regional marine research infrastructure/observing networks, c) Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) national focal points, and d) relevant experts from the Group of Senior Officials on Global Research Infrastructures to provide advice on how other global research infrastructures have been established and operated.
A summary of the workshop findings and recommendations will be presented at the 2024 G7 FSOI working group annual meeting on October 29-31, Rome. These recommendations and eventual agreements on coordinated actions will contribute to the FSOI Working Group report to the G7 Science and Technology Ministers.
Italy is leading the organization of this workshop with support from the UK.

G7 FSOI working group meeting 2024
2024-10-29 - 2024-10-31 | Rome, Italy
The G7 FSOI working group will hold its annual meeting in Rome, Italy from 29 to 31 October 2024, hosted by the Italian National Research Council (CNR).
The meeting will review the 2024 topics below in line with the revised action areas adopted at the G7 Scientific and Technological Ministerial in Bologna.
2024 Topics to be reviewed:

Arctic ocean observations,
One Argo,
Ocean Carbon,
Governance, coordination, and sustained funding for the observing system
Digital Twin of the Ocean Capacity
Augmented Observing and Forecasting for Marine Life
Global Ocean Monitoring Indicators
The World Ocean Assessment

Townhall - Marine Knowledge at the Fingertips of our Communities: Designing Digital Twins of the Ocean
2025-06-04 - 2025-06-06 | Nice, France
Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTO) presents transformative opportunities for advancing sustainable ocean management.
The townhall, through panel discussions and interaction with diverse stakeholders, including scientists, policymakers, and community representatives, will focus on key themes such as:

Sustainable Ocean Management: Participants will examine practical applications of DTOs. A case study will illustrate how DTOs can enhance decision-making by providing visual but science-based, what-if scenarios, enabling stakeholders to better manage fisheries, prevent pollution, or address climate impacts.
Observations, Data Ecosystems and Interoperability: Effective DTOs rely on adequate ocean observations and robust, interconnected data ecosystems. The townhall will discuss the importance of integrating diverse data sources, from satellite observations to citizen science. Addressing the challenge of data interoperability, participants will explore ways to ensure that data from different sources can be harmonized and used across platforms, enabling seamless collaboration between ocean researchers, policymakers, and industries.
DTO Architecture: Technical discussions will cover the core architecture of DTOs, including the development of scalable, modular frameworks that can be adapted to various regions and environmental conditions. Experts will delve into the computational requirements, highlighting innovations in cloud computing and AI that support the development of realistic and accurate DTOs.
Governance, Equity, and Capacity Building: The success of DTOs hinges on effective governance and equitable access to resources. The townhall will examine the frameworks needed to ensure transparent, inclusive governance of ocean data and models. Special attention will be given to equity in the distribution of DTO benefits, emphasizing capacity-building initiatives for developing countries and marginalized communities. Ensuring that all stakeholders—especially those most affected by ocean changes—can access and contribute to DTOs will be critical in promoting global ocean sustainability.

Through this townhall, participants will collaborate on strategies to harness the power of digital twin technology, advancing collective efforts toward healthier, more resilient oceans for future generations.
The townhall is proposed jointly by the European Commission, the DITTO Decade programme and the G7 Future of the Seas and Ocean Initiative working group.

Marine Knowledge at the Fingertips of our Communities: Designing Digital Twins of the Ocean Townhall at the One Ocean Science Congress
2025-06-04 | Nice, France
Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTO) presents transformative opportunities for advancing sustainable ocean management.
The townhall, through panel discussions and interaction with diverse stakeholders, including scientists, policymakers, and community representatives, will focus on key themes such as:

Sustainable Ocean Management: Participants will examine practical applications of DTOs. A case study will illustrate how DTOs can enhance decision-making by providing visual but science-based, what-if scenarios, enabling stakeholders to better manage fisheries, prevent pollution, or address climate impacts.
Observations, Data Ecosystems and Interoperability: Effective DTOs rely on adequate ocean observations and robust, interconnected data ecosystems. The townhall will discuss the importance of integrating diverse data sources, from satellite observations to citizen science. Addressing the challenge of data interoperability, participants will explore ways to ensure that data from different sources can be harmonized and used across platforms, enabling seamless collaboration between ocean researchers, policymakers, and industries.
DTO Architecture: Technical discussions will cover the core architecture of DTOs, including the development of scalable, modular frameworks that can be adapted to various regions and environmental conditions. Experts will delve into the computational requirements, highlighting innovations in cloud computing and AI that support the development of realistic and accurate DTOs.
Governance, Equity, and Capacity Building: The success of DTOs hinges on effective governance and equitable access to resources. The townhall will examine the frameworks needed to ensure transparent, inclusive governance of ocean data and models. Special attention will be given to equity in the distribution of DTO benefits, emphasizing capacity-building initiatives for developing countries and marginalized communities. Ensuring that all stakeholders—especially those most affected by ocean changes—can access and contribute to DTOs will be critical in promoting global ocean sustainability.

Through this townhall, participants will collaborate on strategies to harness the power of digital twin technology, advancing collective efforts toward healthier, more resilient oceans for future generations.
The townhall is proposed jointly by the European Commission, the DITTO Decade programme and the G7 Future of the Seas and Ocean working group

G7 FSOI Annual Working Group Meeting
2025-11-19 - 2025-11-20 | Ottawa, Canada
Annual meeting for the G7 Future of the Seas and Ocean Initiative to discuss progress against agreed-upon actions in 2025, and to agree on priority topics and actions for 2026.
