News Archives - WestMED

Overview of people in online training (2025 GIS training organised by the GFCM and WestMED)

Joint training by GFCM and WestMED: Using a Geographic Information System tool to establish Allocated Zones for Aquaculture

23 April 2025/in News /by National Hub Algeria

The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), organised a succesful online training on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Aquaculture Zoning in the WestMED region, under the AquaWest Technical Group of the WestMED Initiative.

Conducted over two days, (14-15 April 2025), more than 22 participants from various WestMED countries attended. This collaborative event marked a step forward in promoting sustainable aquaculture practices through spatial planning tools.

Context and objective
With increasing demands on marine and coastal resources, spatial planning has become essential for sustainable aquaculture development. The training course was designed to build regional capacity in the use of GIS tools, specifically QGIS, an open-source platform, to identify and manage Allocated Zones for Aquaculture (AZA). These zones help ensure that aquaculture activities are sited in environmentally, economically, and socially appropriate areas.

Linda FOURDAIN, Expert and Aquaculture Consultant, FAO/GFCM, presented the course and provided participants with both theoretical insights and practical skills. Topics ranged from an overview of marine spatial planning and AZA concepts to hands-on sessions using QGIS. Participants learned how to work with geographic and projected coordinate systems, process vector data, apply exclusion and suitability criteria, and generate spatial maps for aquaculture planning.

Highlights
Some key elements of the training included:

Introduction to GIS and QGIS interface navigation.
Hands-on digitization of remote sensing data and editing of attribute tables.
Mapping of exclusion zones and calculation of suitability indices for aquaculture siting.
Final map creation using QGIS layout tools.

Follow-up
Given the positive feedback and the strategic importance of aquaculture zoning in the Mediterranean region, plans are underway to organize additional training sessions. These may include in-person workshops, advanced GIS modules, and regional case studies to deepen practical understanding. The initiative is part of a broader effort by the GFCM and its partners to harmonize aquaculture development with ecosystem-based management and regional policy objectives.

These efforts contribute to the long-term sustainability of aquaculture in the WestMED area, fostering collaboration and innovation across borders.

Download the agenda

For more information, contact Samir bachouche (WestMED National Hub Algeria | AquaWest – WestMED Aquaculture Technical group)

meeting with two people sitting at desk in Libya

Meeting on Libya–WestMED Cooperation and Advancing the Blue Economy Transition

14 April 2025/in News /by Communication team

Tripoli, April 14, 2025 – The Libyan National Coordinator and member of the Steering Committee of the WestMED Initiative for Sustainable Development, Eng. Ali Shagrune, met today with Dr. Saber Al-Azzabi, Deputy Minister of Marine Wealth in Libya.

During the meeting, both parties discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between Libya and the WestMED Initiative, particularly in promoting the blue economy, sharing expertise, and coordinating efforts for sustainable maritime development. The discussion emphasized the importance of a strategic shift toward the blue economy as a pathway for Libya’s economic diversification, improved maritime governance, and attracting investment in fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continued engagement with the WestMED Steering Committee and to supporting national efforts toward achieving sustainable development goals in the maritime sector.

WestMED Success Story. The power of Clusters – meet MedBAN, the Mediterranean Blue Acceleration Network

14 April 2025/in News /by Communication team

A sustainable Blue Economy requires support to promote and uptake innovation, knowledge, skills as well as access to finance, which is effective and locally-grounded. This is possible through joint actions promoted by socio-economic and institutional actors at local, national and subregional level.

In this respect, maritime clusters (a network of companies, organizations, and institutions involved in the maritime industry) are effective tools to support local stakeholders active in the Blue Economy to identify areas for further development and ensure sustainable growth and jobs.

They do so by supporting innovative products and services, internationalisation of micro, small and medium enterprises, dissemination of new knowledge and skills and ultimately integration of sectoral policies at local and national levels. Maritime Clusters have therefore been growingly acknowledged as essential booster for innovation and diversification of the Blue Economy.

