ACATMAR takes part in the 2nd ANB International Nautical Forum in Salvador
ACATMAR, the Brazilian Nautical Association, is in Salvador for the 2nd International Nautical Forum of the Bahia Nautical Association (ANB), which began on Tuesday, September 16, and continues on Wednesday, the 17th. The event takes place at the Salvador Maritime Terminal, in the Comércio district, and puts the Sea Economy at the center of the debate.
At the invitation of the ANB board, ACATMAR is present, represented by its president, Leandro "Mané" Ferrari, and by the Director of Tourism, Events and Sustainability, Michele Castilho, who are part of the panel program alongside experts, business leaders and authorities from Brazil and abroad.
An event with an international outlook
According to the organizers, the Forum gathers 10 panels, 38 speakers and 10 moderators, with professionals from Brazil, Spain, Portugal and Canada. It is organized by ANB, co-organized with Spain's Confraria Europeia de Vela and the Bahia Naval Technology Cluster.
The program covers the full breadth of the Sea Economy: port-city integration, nautical sports, tourism, investment in marinas and infrastructure, fishing and aquaculture, coastal management, the nautical and naval industry, job and income generation, and ocean geopolitics. Alongside the debates, the event hosts the 1st Business and Nautical Tourism Expo, aimed at connecting companies, the market, investors and institutions.
ACATMAR's presence
Michele Castilho moderated a panel at the opening of the event, on the relationship between port and city, a strategic topic for urban centers that must reconcile port activity, tourism, mobility and quality of life. Mané Ferrari takes part in the panel dedicated to the nautical and naval industry and to job and income generation, bringing to the debate the experience of Santa Catarina, which concentrates most of Brazil's production of sport and recreational boats. At the event, ACATMAR's president also connected with the speakers from Spain, one of the guest countries, strengthening the exchange between Brazil's nautical sector and European experience.
ACATMAR's presence at an international forum in Bahia reinforces the association's national scope and the view that the Sea Economy is not a single state's affair. Ports, marinas, shipyards, nautical tourism, fishing and services form one chain, which grows stronger when Brazil's hubs talk to each other and to the experience of other countries.
"When the nautical sector of different states sits at the same table, everyone grows. Bahia has an enormous vocation for the sea, Santa Catarina has the industry, and the exchange between these hubs, together with the experience of Spain, Portugal and Canada, is what makes Brazil's Sea Economy mature. ACATMAR needs to be where the sector comes together, and that is why we are here," says Mané Ferrari, president of ACATMAR.
Bahia as a Sea Economy hub
For the organizers, the Forum seeks to expand international exchange, connect governments, experts and investors, and strengthen Bahia as a development hub for the nautical sector. It is the same agenda ACATMAR pursues in Santa Catarina and nationally: organizing the sector, training the workforce, attracting investment and turning the country's relationship with the sea into industry, services, tourism and jobs.
ACATMAR congratulates the Bahia Nautical Association on the event and reaffirms its commitment to joining efforts with other organizations across the country around the Sea Economy.
