The delegate of the Free Trade Zone, Fran González, accompanied by the undersecretary of the Treasury, the mayor of Cádiz, the global director of Open Innovation of Telefónica and the president of Puertos del Estado, has inaugurated the great forum of the sector at the Palacio de Congresos blue
Gunter Pauli, father of the Blue Economy, opened the BZF presentations valuing Incubazul as a tool to change the environment
Fran González has expressed his enthusiasm for holding a forum of this importance that “reaffirms our belief that Cádiz is moving forward to become a benchmark and hub for the Blue Economy.”
BZF is organized by Zona Franca de Cádiz with the collaboration of the Cádiz City Council, State Ports, the Cajasol Foundation, Caja Rural del Sur, Telefónica, Petaca Chico and the Incyde Foundation
Incubazul has 80% co-financing from the European FEDER Funds within the 2014-2020 Operational Program, A way of making Europe, through the INCYDE Foundation
The State delegate in the Free Trade Zone of Cádiz, Fran González, inaugurated today at the Cádiz Congress Palace the Blue Zone Forum, the great forum of the Blue Economy that turns Cádiz into a center of reflection on the transition towards a more sustainable socioeconomic model based on the Blue Economy. Fran González was accompanied at the institutional event by the Undersecretary of the Treasury, Pilar Paneque; the mayor of the city, Bruno García; the global director of Open Innovation at Telefónica, Irene Gómez, the president of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena; and the general director of the Incyde Foundation, Javier Collado. The journalist Javier Ruiz has introduced all of them.
María Jesús Montero, Vice President of the Government and Minister of Finance, the ministry on which the Free Zone depends, wanted to be present at the event and through videoconference she congratulated the Cádiz Institution for the organization of the Blue Zone Forum and congratulated attendees for being able to participate in a forum of this level and characteristics. The minister gave way to the Undersecretary of Finance and Public Function, Pilar Paneque, who also congratulated the Cádiz Free Trade Zone for organizing the event.
Fran González welcomed all attendees and was excited about this forum that turns Cádiz into an important center of reflection and shows us that we are moving forward to become a hub of the Blue Economy. “We believe that the ecosystem is already consolidating and that we only have to continue connecting dots and promoting synergies so that all the key pieces of this sector work together and complement each other to continue moving forward. And always thinking about making it circulate, which is the motto of our first BZF”
González added that "there has been a lot of talk and I have done it before about the importance of the blue economy, which Gunter Pauli invented or conceptualized, as a lever for real economic change and with wide margins for employability and growth."
As it could not be otherwise, Gunter Pauli, father of the Blue Economy, was in charge of the first of the conferences and in it he praised the work of the Free Trade Zone incubator, stating emphatically that Incubazul “can serve to change the environment and that is the future. In a very entertaining intervention that has captured the public's attention, Pauli pointed out that the driving force of the economy is the ability to generate added value and added that "entrepreneurs are needed to put good ideas into practice."
Pauli has advised governments, entrepreneurs and business leaders on how to implement breakthrough innovations that enable society to better meet everyone's basic needs, starting with water, food, housing, health and energy. He works with what is available locally and focuses on creating value. His business activities span business, culture, science, politics and the environment.
Today's day has been intense and very productive. During the afternoon there will be four sectoral talks – Maritime Transport, Renewable Energies, Primary Sector and Coastal Tourism – by experts in these sectors who respond to a public that is very interested and involved in the environment. and with a new model of economic development with the circular concept and protection of the oceans, a revolutionary idea that today is an indisputable source of employability.
In parallel, during the afternoon three workshops are held titled “My bad luck!”, “What it takes to sell yourself well on social media” and “How to look for and take advantage of opportunities” that cover a younger audience. .
With more than 900 registered, the meeting brings together entrepreneurs, companies, institutions, experts and lecturers and places Cádiz as a reference for the Blue Economy and a center of reflection on the transition towards a more sustainable socioeconomic model based on the blue sector. Among the main objectives of the BZF are raising awareness about the Blue Economy and the improvement of the sector through technological innovation; promote and encourage entrepreneurship, mainly among young talent; and support the business fabric.
The Cádiz Free Trade Zone has organized this forum within the framework of Incubazul, its high-tech Blue Economy incubator. Incubazul has the support of the European Union, which co-finances it, through the Incyde Foundation, of the Spanish Chambers of Commerce, 80% by the FEDER within the Pluriregional Operational Program 2014-2020 within axis 3: Improve competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises and investment priority 3. Promotion of entrepreneurship, in particular, facilitating the economic exploitation of new ideas, and promoting the creation of new companies, also through incubators.