According to a study of the Union for the Mediterranean in 2019, the large majority of Maritime Clusters across the Mediterranean is based in EU countries: Italy, Spain, France. The western Mediterranean seems to be more prone to the promotion of innovation in the Blue Economy through the set-up of clusters: in the EU (mostly regional-level clusters) but also in African countries (mostly national-level clusters).

piechart with maritime cluster distribution acroiss the Mediterranean Source: UfM Secretariat – Maritime Clusters in the Mediterranean Region (pdf)

The WestMED Initiative, through the WestMED Maritime Cluster Alliance supports strong alliances between the most active Maritime Clusters in the Western Mediterranean and beyond, since its inception in 20212. This has included the launch of a new Maritime Cluster in Mauritania and the recently launched Libyan Cluster.

The key objectives of the Alliance are:

· Cluster dialogue: Support exchange of knowledge and practices across maritime and non-maritime clusters
· South-South cooperation: Boost the development of southern maritime clusters
· North-South capacity building: Upgrade cluster management skills
· Provide a platform for private investments in innovative SMEs

The Maritime Cluster Alliance has supported several proposals that have received funds. For example: ERASMUS+ – MARMED and MAQUAM, IKAT and ELBE Alliance, EMFAF Women in Blue Economy – WINBIG, EMFAF Maritime Clusters CALLMEBLUE and Green Marine MED, EMFAF Ports & Maritime Transport POWER4MED and COSME Euroclusters – MedBan.

MedBAN
The European MedBAN project, short for Mediterranean Blue Acceleration Network, is an initiative to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the blue economy.

It was co-funded by the European Union (Grant Agreement nº 101074763) through the Joint Cluster Initiatives (EUROCLUSTERS) for Europe’s recovery (SMP-COSME-2021-CLUSTER) under the Single Market Programme with a total budget of 1.4 Million euro. The MedBAN project is therefore closely aligned with the Euroclusters’ specific objectives regarding networks, innovation, adoption of processes and technologies for the twin (digital & sustainable) transition, training for the up and re-skilling of the workforce and internationalisation of European SMEs.

MedBAN was managed by a consortium of six maritime cluster organizations from five different Mediterranean countries: Portugal, Italy, France, Greece and Spain. Its common mission: to drive innovation, accelerate sustainability and internationalise blue SMEs, to support the transition towards a thriving, resilient and sustainable blue economy.

Stage 1: laying the foundation
The initiative consisted of two stages. First, the Mediterranean blue economy ecosystem was mapped to identify key players, challenges, and opportunities. This ensured that the actions by MedBAN would generate maximum impact on sustainable blue economy growth in the region. It resulted in identifying the five most critical sectors that MedBAN would focus on: aquaculture, fisheries, tourism, ports and renewable energies. SMEs in these sectors were specifically targeted in the 2^nd phase of the project.

Next to this,the coherence between the challenges found in each of the the abovementioned sectors and the national and regional policies of each partner country of the consortium (national Resilience Plans) was analysed to ensure alignment from that perspective as well.

This first stage also consisted of 2 short online training sessions for the cluster staff members of the participating cluster organisations, with an emphasis on challenges and needs for succesful projects and sharing best practices – which proved not only useful in the context of this project but also for dealing with members of each individual cluster organisation beyond the scope of this project.

Stage 2: support SMEs with technical assistance/ services
The second stage consisted of offering selected SMEs and startups a large set of services to boost their business, ranging from market research to international matchmaking. These services were offered by a pool of (mostly)pre-selected third parties that were funded by MedBAN in line with the awarded budget.

SMEs could apply for these services by submitting a specific project proposal via ‘cascade funding’ calls in two categories: 1) Innovation, training and twin transformation to allow for modernisation of the business processes and 2) ‘internationalisation’ to allow for growing their business across borders. Both the call texts and the subsequent selection of proposals was based on the findings generated during the first phase.

Results
57 proposals from 49 SMEs were awarded support, with eight SMEs being awarded support for 2 proposals (one in each category). This support totalled little over 1 Million Euro and consisted of organisations from 8 countries – mainly situated around the Mediterranean.

During MedBAN’s final conference in March 2025, some of these selected SMEs shared the impact of this project on their respective businesses:

Hydrotwin : a start-up specialised in underwater noise monitoring received MedBAN support regarding market and market penetration analysis to better explain its potential to investors and decision makers. It led a.o. to the identification of marine offshore renewables as a priority market.

