Thalassa Foundation’s Vice-President, Vera Alexandropoulou, was at the “heart” of international developments for the oceans at #UNOC3, where she had the opportunity to follow closely the announcements on the New #EuropeanOceanPact, as well as the commitments made by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that the legal process for the creation of two new national marine parks in the Ionian and Aegean Seas will begin this month. Following these announcements, she discussed with Auriane Pertuisot, representative of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, and the leadership of the Ministry of Environment and Energy the prospect of utilizing the National Marine Park of Alonissos Northern Sporades as a best practice case study. At the same time, Ms. Alexandropoulou participated in the side event “Empowering Women in the Blue Economy: Bridging Research, Policy, and Action,” along with distinguished speakers, and emphasized the need for inclusion as a fundamental pillar of any vision for a sustainable maritime future.
The third day of the #UNOC3 in Nice was of particularly high importance for the Thalassa Foundation, as, in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, it signed together with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding within the framework of the Monk Seal Alliance, sealing the excellent cooperation of recent years and laying the ground for further targeted actions to protect the emblematic Mediterranean Seal. Furthermore, the views exchanged during the side event “Seals, Shores, and Sustainability: Protecting Monk Seals in a Changing World – In protected areas and Beyond” were of great interest, with the Vice-President of the Thalassa Foundation, Vera Alexandropoulou, emphasizing the importance of establishing an interministerial task force for the National Marine Park of Alonissos-Northern Sporades, which will coordinate the creation of a common roadmap with best practices and lessons learnt for marine protected areas and marine parks under development.
