News

The BLUEMED Consortium is pleased to announce that the BLUEMED Call for Start up Actions is now open!

The Start-up Actions represent concrete opportunities to explore innovative, knowledge-based pathways and forward-looking visions with a multidisciplinary, mission-oriented approach, for further uptake and developments. Addressed to entities who are willing to partner up with at least three other organisations from different countries, including one non-EU country and one private enterprise, it will fund a series of meetings leading up to a feasibility, foresight or pilot study on topics that are crucial to the future of Blue Growth in the Mediterranean, driven by the BLUEMED Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. Interested parties are invited to carefully read the Terms of Reference laying out all the conditions for applying. Each selected partnership will receive up to 32,000 Euros to cover the costs of the organisation of three workshops/meetings leading to the drafting of the studies.

Deadline for submission is the 15th July 2018.

Call and application form available here: http://www.bluemed-initiative.eu/start-up-actions/

During the 5+5 Dialogue Third Ministerial Conference, Tunis, 2017 a new Work Programme 2017- 2018 was approved with three types of actions: Networking; Research and Innovation, and; Higher Education, where Action A7 is devoted to the creation of a Network of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) within the 5+5 Dialogue member countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Malta, Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya).

In order to create this network of HEIs within Dialogue 5+5 countries, there is a strong need for the characterisation of the existing HEIs, courses and the existing international mobility of students, its Research Centres and the existing cooperation between 5+5 countries.

The 5+5 Dialogue Group of Senior Officials (GSO) from Portugal and Tunisia - co-leaders of the Action (A7), invites all the Presidents of each Higher Education Institutions, public and private, University, Polytechnic and other, from Dialogue 5+5 countries to kindly answer to the online questionnaire until 31st of May 2018 (link).

The current questionnaire aims to provide the information basis for the creation of a Network of Higher Education Institutions and it´s Research Centre(s) which will aims to:

• Strengthen existing academic and research institutions linkages and developing newer partnerships for the set-up of novel cooperative projects;
• Participate in the construction of the Dialogue 5+5 Space for research, Innovation and higher education;
• Support initiatives that promote institutional partnership by integrating the aspects of sustainable cooperation: scientific networks, mobility of students, faculty members, researchers and administrators, multi-diploma or thesis co-supervision, development of online training and research.

The Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) in collaboration with other partner-institutions is organizing an advanced training school in Trieste for researchers, scientists and managers from the Mediterranean and Black sea Countries.
OGS intends to support the creation of stable and attractive career pathways and highly skilled talents that will be needed to support expanding marine and maritime sectors.
The focus of the training school is on strengthening professional skills and enhancing competencies in fields related to the blue economy.
The Summer School is jointly organized by OGS, the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, throughout the Blue Growth Initiative supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) within the framework of the Western Mediterranean Forum (Dialogue 5+5) and the Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI).

Summer School on Blue Growth in the Euro-Mediterranean Region 2018
Online training: 11-15 June 2018
Classroom face-to-face (FTF): 18-27 June 2018
(18-22 June at EMUNI, Piran and 25-27 at OGS, Trieste)
Application deadline: April 9th, 2018

Please follow the link for further information: here

The Ministers and High level representatives from Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Mauritania, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia adopted the declaration on the Initiative for the sustainable development of the blue economy in the western Mediterranean on 30 November 2017, in Naples (Italy). The meeting has been held on March 1st in Brussels under the Algerian-French Co-Presidency.

For further information: The Virtual Knowledge Centre

The GSO BLUEMED Working Group, coordinated by DG Research and Innovation in close cooperation with the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfMS), met in Brussels on February the 28th. It aims at promoting the extension of the BLUEMED Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and related activities  to non-EU UfM Countries willing to join on a voluntary basis. The  Working Group supported by the Horizon 2020 is fundedwithin the framework of the Coordination and Support Action project: CSA BLUEMED. The aim of the meeting has been to discuss the state of the art of the BLUEMED SRIA (Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda), its update, implementation and next steps.

More information: BlueMed Initiative

The UfM Regional Stakeholder Conference on the Blue Economy, held in Naples, November 29th – 30th, brought together over 400 key stakeholders dealing with marine and maritime issues from the entire region, including government representatives, regional and local authorities, international organisations, academia, the private sector and civil society. The conference had the participation of the EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, the UfM Secretary General, Fathallah Sijilmassi and the Italian Minister Plenipotentiary and Coordinator for Euro-Mediterranean Multilateral Affairs, Enrico Granara, among other personalities.
The main objective of this two-day event was to consolidate a Mediterranean blue economy community working on sustainable development solutions for the region, as well as to create partnerships and initiatives to harness the potential for blue growth. The conference featured 12 thematic workshops on the whole range of sectors covered by the blue economy, namely blue jobs and training, research and innovation, blue entrepreneurship, coast guard cooperation, marine protected areas, offshore energy, coastal and maritime tourism, fisheries and aquaculture. Moreover, the UfM Secretariat launched a Virtual Knowledge Centre on the Blue Economy, the web-based information and networking platform for blue economy stakeholders in the Mediterranean.

Further information:
MED Virtual Knowledge Centre
UfM Secretariat – News

The first edition of the Master in Sustainable Blue Growth organized by the OGS and the University of Trieste has started in January 2018 and will be held in Trieste in three sessions, on March, July and October 2018. The Master is established to bring scientific excellence and technological innovation at the centre of a number of Blue Growth initiatives. The Master supports the creation of stable and attractive blue career pathways throughout strengthening professional skills and enhancing competencies in fields related to sustainable blue growth.

Further information:
Advance Master in Sustainable Bluegrowth
Summer School 2018

A brief overview of the video illustrating the last ministerial meeting held in Tunis on 31 March 2017.

Mr. Mounir Ghribi, OGS's International Cooperation and Strategic Partnership Officer, presents the Dialogue 5+5 on local television stations in Trieste, Italy.