Seaentia : a sustainable aquaculture startup. MedBAN allowed them to develop their export strategy to export their fish to other EU countries, keeping in mind that the long term strategy is to produce locally. One of the elements they focused on was EU regulatory compliance regarding hygiene and food safety in the transport of fresh fish

Cyclefi : an SME that develops software and hardware solutions to tackle, waste, energy and water challenges. MedBAN allowed them to expand the market from focusing primarly on municipalities to ports . This involved a.o. a comprehensive mapping of waste management within EU ports and Greece in specific, including the definition of an international matchmaking plan. They have now been able to start with Piraeus port, to tackle waste generated by its millions of (tourist) visitors.

Maritime world : a startup specialised in conferences across Europe dedicated to the maritime industry. MedBAN allowed significant (international) growth, especially by getting better connected to high quality organisations across the Mediterranean, including the North African countries. This by offering short and efficient conferences, workshops, B2B meetings behind closed doors, technical tours and cultural tours. One of the actions was a thorough Market Analysis that provided a database with contacts of more than 130 organisations. Maritime World is now on the way to create one of the biggest maritime conferences in Malta by the end of the year.

PesCo : a start-up with an online platform focused on sustainable fishing tourism, matching local fishermen with tourists. Through the MedBAN support they managed boost their network with hotels, tour- and travel agencies. They also received support to develop toolkits for two key target groups: guides (captains) to help improve the sustainability viewpoint and clients (exploreres) to help prepare for the fishing experience.

The common denominator was that MedBAN allowed them to take steps that would’ve otherwise taken much longer to develop.

Watch the full panel discussion

Moving forward
The consortium partners committed themselves to further build on MedBAN’s success. This was underlined by signing the MedBAN Statutes (charter of principles); in which partners pledge to explore new opportunities of collaboration, foster stronger collaboration among clusters, commit to ongoing exploration of funding opportunities, and ensure long-term sustainability.

It was also underlined by signing a Memorandum Of Understanding for with CALLMEBLUE (Cluster Alliance Med Blue) to strengthen strategic collaboration.

WestMED connection
The initial MedBAN idea was born in September 2021 at Seafuture in La Spezia and evolved through WestMED’s Maritime Clusters Alliance Technical Group into a successful submission for COSME funding. Next to this, Stephanie Vella (WestMED National Hub Malta) was an official ‘MedBAN ambassador’ and Lorella Ciutti (WestMED National Hub Portugal), MedBAN’s project coordinator. MedBAN has, in this respect, been supported by the WestMED Assistance Mechanism from start to finish.

At the end of the MedBAN conference, project leader Ruben Eiras summed it all up: “Here we are, celebrating Europe. When we look at the numbers, of course, [the project] is just a drop in the ocean—but it is an important drop. Today, the Blue Economy represents innovation, defence, and sustainability—connecting, aggregating, and linking. What we aim for in a few year’s time, when we have MedBAN 2.0, is that we have investment funds and private actors with more capital to invest in these SMEs to make them grow. Let’s triple these numbers and make the Blue Economy happen!”

More info about MedBAN
Budget	Total: € 1.399.384,00 EU Contribution: €1.364.446,00
Partners/ Countries	Coordinator/ lead: Forum Oceano (Portugal) Federazione del Mare (Italy) Cluster BIG – Blue Italian Growth (Italy) CMIB Cluster Marítimo Illes Balears (Spain) Strategis – Maritime ICT Cluster (Greece) Pôle Mer Méditerranée (France) Affiliated: Magellan (Portugal)
Follow	Website
Duration	1 September 2022 – 31 March 2025

Subscribe to the WestMED newsletter

Libya Hosts the Mediterranean International Conference on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity

13 April 2025/in News /by Communication team

Tripoli, April 12, 2025 – Today, WestMED’s Libyan National Coordinator and member of the WestMED Initiative Steering Committee, Eng. Ali Shagrune participated alongside Dr. Saber Al-Azzabi, Deputy Minister of Marine Wealth, in the Mediterranean International Conference on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity, held in Tripoli, Libya.

During the conference, the Libyan delegation delivered an intervention highlighting the importance of preserving biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as Libya’s role in marine environmental protection and expanding marine protected areas. The presentation also addressed current environmental challenges to marine biodiversity in the region and stressed the importance of regional cooperation within the WestMED framework to achieve shared sustainability goals.

The intervention reaffirmed Libya’s commitment to supporting international and regional efforts to strengthen marine environmental governance and integrate biodiversity into blue economy policies.

