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Join us in-person in Halifax, Canada
If you would like to attend as press, please click here to register.
There are many reasons to believe the ocean is the next economic frontier. Innovation and investment are two sides of the coin that is galvanising economic activity in the ocean. To help meet the growing global demand for more energy, greater efficiency, resilient supply chains, and other expanded commercial opportunities, the future of the blue economy is crucial. Along with the risks come new opportunities to reimagine what modernisation and growth looks like for our oceans.
Economist Impact’s World Ocean Tech and Innovation Summit, hosted by Canada’s Ocean Supercluster in collaboration with the Province of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Partnership, will convene innovators, business leaders, thought leaders and investors to learn about and engage with the latest “blue economy” innovators and technologies, and identify solutions that will form the roadmap to a sustainable, thriving ocean economy.
Taking place in Halifax, Canada, the two-day programme will showcase local innovations that have the potential to be scaled globally, and welcome international business leaders, investors and scientists to share learnings and unleash new opportunities for cross-border partnership and investment.
Newly confirmed speakers
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Dan Watson
Chief executive, SafetyNetTechnologies
October 4th 2022 October 5th 2022An eternal optimist and lapsed engineer, Dan Watson builds technologies that enable precision fishing. He co-founded SafetyNet Technologies and has co-built it into a company that designs and produces robust, user-friendly and affordable hardware and software solutions to make fishing better operated and better understood. Mr Watson collaborates with customers and users to design products that do what’s needed to make measurable and lasting positive impacts in the ocean. He was previously head of design and user research at the Satellite Applications Catapult established by the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board (Innovate UK).
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Liz Ferguson
Chief executive, Ocean Science Analytics
October 4th 2022Liz Ferguson is chief executive officer of Ocean Science Analytics, an ocean-science research and online technical training company. She specialises in marine mammal bioacoustic research and marine spatial ecology. Ms Ferguson founded Ocean Science Analytics in 2018 to leverage big ocean data in analytical methods, develop user-friendly tools to increase end-user interaction with ecological data, and support training of others through online technical training. The company incorporates advanced technology in its projects, such as deep learning for marine mammal call detection and as an early adopter for NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite mission.
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Millicent Pitts
Executive director, Ocean Exchange
October 5th 2022Millicent is executive director of Ocean Exchange, with its international mission to advance
adoption of innovative solutions for healthy oceans and a sustainable Blue Economy.
Millicent was an operating executive for thirty years in the chemical/materials industry, most
recently at Engelhard/BASF. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania. She passionately helps grow the “blue tech” ecosystem with roles such as Penn
Innovation Day Judge, member of the NOAA sub-committee for the Blue Economy, and mentor
roles at Clean Tech Open Northeast and Creative Destruction Labs Ocean Stream in Halifax. -
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Justin Trudeau
Prime minister, Canada
October 4th 2022Justin Trudeau is Canada’s 23rd prime minister. After studying literature at university he spent several years teaching in Vancouver. Before entering politics he served as chair of Katimavik, a community-service organisation for young people, and was an advocate for young people and the environment. Mr Trudeau was elected Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party in the Montreal riding of Papineau in 2008, and re-elected in 2011, 2015 and 2019. He was elected leader of the Liberal Party in 2013, leading it to victory and becoming prime minister in national elections in 2015. Mr Trudeau won a second mandate as prime minister in the elections of 2019.
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Sarah Casorso
Director of employer services, Eco Canada
October 5th 2022-
02:45 pmSpotlight: The talent pool
Sarah Casorso oversees the corporate human-resources function and employer services at ECO Canada, where she has worked since 2017. She fosters relationships with external partners and stakeholders to ensure an adequate supply of qualified professionals to meet the needs of Canada’s growing environmental workforce. With nearly 15 years’ experience as an HR professional, Ms Casorso worked in the not-for-profit and oil and gas sectors before moving into the environmental sector. She has been a chartered professional in human resources (CPHR) since 2013.
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Victor L. Vescovo
USN
October 5th 2022Victor Vescovo is an operating partner and co-founder emeritus of Insight Equity. He specialises in the aerospace, defence, electronics and pollution-control industries and is chairman of two of Insight Equity’s companies. Mr Vescovo served 20 years in the US Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer. In 2017 he completed the “Explorer’s Grand Slam”, which requires climbing the highest peak on all seven of the world’s continents, including Mt. Everest, and skiing at least 100km to the North and South Poles. He is the first person to visit the deepest point in all five of Earth’s oceans, and in June 2022 he ventured into space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard-21 mission.
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Christy Walton
Founder, iAlumbra
October 4th 2022-
09:20 amKeynote address
Christy Walton is an artist, philanthropist, entrepreneur and activist. For the past 45 years she has worked in partnership with communities to speed innovations that strengthen community engagement, economies and the environment. Her main focus has been on La Paz, Mexico, the Sea of Cortez and other places she has an affinity for: San Diego; Jackson, Wyoming; Arkansas; Southern Oregon and Panama. She is the founder of Innovaciones Alumbra (iAlumbra), a collective of social and environmental impact companies leading efforts to better connect communities, the environment and the economy. iAlumbra pursues a path of deep community engagement and invests to empower local leaders, experts and civil society by building capacity that creates economic opportunities specific to local assets and environments.
An example of her work to build integrated systems for well-being that honour a sense of place and have a positive environmental and economic impact is her “One Sea at a Time” approach. This initiative led to the development of submersible offshore aquaculture systems, farmable finfish species development, advancements in finfish and shellfish genetics, and resistance to climate change. The integrated system has a generative ecosystem benefit by creating no-take zones for wild fish habitats while also producing jobs and enabling year-round fish production. The work has improved ocean health while creating local economic opportunities, reducing overfishing and increasing protected areas in the ocean.
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Topics to be covered
- Climate change and the ocean
- Innovation in the blue economy
- The role of ocean investment in fighting climate change
- Talent in the blue economy
- The future fleet—steering innovation in shipping.
Why attend
- A dual focus on innovation and investment will attract key decisionmakers in technology and investment institutions and foundations where other events focus on policy
- A range of startups and companies backed by tech giants will demonstrate the vastness of the innovation to solve the ocean economy’s most pressing issues through presentations and moderator-led discussions
- Case-study sessions using proven solutions will differentiate our event from others where there is a greater focus on high-level, theoretical conversations, rather than evidence-based scenarios.
Sponsors
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Host sponsor
View Profile XCanada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) is changing the way ocean business is done. An industry-led organization, OSC is designed to harness the power of unprecedented multi-sector collaboration to develop and commercialize solutions to shared ocean challenges and advance capabilities across fisheries, aquaculture, offshore resources, defense, transportation, marine renewable energy, marine bioresources and ocean technology sectors. The OSC model leverages a co-investment of more than $300 million by the private sector and the Canadian federal government to build a cluster of ocean industries with a vision to start and scale-up more businesses, increase supply chain opportunities, develop world-class talent, and accelerate the growth of Canada’s ocean economy. By aligning large and small private sector firms with academic institutions, governments, investors, and global ocean innovation ecosystems, the OSC is advancing Canada’s position as a leader in sustainable ocean innovation.
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In collaboration with
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In collaboration with
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In collaboration with
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Nova Scotia, as represented by the Department of Business
Nova Scotia has over 7,400 kilometres of coastline. For centuries, people living in our coastal communities have built their families, their livelihood and traditions around the fishing industry. Today, our ocean sector includes more than fishing and shipbuilding. We are home to over 300 companies in ocean-related industries, with over 80 high-tech innovators. With a strong focus on collaboration between government, private sector and our academic institutions we are creating conditions that will allow the ocean sector continue to grow. It’s a huge industry –and we are focused on attracting the best and brightest in ocean technology to our region to help the sector reach its full potential.
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In collaboration with
View Profile XThe Halifax Partnership is Halifax’s public-private economic development organization. The Halifax Partnership drives and accelerates economic growth by selling and marketing Halifax to the world, helping businesses reach their full potential and tracking Halifax’s economic progress. The Partnership is leading the advancement of the Halifax Innovation District, with support from the Province of Nova Scotia, to increase the number of viable high-growth startups and scaleups. The Partnership’s network of influential and globally connected Investors and partners are committed to building a thriving, prosperous Halifax.
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In collaboration with
View Profile XCDL began at the University of Toronto, and has expanded to the University of Oxford, Georgia Tech, HEC Paris, HEC Montreal, University of British Colubia, University of Calgary, and Dalhousie University – which is the home of CDL Oceans. Since the CDL was launched in 2012, over 1,500 founders representing 900 companies have created more than $5 Billion in equity value through the successful commercialization of cutting-edge science.
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ocean-changemaker-challenge-sponsored by
View Profile XBounded by three oceans and home to the world’s longest coastline, the oceans sector plays a powerful role in Canada’s economy. Destination Canada Business Events knows that a sustainable blue economy will not only support communities across our country but also around the world — from providing an important source of food to regulating our climate and beyond. That’s why DCBE is thrilled to celebrate the visionary thinkers who are finding new ways to overcome the most pressing ocean challenges — and by doing so, creating a better future for generations to come.
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Associate sponsor
View Profile XThe Port of Halifax is Canada’s Ultra Atlantic Gateway, connecting to more than 150 countries. Collaborating with strong partners, the Port community in Halifax delivers excellence. -
Media partner
View Profile XThe Walrus provokes new thinking and sparks conversation on matters vital to Canadians. As a registered charity, we publish independent, fact-based journalism in The Walrus and at thewalrus.ca; we produce national, ideas-focused events, including our flagship series The Walrus Talks; and we train emerging professionals in publishing and nonprofit management. The Walrus is invested in the idea that a healthy society relies on informed citizens.
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Media partner
View Profile XLatin Trade is a leading provider of business information and services for companies operating in Latin America. It publishes award-winning content in Spanish and English for distribution in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States through print and online media. With a track record of more than 27 years, it was born out of the need to cover global business and provide business trends.
It has won 27 editorial and design awards since 2002, including the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), “the largest and most competitive annual award in B2B publishing”.
Imagining a sustainable ocean economy
Economist Impact’s World Ocean Initiative imagines an ocean in robust health, and with a vital economy. Year-round and at our flagship World Ocean Summit, we foster a global conversation on the greatest challenges facing the seas, inspiring bold thinking, new partnerships, and the most effective action to build a sustainable ocean economy. The Initiative concentrates on three cross-cutting levers of change — finance, governance, and innovation — each of which concerns the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ for a sustainable ocean, but most of all they explore the ‘how’.
Read more and sign up for our newsletter below:
Ocean Changemakers Challenge
We need innovative, passionate leaders to foster a sustainable blue economy and ensure a healthy future for our seas. Economist Impact’s World Ocean Initiative—with support from Destination Canada—is excited to host the third annual Ocean Changemakers Challenge, a competition showcasing leading changemakers working to develop business solutions to ocean-related sustainability challenges. It is aimed at early-career researchers or professionals.
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