CSA AANChOR

The AANChOR project - All AtlaNtic Cooperation for Ocean Research and Innovation - is an H2020 Support and Coordination Action (October 2018 - March 2023), coordinated by FCT, which supports the implementation of the Alliance for research in the Atlantic Ocean - All Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance (AANChOR). All Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance - thus contributing to the implementation of the Belem Declaration, signed by the European Union, Brazil and South Africa in 2017, with the aim of promoting Research and Development in the Atlantic basin, from the Antarctic to the Arctic, with a particular focus on communication, in order to create a strong and attractive visual identity for the Atlantic Ocean, captivating the vast Atlantic community in marine sciences and technologies.

Achieving this political ambition involves establishing a context conducive to identifying and implementing concrete, long-term collaborative measures and activities capable of strengthening international cooperation between Europe and the countries of the South and Tropical Atlantic, in line with the research challenges and needs already identified in the North Atlantic.

The AANChOR consortium, coordinated by FCT, is the result of an agreement between 17 partners from five European countries, two Latin American and two African countries, represented through the following institutions:

• Portugal (FCT, SPI, Ciência Viva, EurOcean and IPMA)
• Spain (PLOCAN)
• France (IFREMER)
• Germany (KDM)
• Belgium (JPI Oceans)
• South Africa (DST, NRF, CSIR)
• Brazil (MCTIC, CONFAP, CNPq)
• Cape Verde (UTA)
• Argentina (MINCYT)

The AANChOR project will be responsible for the implementation of 5 expert platforms that together will identify collaborative activities, from ongoing national and international initiatives, in the following 5 means of cooperation:

• Empowerment,
• Knowledge transfer promoting ocean innovation,
• Development of common standards and practices for data sharing,
• Promoting awareness and literacy of citizens on the issue of the ocean, and
• Alignment and convergence of research and innovation infrastructure initiatives.

AANChOR will provide seed money to support the implementation of the first stages of development of the pilot actions identified within the 5 platforms mentioned above and will try to identify additional funding and other support to ensure the sustainability of these actions in the future, beyond the lifetime of AANChOR.

You can watch a video illustrating the vision for the Atlantic Alliance promoted by the AANChOR project:

Contacts

• Coordination of the CSA AANChOR: Sofia Cordeiro(sofia.cordeiro@fct.pt), FCT
• Coordination team: Marta Norton(marta.norton@fct.pt) and Teresa Courinha(teresa.courinha@fct.pt), FCT

Initiative accompanied by the FCT Ocean Program.