Last week, the “Ocean in 2049” conference took place, organized by the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco in partnership with the magazine l’Obs. Several experts, innovators, and prominent figures were present to discuss the relationship between humans and the ocean with us.
The conference “Ocean in 2049” was held at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, hosted by Sylvain Courage, editor-in-chief of l’Obs. Through videos and interactions with the audience, the numerous experts present could share their reflections on the ocean and its considerable resources.
Magazine l’Obs: Operation “2049”
L’Obs launched the journalistic operation “2049,” aiming to “explore the future scenarios with the best experts,” the magazine explains on its website. Within this framework, several articles on the subject and a special issue were produced, along with a dedicated section. Additionally, numerous evening meetings are scheduled from April to December 2020. This time, the meeting is held in Monaco, under the theme “Health of the Ocean, Health of Humans.”
A Multipurpose Programming
Thus, a packed program took place in several parts in the conference room of the Museum. At 7 PM, Roberto Calcagno, director of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, opened the conference, stating, “For regulars of the Museum, you are certainly not surprised that we are talking about the health of the oceans and the connection between the ocean and humans. In fact, the Institute has been dealing with this for about 110 years. But tonight, we have a more focused theme: the health of humans and the ocean,” he expresses. The conference then continued with the screening of the video “A Day of Fishing with Nets and Longlines, with the Artisan” by Paul Moreira, followed by interventions from several specialists.
- Professor Patrick Rampal, president of the Monaco Scientific Center, and François Houllier, CEO of Ifremer, shared their views on ocean pollution, especially by plastics, and its consequences for human health. François Houllier spoke about health ecology, which encompasses environmental health, human health, and animal health.
- Emmanuelle and Ghislain Bardout, co-founders of the Under the Pole association. Specialists in scuba diving in polar regions, as they have conducted expeditions to the North Pole and Greenland. They bring back images and videos from these expeditions, allowing the public to discover this world. More recently, they have ventured to warmer places, in Polynesia.
- Lucile Courtial, coordinator of BeMed, and Joachim Claudet, CNRS research director. Specialists were present, as well as representatives from associations, like BeMed. The discussion was about reducing plastic in the oceans.
- To conclude the evening, some start-ups could talk about their various projects. For example, Ococean, presented by its president-founder, Gilles Lecaillon.
