Calls open for CommOCEAN 2026 conference

We are looking for suggestions for presentations, workshops, ‘circus sessions’ and posters for CommOCEAN 2026, the seventh in the series, taking place 2-3 September in the coastal town of Bergen, Norway, with an ‘icebreaker’ in the evening of 1 September. CommOCEAN 2026 will be a fully in-person event and registration for the conference will soon open.

For this edition of CommOCEAN the overarching theme is ‘Communication for and within the UN Ocean Decade: Setting Sails for 2030’. Under this theme there will be three main topics and an open session (each with a plenary followed by workshops/parallel sessions):

1. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and new technologies in ocean science communications – opportunities, risks and ethical considerations.
2. Security-related and geopolitical dimensions of ocean and science communication in a time of crisis and disruption – including misinformation, trust and strategic communication.
3. Increasing Citizen Engagement and Ocean Literacy through communication – how to reach different audiences and foster understanding of ocean–climate interactions.
4. Open topic session – emerging topics, case studies and experimental formats.

For each of the four topics we ask for submissions for the following:

1. Suggestions to present in a plenary session (max. length: 8 minutes)
2. Suggestions for interactive workshops/parallel sessions (30 or 60 minutes) – we want these to take the shape of inspiring networking workshops where you can experiment with form (60 min) or so-called ‘circus sessions’, that are short inspirational talks packed with insights where the idea is to dive into a unique and emerging communication topic (approx. 20 min talk followed by 10 min Q&A).
3. Suggestions for posters (size A0) – there will be space for up to 40 posters.

Deadline

Deadline to submit your proposal(s): 1 May 2026. You will receive a response approximately two weeks after this deadline.

• Use this form to submit your proposal.

If you have proposals for more than one topic or different formats, we ask you to submit these separately.

Please provide the following with your proposal:

• Title: Max. 100 characters, incl. spaces
• Presenter: Name, Job Title, Organisation, Email
• Any additional contributors (for workshop and poster submissions): Names, Job Titles, Organisations, Emails
• Summary (suitable for publication if successful): Max. 1,500 characters, incl. spaces. Please explain what and how would it be presented (please read the selection criteria and the objectives of the conference below).
• Audio Visual or special requirements: Max. 100 characters, spaces included)

Submissions for a presentation, workshop or poster at the CommOCEAN 2026 conference will be selected based on the following criteria:

• The submission must be about (marine) science communication or ocean communication/engagement, or written demonstration on why it would be of interest for the audience of CommOCEAN 2026.
• The submission must be clear about what would be presented, with preference to explaining engagement activities, lessons learnt (incl. learning from mistakes) or evaluation.
• Submissions containing new ideas and/or offering information about new approaches in marine or ocean science communication would be advantaged.
• Submissions explaining how the presentation will be original and creative would be advantaged.

To help you finalise your submission, we take this opportunity to stress the objectives of the conference, and what will interest the audience most:

• CommOCEAN is primarily a communications conference, and all delegates are attending to improve, or learn new, communications skills and techniques.
• Most will be working in some kind of ocean science institute or organisation and already understand the broad challenges facing the ocean.
• All are keen to know about the results or impact of communications activities, so please include as much evaluation information as you can.

Questions about the call can be sent to the CommOCEAN 2026 secretariat.