We were invited to speak at a climate conference in Riga, Latvia. It covered green management of guest marinas and small ports. We were asked to showcase our electric sailing situation and examples of our sustainable boating lifestyle.
The conference “The Green Connections of the Blue Waters. The Baltic Perspective” was focusing on the development and digitalization of small ports, energy efficiency onshore and in the sea, cooperation, and several other topics.
Gotta love smartphones and their streaming capacities. They make it so easy to be present in a conference room in Riga while sitting onboard a sailboat in Sandefjord, Norway. Video at bottom of page.
Conference Program:
1) Opening: Kaspars Rožkalns, Director of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia 2) EU perspective of the small ports’ development
Marine and coastal tourism development and shift after the pandemic: Eleni Hatziyanni, Department of Sea basin strategies, Maritime Regional Cooperation and Maritime Security Unit, DG MARE, European Commission
Technology challenges and innovations for marinas: Dr. Ioannis Kostopoulos, Co-Founder & CEO Sammyacht.com
Cooperation for a better region – the network of the Baltic small ports: Dick Netterlid, Secretary General, Swedish Guest Harbours Association
Panel discussion: “Role of the small ports in the greener coastal development”
3) Energy efficiency for boaters and small ports
Energy efficiency solutions for small ports: Petri Lähde, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences
4) Energy efficiency on a sailboat – video streaming from the sea Bjorn Bertoft, Skipper and Climate Sailing Ambassador, 100% Sun Wind Water
The battery bank onboard Johanna. Charging electric boats more efficiently in smaller marinas is a challenge ahead and one of our messages to the audience. The infrastructure of fast chargers will be more demanded and guarantees of using green electricity will potentially be a competitive factor for marinas with strong sustainability ambitions.
5) CBSMALLPORTS project results presentation Dr.Minna Keinänen-Toivola , Lead partner project manager
6) Developing networks and cooperation
Development of the Swedish Guest Harbors’ Association: Dick Netterlid, Secretary General, Swedish Guest Harbours Association
Strengthening the regional cooperation around the Baltic Sea: Dick Netterlid and discussion
European Maritime Agenda: Philip Easthill, Secretary-General, European Boating Industry
7) Conclusions Jānis Megnis, Small Ports Association of Latvia
Conference video – demonstration of project
Here is the 30 minutes long presentation video:
