Almost fourteen years after the emergence of the economic crisis in Europe, three years after the appearance of Covid-19 and the first lockdown in Greece, and one year after the start of the war in Ukraine, Resilience, which appeared as Word of the Year 2020, continues as a very popular management style in the private and public sectors. At the same time, it seems that the spring, which remained completely compressed during the years of recession, still has a lot to decompress and – despite the difficult global circumstances – it makes market players quite optimistic.

The conference Blue Economy in mid 2020s: from Resilience to Growth aims to capture the current state of the ecosystem called Blue Economy, illuminating the most important movements, actions and best practices, which are recorded in all industries that are related to maritime, both in Greece and abroad. The conference is under the auspices of the Ministries of Development & Investments and Maritime Affairs & Insular Policy, Municipality of Piraeus, Hellenic Ports Association, and its program includes speeches and round table discussions.

Although, especially in Greece, Resilience is often associated with reticence, downsizing and cost-cutting policies, one of the definitions of Resilience is “the ability of an object or material to immediately spring back to its original shape”. Business history has shown that Resilience can become the most important element of Growth, especially in times of great volatility and uncertainty. It seems that entities, which prefer action to perfection and dare to take calculated risks, show better results, improve their competitive position, acquire a culture of survival in the long term and contribute to the prosperity of society and the country.