‘All Blue Week’ begins as UNCW launches the Alliance for the Blue Economy

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — In an effort to make Wilmington a hub for the “blue economy,” UNCW is hosting “All Blue Week” to launch its Alliance for the Blue Economy.

The week’s worth of events demonstrating the university’s vision for the alliance kicks off on Tuesday with a keynote address from futurist and author Deborah Westphal at 8:30 am in UNCW’s Lumina Theater.

Many may be asking, what exactly is the “blue economy?” Senior Research Associate in UNCW’s biology and marine biology departments Troy Alphin explained it’s essentially any activities that use water resources in a way that doesn’t harm the environment.

“A beach, waterway, tidal creek, or the river system,” Alphin said. “It can be any of those things dealing from transportation to recreation and how it is that we move around within the region.”

The purpose of the initiative is to highlight the work of businesses, non-profits, and education in coastal and marine environments and to encourage the sustainable development of our region.

Director of All Blue Week Diane Durance said they are hoping to showcase the work the university, as well as the members of the community, are doing to help achieve the goal of making Wilmington a national and global leader in the blue economy.

“What we’d like to see as the future of our region in terms of job creation and growing those things that will really help us celebrate and utilize responsibly our coastal and marine resources,” Durance said.

For more information on the alliance and a full list of events, visit the All Blue website.