Save the Date – EDINNA General Assembly 2026

Please save the date for the EDINNA General Assembly 2026, which will take place in:

📍 Location: Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia
📅 Dates: 11–13 May 2026

The General Assembly will bring together EDINNA members and partners for discussions on current developments in inland navigation education, future competences and European cooperation.

Further information will follow in the next EDINNA newsletter, including:

• the registration form,

• details on the programme and main themes,,

• travel information on how to reach the venue, and

• hotel and accommodation options.

We kindly invite all members to reserve these dates in their agenda.
More details will be shared soon.

Meetings Attended

PLATINA4Action 2nd Stage Event – Budapest

The PLATINA4Action 2nd Stage Event, held in Budapest at the Danube Commission, brought together European policymakers, experts and stakeholders to discuss key developments shaping the future of Inland Waterway Transport (IWT). The programme addressed EU IWT policy priorities, energy and emission indicators, zero-emission technologies, and the human element in inland navigation.

EDINNA was represented at the event by its President, Prof. Gabriel Benga, PhD, who contributed to Thematic Session 3: The Human Element in IWT. The discussion underlined the continued importance of core competences and harmonised education and training in a sector increasingly influenced by digitalisation, automation and alternative fuels.

The event reaffirmed the need for an integrated approach that combines policy alignment, technological innovation and sustained investment in people, in order to ensure a safe, sustainable and competitive inland navigation sector in Europe.

Track Guidance Assistant for Inland Navigation (TGAIN) – guidance for safe use

CESNI, in cooperation with EDINNA, has published a new brochure on the safe use of the Track Guidance Assistant for Inland Navigation (TGAIN). The document provides practical guidance on the responsible and informed use of TGAIN systems in inland navigation.

The brochure is primarily intended for education and training institutes and for manufacturers, but it is also relevant for the inland navigation sector more broadly. It can be used as basic teaching material in education and training programmes, in the training of crew members at both operational and management level, as a basis for practical user instructions, and as an encouragement for boatmasters to engage critically with the use of TGAIN.

A central element of the brochure is a six-point competence programme that clearly describes the knowledge and skills required for the safe and effective use of a TGAIN. The programme covers technical understanding, operational use, limitations, handling of malfunctions, responsibility of the boatmaster, and security aspects, including digital and cyber-related risks.

With the increasing use of automated and digital navigation support systems, the brochure underlines the continued importance of human competence, situational awareness and training as key factors for safe navigation. It also provides a valuable reference for education providers when developing or updating curricula related to modern navigation technologies.

Website update; redesign in progress

Within the EDINNA Board, we have started preparations for a redesign of the EDINNA website. The current website has grown over time and, while functional, has become increasingly complex to manage for routine updates such as news items and meeting agendas.

Our aim is to move towards a website that is easier to maintain by office management and non-technical users, while retaining a professional and reliable appearance that reflects EDINNA’s role as a European network organisation. The focus is on clarity, accessibility and practical usability, rather than on advanced or complex features.

Before taking the next steps, we would like to invite EDINNA members and associated partners to share their views. Your experience as users of the website is valuable to us.

In the next section, we explain how you can contribute ideas or suggestions.

Your input is welcome

We would appreciate your feedback on the future EDINNA website. In particular, we are interested in your views on questions such as:

• Are there specific features you currently miss on the website?

• Which information do you find most important to access quickly?

• Are there examples of other websites you find clear, practical or inspiring?

• Do you have suggestions that would help improve usability for members and partners?

You are invited to share your ideas by sending a short message to the EDINNA office at edinna@maritiemeacademieharlingen.nl . A few bullet points or a brief suggestion are more than sufficient.

All input will be collected and discussed within the Board as part of the website redesign process.