From 8 to 12 June 2026, the first Digital Ocean Week brought together Europe’s ocean, space, digital and policy communities around a shared ambition: turning ocean observations and data into trusted intelligence for better decisions.
Organised by Mercator Ocean International and opened on World Ocean Day, the Week showed how Europe’s Digital Ocean is taking shape through stronger connections between ocean observation, marine data, modelling, digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence. It featured more than 100 speakers, with over 750 participants onsite in Brussels and more than 1,600 joining online.
At the heart of this ambition is a simple idea: users should be able to access meaningful ocean knowledge, not navigate disconnected datasets and systems. Europe is therefore building a more integrated operational ecosystem, bringing together core EU ocean programmes and infrastructures: Copernicus Marine, EMODnet, and the European Digital Twin Ocean through EDITO.
This evolving system can support action on challenges that cross institutional and sectoral boundaries: climate adaptation, ocean health, coastal resilience, sustainable blue-economy development, maritime safety and security. It also reflects the strategic direction set by the European Ocean Pact and the new OceanEye initiative, which seek to strengthen ocean observation and Europe’s capacity to translate knowledge into action.
At the centre of the Week, the high-level event “OceanEye: From Vision to Implementation” (10 June) presented the initiative announced by the President of the European Commission. It brought together European Commissioners, Permanent Representatives, Members of the European Parliament and stakeholders from across the observation-to-service chain to discuss OceanEye’s priorities and explore pathways for engagement in the International Alliance. The event concluded with the signature of a cooperation agreement between Mercator Ocean International and IOC-UNESCO.
The first AI Ocean Forum was the Week’s other key milestone, with policymakers, scientists, industry and technology experts to examine together how artificial intelligence can strengthen ocean observation, forecasting and decision-making. Discussions explored AI-enabled forecasting, ecosystem monitoring, scenario analysis and new user interfaces, while underlining the need for trusted data, scientific validation and transparent methods.
The first Digital Ocean Week served as a shared platform for Europe’s Digital Ocean community: EU institutions, Member States, Copernicus and marine-data actors, satellite and in-situ observing partners, research organisations, technology and AI providers, industry and users. Together, they reflected the breadth of the ecosystem needed to turn ocean knowledge into trusted intelligence and action.
A closer look at the Week
This series of articles looks back at the key moments of Digital Ocean Week through this collective lens. It begins with the 9th Copernicus Marine General Assembly, before turning to OceanEye High-Level Event and the first AI Ocean Forum, three pillars of a week that demonstrated Europe’s capacity to act as a community in shaping the future of the ocean.
- Read Part 2: Shaping the future of Copernicus Marine (9-10 June 2026)
- Read Part 3: OceanEye High Level Event (10 June 2026)
- Read Part 4: the first AI Ocean Forum (11-12 June 2026)
Read the EU Observer article about the Digital Ocean Week: Digital Ocean Week 2026 charts Europe’s path towards integrated ocean intelligence
Photos, replays and wrap-up video
- Access the replays and photo gallery for the Digital Ocean Week. The event page includes replays and resources for the opening, Copernicus Marine General Assembly, OceanEye event and AI Ocean Forum.
Mercator Ocean International warmly thanks all speakers, participants and partners for their contributions to the first Digital Ocean Week. Their expertise and engagement will help carry this collective momentum forward as Europe continues to build its Digital Ocean.