Evgeniia is Global Coordinator of the UN Ocean Decade endorsed Programme for Early Career Ocean Professionals, or ECOP Programme. The goal of the Programme is to support early career ocean professionals in their capacity development and work by providing meaningful networking, training, professional development, funding opportunities and creating capacity for cooperation and knowledge exchange.

Evgeniia’s research interests include impacts of climate change on coastal railway infrastructure and coastal tourism, relationship between climate change and food security, marine pollution, and ocean clusters.

Managing Director of the International Ocean Institute, member of the IOI Governing Board, responsible for the IOI Secretariat, and the coordination and expansion of IOI training and education efforts in Ocean Governance, in line with IOI strategy. IOI training events are offered through the global network of IOI Centres, Focal Points and Alumni graduands of IOI’s training programmes since 1972. A recent IOI capacity development project, launched as a 50th Anniversary programme, is the global IOI Ocean Academy that extends IOI capacity development focus to include online Ocean Literacy programmes with focus on community outreach.

David Vivas Eugui is Chief of Ocean and Circular Economy Unit, a.i., Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, at UNCTAD.

Previously, he was a Senior Economic Affairs Officer in UNCTAD’s Trade Negotiations and Commercial Diplomacy Branch, Deputy Programmes Director at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL),  Attaché for Legal Affairs at the Mission of Venezuela to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Staff Attorney at the Venezuelan Institute of Foreign Trade. David is an international expert with more than 20 years of experience on legal and economic issues.

He has worked as an advisor and consultant for various institutions, international and national organizations and has lectured on intellectual property, trade, oceans economy and environmental law at the University of Strasbourg (CEIPI), Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina), Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), Maastricht University (the Netherlands), WIPO Distant Learning Academy, and University of Business and International Studies (Switzerland).

He holds a JD from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, an LLM from Georgetown University and a Master in Transnational Business from the Universidad Externado de Colombia.

François Bailet, BSc (Environmental Sciences), Diplôme d'Étude Approfondies (Law and Economics of Development) and PhD (International Public Law) with almost 30 years of experience working in oceans and the law of the sea, including assisting States and intergovernmental organizations in developing and implementing ocean governance frameworks at all levels, and in building related human and institutional capacity.

Francois is currently Senior Legal Officer in the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs where he heads up the Capacity-Building and Trust Funds Unit of the. He also coordinates the Division’s Maritime Security and Blue Economy clusters and leads the United Nations marking of World Oceans Day. He founded the United Nations – Nippon Fellowship Programme, and has served as the Secretary of the General Assembly’s Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socio-economic Aspects which produced the first World Ocean Assessment.

Formerly, Francois served as the late Elisabeth Mann Borgese’s Special Assistant until her passing in 2002, after which he was appointed Deputy Executive Director of the International Ocean Institute Network (IOI), then Expert Advisor in Ocean Governance to the IOI, and Honorary Adviser to the President of IOI.  He also led the Organization’s delegations to numerous international, regional and national ocean law and policy processes, including those of the United Nations. Francois has held several Adjunct academic appointments, and served as Founding Member and Member of various boards and advisory bodies.

Cosmin Chivu graduated with a BA in International Relations (with Honours) and an MA in Ocean Governance from the University of Malta.

Since 2018, Cosmin has been working with the International Ocean Institute as a Project Officer to conduct day-to-day project planning and coordination across the global network of IOI Centres and Focal Points. Cosmin also actively implements and coordinates practical exercises and lectures on Sustainability and Ocean Policy for IOI’s Ocean Governance capacity-building programmes.

Based in Barcelona, I work at Climate-KIC, where I lead innovation and capacity-building programmes focused on climate adaptation, resilience, and ocean innovation in Tanzania. We support early-stage climate and blue economy startups through the ClimAccelerator, work with climate youth-led NGOs, and organize initiatives like the Blue Economy Hackathon in Zanzibar to foster local innovation.

As co-lead of ECOP Spain, I advocate for the role of early career ocean professionals in shaping a regenerative blue economy. I’ve organized networking events during the UN Ocean Decade Conference and previously worked on knowledge transfer at the Institute of Marine Sciences. I also co-produced a documentary highlighting a Marine Protected Area in southern Spain. My work aims to bridge innovation, ocean and climate knowledge, and entrepreneurial action to build a more resilient future for our oceans.

Daniel Kleinman is the Founder and CEO of Seaworthy Collective. Daniel’s career spanned piloting, testing, and design for marine robotics – from ocean science and exploration at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to naval research at Bluefin Robotics and as a US Navy contractor.

Daniel has been recognized as the youngest Laureate of Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s Prize for Innovative Philanthropy, a 30 Under 30 by the University of Miami, a Future Climate Leader by the Aspen Institute, and a TEDxBoston Planetary Stewardship speaker.

Daniel has a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida, a Master’s in Exploration Science from University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and a design and systems thinking background from Stanford University’s school as a University Innovation Fellow.

Born and raised on a small island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, Herland has from a young age developed an admiration for the ocean.

Over the past 10 years, he has applied his expertise in development economics and passion for facilitating partnerships to the design and implementation of multi-country programs geared towards advancing the SDG agenda in African Small Island Developing States and coastal countries, both at an inter-governmental and private sector level.

His avid interest in entrepreneurship has led him to join OceanHub Africa’s team, where, as Managing Director, he currently leads the operations of the first and only Pan-African business Entrepreneurial Support Organisation dedicated to supporting the deployment of innovative ocean-impact solutions across the continent. Herland is one of the 2 only non-scientist members of the African and Adjacent Island States UN Ocean Decade Taskforce determined to unlock science to solutions opportunities in the Blue Economy.