An international meeting dedicated to research and global collaboration to protect our coasts and the future of our oceans concluded last week in Lecce. The event, which hosted the annual meetings of CoastPredict (a UN Ocean Decade program) and the Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience (DCC-CR) of UNESCO, culminated in the launch of the GlobalCoast Network—an initiative designed to enhance coastal risk forecasting and promote effective adaptation strategies, with CMCC’s Giovanni Coppini elected co-chair of this global network.

An international conference was just concluded in Lecce, Italy, featuring a U.N. initiative dedicated to the ocean, and the participation of more than 100 scientists from around the world, gathered to discuss the latest solutions and knowledge for protecting coasts and coastal economies from climate change events.

The event brought together the annual meetings of CoastPredict, a United Nations Ocean Decade program, and UNESCO’s Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience (DCC-CR). Both initiatives aim to transform science and technology to improve coastal hazard prediction and promote climate adaptation.

This is a crucial issue in the context of the environmental, social and economic changes we are experiencing. For this reason, the CMCC Foundation has brought together some of the best scientists from all continents at this event, calling them to collaborate in a crucial way for the future of the economy and people on a global scale. To address challenges such as continued sea level rise and the impacts of coastal changes, the research community is leveraging technological innovations such as big data, cloud and artificial intelligence along with the creation of international scientific networks and communities to monitor and develop global solutions.

The conference also celebrated the first general assembly of the GlobalCoast Network, an international network aimed at improving coastal hazard prediction and promoting effective adaptation strategies. In this context, Giovanni Coppini, director of CMCC’s Global Coastal Ocean, was elected co-chair of the GlobalCoast Network, joined by Aletta Yñiguez of the Marine Science Institute at the University of the Philippines at Diliman.

“We have a big team focusing on coastal modeling, observation systems, and socio-economic impact assessments,” said Coppini. “So, I feel supported and deeply committed, and I firmly believe in the power of science driven by partnerships. I am excited to work with this network, and I look forward to expanding it in the coming years while keeping everyone engaged.”

“There are many exciting things happening in Coast Predict,” Yñiguez added. “From the very first meetings, the network’s vision resonated with me. As a modeller working in the Philippines on fields such as oceanography, algae blooms, and fisheries, I see a strong alignment between my work and what this network is aiming to achieve.”

International participants from Europe, the Americas, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia discussed local challenges and opportunities arising from global cooperation, a key step toward an integrated and shared approach in ocean science, capable of pooling knowledge and tools to protect coasts and ensure the resilience of communities globally.

For further reading: we have covered these topics in our latest LinkedIn newsletters, particularly on coastal resilience and global ocean science.