INNO2MARE joins European partners in signing the Athens Manifesto to strengthen collaboration, knowledge exchange and innovation across Europe’s Blue Economy ecosystems.
How can marine technologies, research and expertise developed in one European region create new opportunities in another? How can innovation ecosystems work together to turn research results into practical solutions and strengthen Europe’s maritime industries?
These questions were at the heart of the Athens Manifesto of the Blue Economy Excellence Hubs Cluster, signed on 26 October 2026 during the Excellence Hubs Community Joint Event in Athens, Greece.
A shared commitment to European cooperation
INNO2MARE, together with four other European initiatives – MarTe, BCThubs, SeaTecHub-EU and ecoRoute – joined forces by signing the manifesto, expressing their shared commitment to strengthening cooperation between Europe’s Blue Economy innovation ecosystems.
The initiative aims to build stronger connections between regional innovation hubs, facilitate the exchange of knowledge and resources, and create new opportunities for collaboration beyond individual project boundaries.
Six areas for joint action
The Athens Manifesto identifies six key areas for cooperation:
- Sharing knowledge and resources: Opening access to technologies, prototypes, datasets, testing facilities, demonstration sites and training opportunities across participating Hubs.
- Joint exploitation: Connecting innovative solutions through common catalogues, marketplaces, business cases and integrated value chains to support their long-term sustainability.
- Cross-border pilot testing: Testing and validating technologies developed in one region in other European seas, locations and regulatory environments.
- Developing joint proposals: Preparing collaborative research and innovation proposals under programmes such as Horizon Europe, the Mission Ocean, EMFAF, Interreg, Erasmus+ and national funding schemes.
- Knowledge and people exchange: Encouraging mobility and exchange opportunities for researchers, students and professionals, while sharing training programmes, courses and mentoring activities.
- A stronger European voice: Promoting a common Blue Economy vision towards the European Commission, the Excellence Hubs Community, National Contact Points and regional Smart Specialisation Strategies.
Looking ahead: Stronger maritime innovation through collaboration
For INNO2MARE, the manifesto represents an important opportunity to build on the knowledge, expertise and results developed throughout the project and connect them with other European innovation ecosystems.
Closer cooperation can facilitate the transfer of maritime technologies, encourage cross-border testing and validation, support the development of new partnerships and create pathways for innovative solutions to reach wider markets.
The signing of the Athens Manifesto marks the beginning of a shared commitment, with practical cooperation activities and arrangements to be developed in the next steps.
Different seas, shared challenges – stronger innovation through collaboration!