In addition to One Sustainable and Equitable Ocean , which was the City of Bergen's main event, both the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research were broadly involved during the conference.
Invited to One Ocean Week 2026
- "The city of Bergen and Norway had a strong and visible presence during World Maritime Day in Nice," says Mayor Marit Warncke.
- "We were there to promote Norway's candidacy as a board member of UNESCO, and we from Bergen were also there to promote Bergen as the host city for the Ocean Decade conference in 2030, and to invite people to One Ocean Week in April 2026," she says.
- Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Victoria, three ministers from Norway, ambassadors, senior executives from the IOC, UNESCO, the University of Bergen, the Institute of Marine Research, the Nansen Center, the Directorate of Fisheries and others were on board the Statsraaden under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We sailed into Nice in a singing parade cortege with other ships and research vessels, with our dear white lady as the proudest and most beautiful ship, says Warncke.
Ocean Rise & Coastal Resilience
During the Ocean Rise & Coastal Resilience Summit, the mayor gave a speech together with the head of the expedition and CEO of Statsraad Lehmkuhl, Haakon Vatle.
Bergen is a partner in the coalition of ocean cities, and the mayor's message was that the climate crisis and sea-level rise can be solved, but only through collaboration.
- Collaboration across cities and countries, but also across academia, business, government and civil society," says Warncke.
- Statsraad Lehmkuhl and One Ocean Expedition also participated. It was a proud mayor who hosted a number of international guests on board, she adds.
Minecraft launch with the Crown Prince
H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon was on board the Statsraad Lehmkuhl on several occasions during the conference. One session was when Minecraft launched its new game «Ocean Heroes» as a world premiere.
The game is designed to engage children and young people in the work of solving the ocean's challenges.
Immediately after the launch, local schoolchildren got to try the game for the very first time – on tablets, right on the main deck.
- "The fact that the launch is taking place on board Statsraad Lehmkuhl here during the UNOC in Nice, with school children in attendance, is simply fantastic. This is exactly what we want with the One Ocean Expedition - to make ocean knowledge accessible and engage the next generation in a way that is both understandable and inspiring," says expedition leader and Lehmkuhl director, Haakon Vatle.
We were also honored that H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon was present during the launch of the Minecraft game – and also participated in other events on board the ship, he adds.
- We also had the pleasure of welcoming NRK and the French broadcaster ICI TV on board, along with a Japanese delegation supporting our science coordinators, Norwegian ministers, heads of state from around the world, ambassadors, representatives from the European Commission - and students from UiT who will soon be sailing with us through the Northwest Passage," Vatle concludes.
New networks
The goal for the Institute of Marine Research was for the Ocean City Bergen to make its mark and establish new networks.
Throughout next year's One Ocean Expedition, during which Statsraad Lehmkuhl will visit 28 ports around the world, the expedition will carry official invitations to next year's One Ocean Week. Nice and the UN Ocean Conference are among the first stops on the journey. It will be attended by a global ocean research community, as well as leaders from business, academia and government.
- This is important for the seaside city of Bergen. The next such conference is probably three years away, and it will be further away. The city made its mark and created new networks," says Professor Peter Haugan, Director of the Institute of Marine Research.
The University of Bergen presented young talents
- "We were already looking forward to the UN Ocean Conference when the University of Bergen presented three young talents from ocean research and activism in the event "One Sustainable and Equitable Ocean" together with the other partners in One Ocean, Bergen, Norway," says Advisor for Oceans and Sustainable Development Goal 14, Sverre Ole Drønen, who coordinated the work of the UiB delegation in Nice.
- UiB is the only university in Norway and one of very few universities in the world to have participated in both of the two previous UN Ocean Conferences. "It's natural for us to follow up on the work we're already doing as a Hub institution for the UN on Sustainable Development Goal 14. Not least, we're keen to bring research-based knowledge to politicians and decision-makers. An arena like UNOC3 in Nice is a rare opportunity to do just that," says Drønen and adds: -"It is also a good meeting place for us and our partners from all over the world.
- This time we are also pleased that so many of our partners from One Ocean, Bergen, Norway are participating. This bodes well for the work with One Ocean Week in the years to come and, not least, for the work to bring the Ocean Decade Conference, which IOC-UNESCO organizes every three years, to Bergen in 2030. The year in which the UN's ocean research decade culminates," says the UiB advisor.
A strong team
- There are a whole series of events organized in whole or in part by Norway in connection with the main UNOC conference. These include an event on polar research and management organized by the Institute of Marine Research and the Norwegian Polar Institute. In addition, there is profiling of spatial planning in India during the Norwegian-Indian Ocean Dialogue led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Nansen program (NORAD/FAO), the action network for aquatic food (NFD), ocean management in the Skagerrak area (Nordic Council of Ministers), Haugan says.
Haugan will also provide input from the global «ocean research world» to UNOC.
One Ocean Science Congress
During the first day of the One Ocean Science Congress, Research Director at the Institute of Marine Research Geir Lasse Taranger came sailing with the Royal Norwegian Navy from a workshop under the auspices of the European Space Agency to mark the first day of the congress and to his own parallel program these days.
The topics ranged from ecosystem-based management in the Arctic and biodiversity, to food from the sea, ocean acidification, ocean observation systems, sustainable tourism, marine carbon removal and research support for management.
- "For the Institute of Marine Research, as a national ocean management institute under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, it is important that the top management participates in such conferences and is an integral part of the Norwegian delegation together with politicians, officials from several ministries in addition to Norad and the Research Council as the subordinate units," says Haugan.
– For the Institute of Marine Research as an institution, I would say that the most important thing is 1) networks, partly maintaining research networks, partly establishing or strengthening new ones at management level, 2) getting important things that happen in international marine research cooperation and politics so we can adapt to it, 3) be involved and contribute our knowledge and expertise to an important international arena, Haugan concludes.
