The European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA) Annual Conference 2026 will take place in Barcelona from 30 September to 2 October, hosted at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC). The event will bring together +130 researchers, educators and practitioners to discuss new approaches to marine education, ocean literacy and citizen engagement.

Citizen science will also feature in ICM-CSIC’s contribution to the conference. On Thursday, 1 October, Jaume Piera, researcher at ICM-CSIC, will present “Citizen Observatories: Innovative Learning Environments for Blue Education”. The talk will explore how citizen observatories can become spaces for learning and participation, connecting educational communities with marine observations and scientific knowledge.

Ahead of the international conference, on 29 September, Barcelona will also host the “Jornada sobre Educació Blava EMSEA 2026”, a local event designed especially for teachers, education professionals, public administrations and organisations working in Blue Education. Through talks, participatory activities and dedicated workshops, the event will explore the links between formal education, ocean literacy, citizen science and marine policy.

As part of the conference’s optional complementary activities, participants will be invited to join an urban biodiversity snorkel in Barcelona, contributing their observations to BioMARató, the citizen science event organised through the MINKA platform.

CS-MACH1 supports this initiative as part of its efforts to strengthen marine citizen science and the connections between citizens, researchers, practitioners and decision-makers. Engaging teachers and educational communities can help broaden participation in marine observation and bring citizen science closer to new audiences.

For the third consecutive year, the EMSEA Annual Conference has been officially endorsed as a Decade Activity under the UN Ocean Decade for Sustainable Development.

More info on the conference website.