To promote the efforts made by different European ports to enhance the city port relations through innovative projects, ESPO decided in 2009 to give out an annual ESPO award on Social Integration of Ports. After the two first editions, it was decided to focus each year on one different aspect of social integration.
The themes addressed so far are: Creative Strategies to Communicate the Port to the Wider Public (2011), Youth (2012), Heritage (2013), Innovative Environmental Projects (2014), Relationship with Schools and Universities (2015), Nature in Ports (2016), Art and Cultural involvement of the port (2017), Ports as a good work environment for everyone (2018), Transparency and the role of social media in reaching out to the local community (2019), Enhancing the port-city relationship by encouraging innovators and local start-ups to be part of the port ecosystem (2020), Role of ports in the recovery of the city and the local community (2021), Role of Maritime Passenger Transport in Enhancing the City Connectivity and bringing Added Value to the Local Community (2022) and Nature Restoration Projects in Ports (2023).
On November 6, the Port of Sevilla proudly receives the ESPO Award 2024 for its groundbreaking project "Circular Economy for Valorising Maintenance Dredging Sediments", which benefits both the city and surrounding communities. The award, presented by Magda Kopczynska, Director General of DG MOVE at the European Commission, was celebrated at the festive ceremony and dinner at Brussels' Albert Hall, with over 200 guests in attendance.
This innovative project uses sustainable, circular economy approach to repurpose uncontaminated sediments from the Eurovía del Guadalquivir. Following the 'Working with Nature' model, these sediments, once used only in civil works, are now boosting biodiversity, restoring coastlines, and supporting ceramics and construction industries.
The competition welcomed nine impressive projects in total. Port of Sevilla's project stood out alongside the four shortlisted projects from Port of Antwerp-Bruges (Belgium), Port of Gothenburg (Sweden) and Port of Huelva (Spain).
The 2024 ESPO Award painting, was crafted exclusively for us by Dutch artist Sasja Hagens
With the support of:
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https://www.fincantieri.com/en/
WINNERS OF THE ESPO AWARD
ESPO’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE
We hope you had an incredible time at this year's ESPO Conference in Paris! Get ready for even more excitement, because we're thrilled to invite you to Thessaloniki for the 2025 edition, happening on May 8th and 9th. Don't miss out on the next unforgettable experience!
Click below to dive into the stunning photos and presentations from this year's ESPO conference in Paris and relive the unforgettable moments we shared!
