On November 30, the highly anticipated first Thematic Dialogue of the POSEIDON project took place at the University of Ghent. This event brought together key stakeholders including the POSEIDON Consortium partners, supporting partners, as well as representatives from local and international public and private sector. The discussion covered the crucial theme of public-private cooperation within the port system, attracting a total of 36 participants from both public and private sector; a resounding success, showcasing the commitment of the POSEIDON project to enhance port resilience against corruption and infiltration from organised crime.
The focus of this first Thematic Dialogue was to identify opportunities to strengthen public-private cooperation as a way to address corruption-related vulnerabilities in the port sector. Participants engaged in a series of in-depth discussions, clustered across three panels that took place throughout the day, aimed at identifying existing challenges as well as good practices and strategies for improving European ports’ ability to counter the infiltration of corruption within their supply chain. Participants were able to learn about existing initiatives at international level aimed at strengthening port integrity through public private cooperation, as well as gather key insights from case studies presented by local stakeholders.
The POSEIDON project’s Thematic Dialogues underline the collective work to make European ports more resilience through the cooperation of stakeholders across the entire spectrum of ports ecosystem. This is in line with one of the ultimate goals of the project, i.e. the establishment of the POSEIDON EU Port Stakeholder Network. By bringing together experts, authorities, and stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, the POSEIDON project continues to be at the forefront of efforts to combat corruption in EU ports.
Our thanks go to our partners from the University of Ghent for hosting the Dialogue, as well as to all our speakers and participants for actively contributing to its success.
Stay tuned for our upcoming second Thematic Dialogue, which will take place in Algeciras in January 2024!
