The sixth (and last) Management Committee (MC) meeting and annual Cross-Group meeting of the Action took place online on September 20th 2024, and lasted for 1/2 day. The total number of participants was 54, from 28 countries.
In total, 15 MC members (from 13 COST countries) attended the meeting. 2 MC observers (from Morocco and Tunisia) and 40 additional SEA-UNICORN members (from 16 countries including the US, Australia and South Africa) also followed some of the presentations.
On this occasion, the Action Chair and the members of the Core Group gave a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the network (from 72 proposers in 26 countries to >750 participants in >42 countries) and the many achievements of the consortium during the 4 years of the project's lifetime (from October 2020 to September 2024).
These later include the funding and organization of:
15 Short-Term Scientific Missions and 4 Virtual Mobility Grants for all Working Groups (primarily for YRI, but involving over 40 participants from 16 distinct countries), in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024,
11 international Training Schools or Transfer of Knowledge Workshops for Working Groups 1-3 (each with 14 to 77 participants from 9 to 30 countries), in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024,
3 key international conferences on MFC (each with 100-170 attendees from 22-29 countries), in December 2021 (I-Marco 2021 in Paris - France), May 2023 (HI-MFC 2023 in Sesimbra - Portugal) and May 2024 (I-Marco 2024 in Montpellier - France) and 3 thematic sessions on MFC at big international symposiums (in 2021, 2022 and 2023, each with >50 attendees, from >10 countries),
15 international Methodological or Conceptual-Thinking Workshops (8 face-to-face in 5 different countries, 4 hybrid and 3 online; with 10 to 70 participants each, from 3 to 26 countries).
the participation of SEA-UNICORN members in various science dissemination activities (e.g., keynote speeches on MFC at major international science events or participation in national science exhibitions).
In parallel, the action members worked jointly to produce:
4 perspective scientific papers, 2 white paper/scientific reports and a special issue on MFC in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series (containing 17 research articles), all available in open access,
diverse educational materials for a wide audience (e.g., our animated video and maze-based video game on MFC, both available in several languages),
numerous articles or interviews in national and international media (international e-newsletters and national press, radio or TV),
A further 4 papers are currently under review (2) or ready for submission (2) and 6 more are in preparation (with 40 to 80% completion). This should result in 33 collective publications from the network, in addition to the many other papers (>30) published jointly by SEA-UNICORN members as a result of the international collaborations initiated through the Action’s networking and training activities (e.g., STSMs, VM grants, conferences).
Finally, the Action Chair presented current opportunities in Europe to further promote the use of MFC knowledge in conservation and management science, and all participants discussed the future of the network in line with upcoming calls for international research proposals.
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