2nd EU Algae Awareness Summit

Just came back from the 2nd EU Algae Awareness Summit in Berlin!

It was a packed two days featuring talks from industry leaders and government officials, showcases of innovations, and algae-based food! It was wonderful to reconnect with old friends in this space and to make new ones. I was really inspired by the sheer amount of solutions and innovations represented - as means to tackle plastic pollution, unsustainable fashion, malnutrition, intensive agriculture and more! The timing was impeccable with the United Nations Global Seaweed Initiative launched just last month, and even more recently the EU Algae Declaration, which was launched during the event. Both show that governments are recognising algae for its potential. As always when seaweed and algae enthusiasts of the like come together in one room, there was a certainly buzz in the air. 

However, somewhere tied in with this excitement, there’s a faint sense of anxiety looming over the discussions -with failure of the sixth round of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty in August (INC-5.2) to yield a concrete agreement and discussions for the International Maritime Organisation not going as many had hoped. But we mustn’t let that cause us to lose hope - it is not too late to dig ourselves out of this mess, and we can unite together to promote the solutions needed for a more sustainable future. Irregardless of the current political situation - we work not only for those alive today, but also for the sake of the future generations.

I feel incredibly grateful to have had the chance to attend, and want to especially thank EU4Algae for organising this event. My brother, Ashton and I recorded a series interviews during event, which will all be posted on my Instagram, so stay tuned...