The conference brought together, from each country, a balance of politicians, senior government officials, researchers, and community leaders to share experiences and highlight initiatives and approaches that are being taken to address a number of important issues facing small coastal communities.

The conference provided a forum for participants, government and non-government alike, to share best practices, lessons learned and new approaches being used to improve the quality of life for small coastal communities. A concerted effort was made to identify actions to overcome some of the challenges facing these communities, This will foster the collective spirit and partnerships that present opportunity for the communities of the North Atlantic region.