Tackling societal challenges together

“Scientific findings are invaluable for political decisions, as they offer reliability and create trust,” was the summary of the parliamentary evening of the German Marine Research Alliance (DAM), which took place for the second time in Kiel on September 18, 2024 after almost two years of introductions of the DAM to the parliamentarians of the northern German states. Around 100 guests, including members of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament, representatives of ministries, non-governmental organizations and stakeholders from science and industry, accepted the invitation to find out about the future of the North Sea and Baltic Sea region.
“Whether it’s salvaging munitions from the sea, climate protection or ocean research: our seas need strong advocates like the German Marine Research Alliance, which enriches political debates with important recommendations, advice and voices from the scientific community. Life in Schleswig-Holstein is connected to the oceans like in hardly any other place. As a coastal state, we can only be doing well if our seas are doing well,” emphasized Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister President Daniel Günther in his welcoming address.

Katja Matthes, Director of GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and DAM Board Member, presented the highlights of the past two years as examples of the effective transfer of research results into policy – on topics such as carbon management, the Baltic Sea Action Plan and marine munitions recovery. These are the result of the ongoing dialog between science, politics, business and society, one of the core tasks of the DAM.

During the subsequent panel discussion, representatives of the DAM research missions CDRmare, sustainMare and mareXtreme looked back on the past two years – and into the future – together with politicians:

• Karin Prien, Minister for Education and Training, Science, Research and Culture of Schleswig-Holstein
• Andreas Oschlies, GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel
• Marie-Catherine Riekhof, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
• Ralf Weisse, Helmholtz Center Hereon and
• Maarten Boersma, Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research.

What is special about the work and research missions of the DAM is the link between science, politics, business and civil society. Only together can solutions be found for the major social challenges of our time – especially for dealing with man-made climate change. With its focus on networking within the scientific community, the DAM is a platform for the strategic further development of German marine research and also makes an international contribution as a network partner of the German Committee of the UN Ocean Decade (ODK) and through its involvement in the UN Ocean Decade. With this approach, the DAM could serve as a role model for other scientific disciplines.

We are very pleased about this positive response!

Further information on the program of the parliamentary evening.