GRAAL brings together Atlantic stakeholders ahead of the Atlantic-WestMED Stakeholder Conference

15 and 16 September 2026, the GRAAL project will be in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the Atlantic-WestMED Stakeholder Conference, a key gathering for stakeholders from the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean maritime communities.

Ahead of the conference, GRAAL will also organise an in-person Workshop on 14 September as part of its Atlantic Area Policy Lab – Community of Practice. The event will bring together stakeholders from across the Atlantic Area to explore shared challenges, cross-cutting priorities and possible pathways for joint action.

The Atlantic-WestMED Stakeholder Conference: a strategic opportunity for GRAAL

This conference will bring together, for the first time in a shared space for dialogue, the communities of the Atlantic Maritime Strategy and the WestMED Initiative. Public authorities, policymakers, project representatives, experts and blue economy stakeholders will have the opportunity to meet and exchange on common challenges and opportunities: blue skills, coastal resilience, sustainable tourism and decarbonisation.

For GRAAL, this participation is fully in line with the project's ambition to strengthen cooperation across the Atlantic Area and improve connections between European projects, territorial stakeholders and public policies. It will be an opportunity to share the work carried out within the project, engage with stakeholders from both maritime communities, strengthen synergies with other European initiatives, and bring the discussions and emerging findings from the Policy Lab to a wider community of stakeholders involved in maritime policies and the blue economy.

Find out more about the Atlantic-WestMED Stakeholder Conference 

The GRAAL Atlantic Area Policy Lab: from knowledge to policy

Across the Atlantic Area, numerous projects and initiatives are generating knowledge, tools and solutions to address environmental challenges and support the sustainable development of the blue economy. Yet, translating these results into public policies and concrete action remains a challenge.

To help bridge this gap, GRAAL has established the Atlantic Area Policy Lab Community of Practice. This initiative provides a structured space for dialogue and collaboration, designed to strengthen the links between knowledge generated by projects and public decision-making processes.

It brings together a wide range of stakeholders: public authorities and policymakers, researchers and academics, private sector actors, civil society organisations and partners from European projects.

Discussions are structured around five key thematic areas:

• Marine energy

• Ocean pollution

• Disaster-resilient coasts

• Nature preservation

• Sustainable tourism

Through this collaborative approach, the Policy Lab aims to identify common policy and implementation challenges, facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience, and collectively explore solutions that can support action across the Atlantic Area.

Discover the GRAAL Atlantic Area Policy Lab CoP

 

Join the GRAAL Policy Lab Workshop

Ahead of the Atlantic-WestMED Stakeholder Conference, GRAAL will organise an in-person Workshop dedicated to bringing together the discussions from the different thematic areas of the Policy Lab:

GRAAL ATLANTIC AREA POLICY LAB
Cross-Thematic Integration Workshop

Date: Monday, 14 September 2026

Time: 15:00 – 17:00 (Las Palmas local time, WEST)

Location: Sala «Lado A» – Rectorado de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
C/ Juan de Quesada, 30, planta alta / principal, 35001 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Registration

Building on the discussions and emerging findings from the Atlantic Area Policy Lab, this Workshop will provide an opportunity to move from thematic discussions to a shared Atlantic perspective.

Participants will work together to identify recurring challenges across thematic areas, common policy and implementation gaps, shared solutions and enabling conditions, as well as possible coordinated pathways for action at Atlantic level.

Ultimately, this Workshop will contribute to identifying cross-cutting priorities and promising directions for joint action and policy uptake, and will feed into the next stages of the Atlantic Area Policy Lab CoP.

Workshop agenda