Kamel Labibes is the Founder and Chairman of Ayam Sailing Europe, an NGO dedicated to youth empowerment through sailing. With a background in science, he has extensive involvement in large-scale research projects spanning various disciplines and EU countries. He holds four international patents used for co-founding a JRC spin-off in Ispra, Italy, where he served as a laboratory manager. Kamel Labibes is the initiator of the citizen science initiative Erasmus Maris, focusing on empowering science teachers in upper-secondary schools to co-create knowledge related to marine conservation and engage their students in citizen science campaigns. He led and coordinated two EC-funded projects in which the Erasmus Maris concept was tested and demonstrated, addressing the critical issue of microplastic pollution. In view of implementing the concept EU-wide, Kamel pioneered collaborative efforts with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre to address the issue of Quality Assurance and Quality Control within the citizen science paradigm. 

Dr. Kate Larkin (Ph.D 2006) is the Head of Secretariat for the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), an operational EU marine data service funded by the European Commission DG MARE. Kate is a marine scientist who has worked in the areas of Ocean Observation and Ocean Data for more than 15 years, including at the NOC, Southampton, UK and the European Marine Board and, since 2019, with EMODnet. In her role, Kate works with EMODnet partners, associated partners and wider stakeholders at National, Regional, European and Global levels to expand, diversify and evolve EMODnet’s offer of marine data and knowledge needs for science, policy, industry and society. This includes EMODnet’s key partnership with the Copernicus Marine Service which includes joint activities to deliver the marine data infrastructure backbone and associated common data lake for the EU Digital Twin Ocean.

Madlie Le Bihan has been working for the past six years in the environmental sector on projects related to the energy transition, mitigation and adaptation to climate change. She conducted advocacy work on topics such as deforestation, trade, and energy policy. She has a background in law and holds two master’s degrees, one in International Relations and Sustainability from Université Paris Sud and one in Environmental Law from Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne. She works since 2021 with the Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI), focusing on the environmentally friendly deployment of offshore wind through the Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature (OCEaN).