14-16 April | Conil de la Frontera, Spain
This meeting marked a significant milestone for the project, which is now approaching its halfway point. It was a timely opportunity to take stock of progress, align priorities, and prepare for the next phase of work.
DAY 1 - Discovering Cabo Roche first-hand
The General Assembly kicked off on 14 April with a visit to Cabo Roche, one of BLUE CONNECT’s 12 demonstration sites, setting the tone for three days of exchange and collaboration. Partners headed out by boat to explore the coastline, gaining a first-hand understanding of the area’s unique marine environment, before visiting the Coral Restoration Centre, a remarkable initiative developed in close cooperation with local fishers. The visit also included a stop at the local fish market, offering an authentic glimpse into the community and maritime traditions that shape this site.
More than just an introduction, the visit brought the work at Cabo Roche to life. By experiencing the site directly, partners could better grasp the local challenges, opportunities, and strong community ties behind the activities on the ground — a valuable starting point for discussions on solutions that are both impactful and rooted in local realities.
Creating impact with the MPA Solutions Hub
Later that afternoon, the consortium held its first interactive session focused on Blue4All’s and the MPA Community Network’s MPA Solutions Hub with possible future contributions from BLUE CONNECT. The discussion centred on concrete questions for participants who tested the platform: How do you experience the Hub? What needs refinement? Where could the user experience be improved? And how can BLUE CONNECT specifically contribute to the MPA Solutions Hub?
DAY 2 - Demo sites drive the discussion forward
On day 2, partners from all 12 demonstration sites took the floor to share experiences and progress from the ground, including insights gained, obstacles faced and new opportunities emerging for stakeholder engagement. Bringing these perspectives together helped highlight both shared successes and lessons learned over recent months, reshaping workflows and communication strategies moving forward.
The afternoon shifted focus to co-creation, exploring how to meaningfully involve local actors in shaping conservation measures that are realistic, widely accepted, and built to last.
Planning for uptake beyond the project
The day closed with an energising exchange with BLUE CONNECT’s External Advisory Board. Iryna Makarenko, Tamar Guy-Haim, Myron Peck, Virgil Zetterlind and Laura Darby brought valuable external perspectives to a key question: how can BLUE CONNECT create lasting value beyond its own lifetime, and how can project results truly reach and be used effectively by the people who need them?
The discussion provided a set of actionable directions: invest more strongly in dissemination at the sea basin level, and design outputs working backwards from the needs of end users. The board members also highlighted the importance of strengthening collaboration and building on synergies with other projects, initiatives, and communication and dissemination platforms, while actively involving real end users in the finalisation of tools and materials to ensure they are accessible, user-friendly and relevant.
As the project enters its next phase, these insights will help the consortium sharpen its communication approach and ensure that outputs are not only scientifically robust, but accessible, actionable, and ready to land in the right hands.
DAY 3 - From technical progress to practical uptake
The third day dove into interactive sessions on tool development and innovative monitoring, exploring the latest updates and gathering candid feedback from project partners and demo site work.
In the afternoon, discussions returned to communication and uptake, picking up the thread from the previous day’s exchange with the External Advisory Board. Together, partners began co-creating a first timeline for communication, uptake, and legacy events while mapping the key opportunities ahead. It was a first and meaningful step toward a shared, actionable communication and dissemination strategy, one that will be carried forward and refined.
Building momentum for the next phase
Beyond the formal sessions, the General Assembly was defined by a warm atmosphere that surrounded it: long tables of excellent Spanish food, good conversations, the Andalusian sunshine, and the ever-present closeness of the ocean.
As BLUE CONNECT approaches its midpoint, one thing is clear: the hard work of the consortium is taking shape, through visible, tangible, progress across all 12 demonstration sites.
