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The Interreg Euro-MED Innovative Sustainable Economy (ISE) Mission hosted the first edition of the MED Innovation Days, in Marseille on 18-19 June. The event, titled ‘Shaping Sustainable Innovation in the Mediterranean’, also marked the launch of the ISE Community of Practice (CoP). As an implementing partner, MIO-ECSDE had an essential presence at this gathering.
The two-day event kicked-off with the first physical meeting of the ISE CoP, i.e. the Mission’s 14 Thematic Projects (TPs). These projects will support the ISE Mission over the coming years by developing innovative solutions and pilot studies so as to turn them into real practices at local, regional and national levels and feed public policies. More than 80 representatives of the projects and the ISE Mission met at the World Trade Center Marseille to connect and identify ways to collaborate through community-building exercises and thematic group discussions on the sustainable future of the Mediterranean’s marine resources, agri-food systems, industrial transition and resource valorization. The ISE CoP meetings will be taking place twice a year aiming to provide the necessary space for this new community to synergize and collectively chart the way forward. After the activities, participants had the opportunity to attend the European Week of Waste Reduction (EWWR) Awards ceremony at MUCEM.
The first MED Innovation Day was held the next day, on 19 June, with dynamic sessions focusing on what could be a common vision for a climate-neutral and resilient Mediterranean. Attendees, representing local and regional authorities, researchers, entrepreneurs, SMEs and civil society actors took part in a World Café session to lay the groundwork on how they could work together to boost a just transition to a more innovative sustainable economy in the Mediterranean, focusing on green, blue and circular aspects. This activity was followed by a Call to Action exercise, where participants pinpointed the necessary actions and key actors needed to materialize this vision.
In the afternoon, the ISE Mission activities in Marseille concluded with a panel discussion on the ways to scale up innovative solutions to achieve zero waste in the Mediterranean, organised in collaboration with the Region Sud LIFE Smart Waste project and ACR+. The panelists brought up key topics such as:
- empowering local communities to carry out meaningful and inclusive initiatives,
- the role of research in informing and stimulating innovation,
- balancing zero-waste targets with socio-economic priorities in policy making, and
- the role of the private sector in driving forward sustainable innovation.
MIO-ECSDE is looking forward to the upcoming gatherings of the ISE CoP to solidify sustainability efforts in the Mediterranean region.
Read in French here
