Programme CommOCEAN 2026
The 7th CommOCEAN conference takes place in Bergen, Norway on 2-3 September with an icebreaker on the evening of 1 September. Registration is open now!
Hovedinnhold
- REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
- Details for a fee waiver and/or other support for ECOPs and Global South participants will soon be announced.
Welcome to CommOCEAN 2026, the seventh in the series, taking place 2-3 September in the coastal city of Bergen, Norway, with an ‘icebreaker’ in the evening of 1 September. The programme will be packed with exciting keynotes, plenary sessions, workshops, ‘circus’ sessions, and posters on ocean science communications.
- For enquiries about the conference, send an email to the local CommOCEAN organising committee.
The conference 2-3 September takes place at UiB Learning Arena, Nygårdsgaten 5 (NG5), 5015 Bergen (location), except for the Icebreaker Reception on 1 September, which is at Håkonshallen (location).
PROGRAMME (preliminary)
TUESDAY 1 SEPTEMBER
18:00-19:30 Icebreaker reception, Håkonshallen (location)
Welcome by the Mayor of Bergen, Ms. Marit Warncke
WEDNESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER
08:00-09:00 Arrivals and registrations, mingling
09:00-09:15 Welcome and practical information
09:15-10:15 Opening keynote TBC, followed by Q&A
10:15-11:15 Circus sessions (all topics), 2 rounds of each 30 minutes
11:15-11:45 Coffee break, incl poster session
11:45-12:30 Plenary session topic 1
12:30-13:30 Workshops topic 1
13:30-14:30 Lunch break, incl poster session
14:30-15:30 Plenary session topic 2
15:30-16:30 Workshops topic 2
16:30-17:00 Coffee break, incl poster session
17:00-18:00 Keynote 2 TBC, followed by Q&A
18:00-19:30 Break
19:30-22:00 Conference dinner, venue TBC
THURSDAY 3 SEPTEMBER
08:00-09:00 Arrivals and mingling
09:00-10:00 Keynote 3 TBC, followed by Q&A
10:00-11:00 Plenary session topic 3
11:00-11:30 Coffee break, incl poster session and moving to parallel sessions
11:30-12:30 Workshops topic 3
12:30-13:30 Lunch break, incl poster session
13:30-14:00 Keynote 4 TBC, followed by Q&A
14:00-15:00 Circus sessions (all topics)
15:00-16:00 Workshops open topic 4
16:00-16:05 Close of conference: Thank you and goodbye!
FACTS
CommOCEAN
- CommOCEAN is a biannual conference on ocean science communications.
- The conference is organised by the European Marine Board’s Communication Panel (EMBCP).
- In 2026 the CommOCEAN conference takes place in Bergen, Norway 2-3 September, with a so-called icebreaker in the evening of 1 September.
- This is the seventh edition of the CommOCEAN conference, which last took place in Malaga, Spain in 2024.
- Main CommOCEAN webpage.
- Follow CommOCEAN on LinkedIn.
Overarching theme and main topics
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 one open session:
- Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and new technologies in ocean science communications – opportunities, risks and ethical considerations.
- Security-related and geopolitical dimensions of ocean and science communication in a time of crisis and disruption – including misinformation, trust and strategic communication.
- Increasing Citizen Engagement and Ocean Literacy through communication – how to reach different audiences and foster understanding of ocean–climate interactions.
- Open topic session – emerging topics, case studies and experimental formats.