For more information, visit the event webpage or the facebook page

Marta Pascual presenting at WestMED's national 2025 event on Tourism in Spain

Spanish WestMED National event 2025: Opportunities and Future of Blue Tourism in Spain

1 April 2025/in News /by National Hub Spain

On 12 March 2025, the Spanish National Event of the WestMED Initiative took place in Madrid at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.

The event, from 9:00-14:00 CET, gathered around 56 participants from various sectors of tourism activities, from consultants, to hospitality, tour operators, service and products providers, marketing, maritime tourism businesses, recreational sectors, regional tourism authorities, and fisheries sector amongst others.

In terms of representativeness, the event was attended by stakeholders from all coastal Autonomous Communities from Spain, excluding Ceuta, Melilla and Cantabria. Most participants came from the Madrid region, but the event also gathered participants from Andalucia, Valencia, Balearic Islads, Murcia, Canary Islands, Galicia, Cataluña, Basque Country and Asturias.

Event Objective
The event had the objective of presenting and discussing about current and future opportunities for Blue Tourism within Spain. To steer this conversation, main initiatives and ministries were invited as speakers to present the work they are doing regarding sustainable tourism within Spain. Two projects (one funded by the EU and a national one) were also invited to showcase how they are also advancing towards these blue tourism efforts.

Opening
The event started with some opening and welcome words from Mr. Antonio Rodríguez de Lievana Sahagún, Director General of Coordination of Internal Markets and other Communitarian Policies from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAUC). Mr. Rodríguez de Liévana, expressed the views from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation with regards to blue economy as the ministry is very aware that the activities linked to the sea must be sustainable from the social, economic and environmental point of view and that they represent a valuable source of wealth and a fundamental asset for the settlement of the population. He then continued to explain that the event gathered representatives of the different administrations and other actors of the blue economy with the aim of having the opportunity to talk to each other about the challenges we face and the tools we have available to reach these blue economy objectives.

With regards to blue tourism, Mr. Rodríguez de Lievana, expressed the wish for a promising future for blue tourism in Spain, with a growth potential that could benefit both the local economy and environmental conservation, if managed in a responsible and sustainable manner. He also mentioned “With the right approach, this type of tourism can become an engine of economic development in coastal regions, as long as the balance between the enjoyment of natural resources and their preservation is respected.”

WestMED Initiative
After these opening words, the WestMED Initiative was presented by the National Hub from Spain for the WestMED Initiative, Mrs. Marta Pascual, who highlighted the efforts that WestMED Initiative is doing with regards to developing a sustainable tourism activity within the Mediterranean Sea. Mrs. Pascual also explained the recent developments of the newly constituted Technical Group on Sustainable Tourism within WestMED and presented some of the tasks, activities and achievements obtained by this technical group so far.

Sea Basin Strategies
The event was followed by an intervention from Mr. Javier Fernández, from ECORYS and Coordinator of the three of the Assistance Mechanisms of the EU Sea Basin Strategies. Mr. Fernández explained further opportunities, synergies and cooperation mechanisms that currently exist; not only within each of the Sea Basins, but also between the three Sea Basins (Western Mediterranean, Atlantic and Black Sea and potentially also with the new Greater North Sea Initiative). He also mentioned opportunities to link with the Union for the Medieterranean (UfM) and other Mediterranean Governance efforts.

UfM Study
Mr. Fernández talk was followed by an intervention from Mrs. Irene Alonso from ECORYS, who presented the latest findings from the study on the Implementation Roadmap of the Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy 2021. She highlighted those findings within the study related to blue tourism and highlighted that, despite being an important sector within the Mediterranean, many future opportunities are also envisioned.

Blue Book presentation
The event continued with the presentation of the “Blue Book” of Sun&Blue Congress by the Director of the congress, Mr. Tim Ott Reuter. This book is the compilation of the main outputs, messages and points that were raised during the 2^nd edition of the Sun&Blue Congress, which highlights all the topics that need to be aligned to obtain a real sustainable tourism (from energy, to water management, hospitality sustainability, diversification of experiences, efficiency of the processes, etc.).

After these intro speeches, the event had a short 30 min coffee break after which it was the turn of the various Ministries representatives to offer their perspective and knowledge on how blue tourism was addressed within their respective institutions.

