The conference was designed as a place for all citizens, where through the expert part of the conference and 4 panel discussions it was possible to educate about the enormous problem of waste in the sea, and through an interesting artistic program to inspire possible solutions. The conference was visited by slightly less than 100 participants and over 20 experts who spoke about the topic of preserving the marine environment, innovative solutions for collecting and processing garbage from the sea, the importance of the circular economy, biodiversity and the return of nature to human lives.

The director of the DUNEA Regional Agency, Melanija Milić, and the Prefect of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Nikola Dobroslavić, greeted all present. As the conference is part of the MARLESS project, Andrea Torresan, on behalf of the project's leading partner, the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of the Veneto Region (IT), presented the results of this project.

The professional part of the meeting began with the panel "Litter in the sea as a global problem without administrative borders", which brought together representatives of neighboring countries whose goal is to preserve the marine environment we share. They talked about steps and measures to reduce waste in the sea, and it was concluded that the future lies only in joint cooperation, exchange of experiences, practices and information, and joint actions for the benefit of all. Nikola Dobroslavić, prefect of Dubrovnik-Neretva County as host of this event, representative of the Italian region of Veneto and their expert from the regional environmental protection agency as representatives of the leading partner of the MARLESS project, Matteo Liziaer and Marco Abordi, Mato Tomljanović, senior advisor specialist from DNŽ and Tamara Brajović, Director of the Directorate for Nature at the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism of Montenegro. The panel was moderated by the representative of the Emilia-Romagna region of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region (EUSAIR) initiative.

The second panel of the conference took place on the topic "Adriatic Sea as a driver of development - focusing on issues of waste in the sea". They talked about innovative solutions for collecting and processing waste from the sea, and the panelists were extremely inspired by the exchange of experiences. Of special interest was the short information about the SeaClear project system and the future where robots would collect garbage from the sea, and divers could finally just enjoy the underwater world. They also talked about the great potential of ecological actions for the tourist offer, starting from the fact that every person wants to be helpful and feel that they are contributing to the well-being of the environment, nature and society. This panel was discussed by Ivana Palunko, head of the Laboratory for Intelligent Autonomous Systems and associate professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Dubrovnik, Chiara Gualandi, research associate at the University of Bologna, Vedran Dorušić, president of the Diving Tourism Association of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and director of diving of the FOKA Center, Ivan Sekovski, program manager at the Center for Regional Activities of the Program of Priority Actions (CRA/PPA) and Hrvoje Carić, researcher at the Institute for Tourism.

The focus of the third panel entitled "Marine waste in the fisheries sector - fishermen and shellfish growers as guardians of the sea" was placed on the link between fisheries and marine waste, because marine waste has become a part of everyday life for fishermen and growers. They talked about interesting activities that are undertaken in this context and about the possibilities of introducing circular economy processes into this sector, especially on the example of the BLUEfasma project and the concept of processing oyster and mussel shells, where otherwise waste material becomes raw material for making jewelry, souvenirs or even a mixture suitable for 3D printer. Participating were Pero Tutman, Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries Split, Valentina Andrić, head of the Service for Advisory Support in Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries, Marijana Pećarević, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation and Science of the University of Dubrovnik, Martina Monticelli, representative of the CETACEA association, and Ivo Mujo, Deputy Head of the Administrative Department for Entrepreneurship, Tourism and the Sea of ​​Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

The importance of preserving habitats and biodiversity was discussed at the last panel of the conference "The impact of marine debris on biodiversity". The discussion touched on plastic waste as a fraction that, once it reaches the environment, never disappears but turns into microplastics and how it all affects marine animals. On this occasion, we received an explanation of how all dolphins in Croatia have their own name for easier monitoring and how they react to pollution in the marine environment. We found out that the Mediterranean fur seal is visiting our county and if we want it to return here, we need to pay special attention to the plastic that floats in our sea and reaches the most distant caves, which this endangered species needs to raise its young. We heard that the removal of microplastics from our sea lies precisely in cooperation with nature, more precisely with the help of filtering marine organisms, such as mussels, which filter everything from the sea, including microplastics. The discussion on these topics was led by Draško Holcer, senior curator at the Croatian Museum of Natural History and one of the founders of the Blue World Institute, Margarita Polzer from the Public Institution for Nature Protection of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Mirta Smodlaka Tanković, scientific associate at the Ruđer Bošković Institute, Research Center mora, Kora Dvorski, representative of WWF Adria and Anita Babačić Ajduk, Director of the Public Institution for Nature Protection of Šibenik - Knin County.

On this occasion, a Workshop on the Protocol for notification and action in case of finding dead, sick or injured sea turtles was held. Sea turtles are strictly protected, but their biggest threat is still interaction with humans. It was an excellent opportunity to get basic guidelines on how to react and act in case of finding injured sea turtles, so through two presentations we got clear instructions on what number to call and how to act if we come across an injured sea turtle. We learned how to place the turtle on a soft surface to warm or cool it. The workshop provided our fellow citizens with knowledge that can be crucial in meeting these beautiful protected animals. Basic knowledge about sea turtles was shared with the gathered by Ivana Konjevod, in front of the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Nature Areas DNŽ and Martina Monticelli from CETACEA Fondatione.

"The magic of recycling - old things make new ones"

With the aim of raising the level of awareness about the problem of waste in the sea, the informal part of the conference was also held with the hope that it inspired the visitors to make the necessary changes. There was the exhibition stand "FROM LJUŠTURE TO SOUVENIR" of the BLUEfasma project, the exhibition stand of artist Danijela Dogo Atić and her TerraJungle brand. The VALNEA STATIONARY brand by the designer Valnea Dzamarija was also presented.

Lucija Margaretić's SINJORINA brand could also be seen in the art program of the conference, while academic painter Dubravka Tullio contributed to the conference through the design of decorations. In addition to this mini fair of local artists and producers, you could also see the children's exhibition "The magic of recycling - old things make new ones." We saw five sculptures of turtles made of garbage, which were displayed on used fishing nets, as a clear message that turtles die under the influence of humans, mostly from discarded fishing tools. These sculptures were made by the children of Cavtat Primary School.

We could also see the works of children who, using the magic of recycling, made containers for flowers, such as a used laundry detergent bottle that became a container in the shape of an elephant, etc. These works were made by students of Opuzen Primary School and Opuzen Agricultural Technical High School.

The manager of the MARLESS project in front of the DUNEA Regional Agency, Iva Pozniak, who at the same time designed and coordinated the entire content of the conference, commented at the end: "I sincerely hope that all participants enjoyed themselves and I believe that our main goal was successfully achieved, to offer content that will through education and art, to inspire people to start a new day with change, related to the amount of waste they produce in their daily lives. We also believe that after this conference, everyone takes with them some new knowledge and, most importantly, new acquaintances and contacts that they will use for future projects and actions."