India launches India-EU Ideathon to combat marine plastic litter

On 25 September, the India-EU Ideathon on “Combating Marine Plastic Litter” was formally launched. Under the auspices of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council Working Group 2 (India-EU-TTC-WG2) on Green and Clean Energy Technologies, the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India collaborated with the European Union Delegation to India to host the event. 

Signe Ratso, deputy director-general for research and innovation at the European Commission, and Parvinder Maini, scientific secretary, office of the PSA, were at the event.  Maini underscored that the Ideathon is a collaborative effort to create ideas that are applicable both locally and worldwide. She said, “The Ideathon on combating marine plastic litter is an excellent example of India-EU’s shared vision for developing globally impactful solutions that address the problem of plastic pollution in both Indian and European contexts.”

Ratso highlighted that the initiative is an important step in strengthening EU-India cooperation on sustainability challenges. She said, “The EU-India-TTC-WG2 Ideathon strengthens EU-India cooperation, as we join forces to address challenges that impact our shared vision for global sustainability. This initiative brings us together to tackle marine plastic pollution, a growing crisis that endangers marine life, public health, and coastal economies across our regions.”

Special remarks were delivered by Nienke Buisman, head of the international cooperation unit at the directorate-general for research and innovation, European Commission, and Rakesh Kaur, adviser, office of the PSA. Buisman and Kaur encouraged participants to contribute ideas and explore collaborative pathways for addressing marine plastic litter. The launch event featured an overview of the Ideathon framework, outlining the process, structure, guidelines and timelines.

A landscape of marine plastic litter in India and the European Union was presented by Prof. Hoysala Chanakya, chief research scientist, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and John Hanus, directorate-general for research and innovation, European Commission. The presentations highlighted prevailing challenges and ongoing research initiatives in both regions and emphasised the importance of coordinated and sustained action to address the issue.

During the event, three challenges for the Ideathon were introduced by mentors from India and the European Union, including identifying and tracking marine plastics to develop innovative approaches for detecting and monitoring their movement across coastal and ocean ecosystems, developing technologies for the removal of marine plastics with a focus on effective and scalable solutions to reduce plastic litter in marine environments, and lastly, raising awareness and mobilising communities for the prevention of marine plastic pollution, highlighting the role of behavioural change and community-led action to stop plastic leakage into ecosystems. Each presentation was followed by a question-and-answer session that allowed participants to engage and clarify the scope of these themes.

Experts in the field and more than 75 participants,  representing officials, researchers, start-ups, businesses, and civil society organisations, were present at the launch event, providing perspectives on addressing marine plastic pollution.