Held under BSB00193 – EfxINNOs, supported by the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme and led in Türkiye by Prof. Dr. Yelda Aktan of Istanbul University Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, the event enabled students to observe seagrass meadows and noble pen shells through an underwater robot. Students also explored sustainable maritime decision-making alongside sector representatives through VR-based waste sorting, marine ecosystem and Blue Growth games.
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Organized by Istanbul University with the support of Tuzla Municipality, the EfxINNOs Local Türkiye Workshop was successfully held in Istanbul. As part of the European Commission’s European Maritime Day In My Country initiative, which aims to raise public awareness especially among young people about the importance of oceans and seas, the workshop connected children and maritime stakeholders with sustainable blue economy agenda.The event welcomed 90 middle-school students and 52 maritime stakeholders representing 20 different organizations across ministries, municipalities, universities, the private sectors, professional associations, civil society organizations, technology firms, media and education institutions.
During the event, students watched underwater footage captured through an underwater robot developed by Lenta Marine. The underwater observation activities were carried out with the support of Sailist Yatching Engineering. The divers from Tuzla Municipality and the Fırat Technical Diving team also accompanied the observation. Students had the opportunity to directly observe seagrass meadows, noble pen shells and the living structure of the coastal ecosystem. At a time when the need for marine monitoring is growing, the activity carried special significance by helping children build a direct connection with their local ecosystem.
Students also experienced the VR-based waste-sorting game developed by Piri Reis University under the LEARN4SEA project. LEARN4SEA is another Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin project that aims to support environmentally friendly behaviour across the Black Sea Basin, contribute to pollution reduction and develop innovative educational materials for children and young people.
Through the marine ecosystem game, students learned about the relationships among marine species, the impact of human activities on these relationships and the decisions that can be taken for the sustainable management of ecosystems. In the Blue Growth Game that followed, students assessed good and poor practices across different maritime sectors. Guided by maritime stakeholders and using games developed by AG Marine Solutions, the children experienced decision-making processes in areas such as sustainable ports, shipyards, ship operations, marine tourism, marine research, fisheries and aquaculture.
The EfxINNOs Local Türkiye Workshop transformed the globally growing concept of ocean literacy into a concrete local learning experience. The workshop enabled children to understand marine ecosystems not only in theory, but also through technology, games, observation and direct interaction with sector representatives. In doing so, today’s maritime stakeholders with tomorrow’s ocean leaders came together in the same learning environment.
Commenting on the event, Prof. Dr. Yelda Aktan, EfxINNOs Türkiye Project Coordinator and faculty member at Istanbul University Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, said:
“One of the core aims of EfxINNOs is to transform marine observation technologies not only into tools for generating scientific data, but also into learning instruments that strengthen society’s - and especially children’s - connection with the sea. Today in Istanbul, students saw beneath the surface first-hand; they experienced the interconnectedness of seagrass meadows, noble pen shells and the living communities within the marine ecosystem. Their opportunity to sit at the same table with maritime stakeholders marks a valuable first step for the maritime professionals and decision-makers of the future.”
The EfxINNOs project is being implemented to develop and deploy innovative marine monitoring technologies across the Black Sea Basin and the North Aegean. Through mobile and fixed monitoring platforms, autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles and buoys, the project aims to collect marine biodiversity data; assess the impacts of human activities on seafloor, or benthic, ecosystems; and develop decision-support tools on issues such as seagrass habitat health using machine learning and AI-supported analyses. EfxINNOs brings together partners from Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Romania and Türkiye. The project runs from August 2024 to February 2027 and has a total budget of EUR 1,643,648.40.