The 20th edition of AZTI’s Summer School, held from June 11th to 13th at the San Sebastián Aquarium, provided a comprehensive forum for exploring the intersection of marine science and policy. This year’s theme, “Bridging the Gap: Communicating for an Informed Society and Decision-Making,” was brought to life through a series of insightful presentations and interactive sessions.

The event kicked off with Angel Borja, who introduced the goals and structure of the summer school, emphasizing its role in enhancing science-policy communication. Sigi Gruber’s session on how scientists can reach, and influence policy-making processes was a highlight, offering strategies for effective engagement with policymakers.

Further enriching the program, Stéphane Isoard from the European Environment Agency shared experiences from the agency’s work at the science-policy interface. André Abreu of the Tara Océan Foundation discussed strategies for communicating with policymakers, while Julie Bremner from CEFAS explored direct communication tactics with governments.

Day two shifted focus towards broader public engagement, with sessions on marine science communication challenges led by Kathrin Kopke, and social media’s role in disseminating scientific information led by the Science Crunchers’ team. The day concluded with a hands-on writing workshop for Early Career Researchers, guided by Mike Elliott, Angel Borja, and María Uyarra, focusing on crafting impactful scientific papers.

The final day featured sessions focused on the relationship between science and effective societal solutions, with Erasmia Kastanidi from HCMR using fun games to elicit holistic responses from policymakers and Tymon Zielinski from IOPAN discussing the Ocean Literacy concept to engage society.

The summer school not only highlighted the critical role of effective communication in marine science but also celebrated its collaborative spirit as a joint action from Horizon Europe projects GES4SEAS, OBAMA-NEXT, BIOcean5D, ACTNOW, Marine SABRES and MARBEFES.

We celebrate yet another successful edition of the AZTI Summer Schools that fostered future initiatives to further bridge the gap between marine science, society, and policy.