Touristic offers in Spain
The first of the Ministries to take the floor was the Ministry of Industry and Tourism. Mrs. Ilona Shekyants Kazaryan, Subdirector general of sustainable touristic developments, mentioned the various efforts that MINTUR is doing with regards to promote and develop sustainable practices, activities and experiences within the touristic offers of Spain. She also mentioned the funding calls that the Ministry has launched within “Experiencias Turismo” for further advancing and developing some of these sustainable ideas into tourism products and offers.

Pesca Tourism
After Mrs. Shekyants intervention it was time for Mr. Manuel Pablos López, Subdirector general of economic sustainability and social affairs from the General Secretary of Fisheries from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture. Mr. Pablos López explained the efforts that within the MAPA they are developing towards pesca-tourism and maritime tourism activities. Both activities being of tourism, but having the fisheries sector, their traditions and culture always as driver of those tourist offers. He also highlighted the funding opportunities that exist for blue tourism activities within the EMFAF funding opportunities.

Spanish Maritime Cluster
After these two ministries speeches it was the turn for the Spanish Maritime Cluster to present the activities, they are developing and supporting with regards to sustainable tourism. Mr. Vicente Capell, explained the efforts the cluster was supporting with regards to the recreational tourism activities, decarbonization of recreational vessels and nautical ports, etc.

Tourism and MSP
Blue Tourism, being a maritime activity that occurs at Spanish coastlines and maritime spaces, also requires some allocation of space within the maritime spatial plans. As such, the event was followed up by the interesting intervention of Mrs. Aurora Mesa Fraile, Chief of the Maritime Spatial Planning from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, who explained how the Spanish maritime spatial plans have been designed, what are their next steps and how the blue tourism sector has been incorporated into the needs and designs of these plans.

Blue Tourism Project examples
The event closed with the presentation of two interesting projects that deal with blue tourism within Spain. One from the Atlantic fringe and another one from the Mediterranean perspective.

Mrs. María Cardeiro López, manager of FUNDAMAR (Fundación para la Pesca y el Marisqueo) and Project manager of FISATUR (Red Atlántica de Experiencias Turísticas para la promoción del patrimonio cultural marítimo pesquero), explained the project´s objectives, main achievements and future activities.

Mrs. Nayra Irga Pérez Sánchez and Shonia Cruz, from REDDETUMAR, presented the Red Nacional Turismo Marinero, a national network of maritime tourism activities within Spain that aims to gather all maritime tourism activities, offers and developments to serve as a real diversification option for fishermen to earn some extra income.

Concluding remarks
The concluded by Mr. Omado Collado Díaz and Mrs. Rosa Bernardo, both National Coordinators from the WestMED Initiative and the Atlantic Action Plan, respectively, and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAUC). They both thanked those present at the event and highlighted the efforts that the WestMED Initiative is and will keep doing with regards to advancing on sustainable tourism opportunities within the blue economy in Spain.

Main next steps

Encourage an interministerial communication within all Ministries dealing with sustainable tourism topics within Spain (MAUC, MAPA, Hacienda, MITECO, etc.)
Encourage communication and connections between sustainable tourism stakeholders within Spain.

Click here for the full agenda and event annnouncement page (in Spanish)

Links to media coverage

https://x.com/WestMedStrat/status/1896953392075026552

https://www.turismomarinero.com/evento-westmed-oportunidades-y-futuro-del-turismo-azul/

https://winbigproject.eu/events/28/national-event-westmed-opportunities-and-future-of-blue-tourism-in-spain

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sun-blue-congress_sunandbluecongress-turismo-turismoazul-ugcPost-7305540744797159424-Msv-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAhRFRwB4YBy4noC0QYjbj0Fkc0NLtEmRK4

https://regp.pesca.mapama.es/visibilidad/eventos/evento-nacional-iniciativa-westmed-oportunidades-y-futuro-del-turismo-azul-en

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/marta-pascual-51088b3a_evento-nacional-iniciativa-westmed-oportunidades-activity-7303707516566138884-MApq?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAhRFRwB4YBy4noC0QYjbj0Fkc0NLtEmRK4

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/marta-pascual-51088b3a_evento-nacional-iniciativa-westmed-oportunidades-activity-7302361086945583105-Ke8E?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAhRFRwB4YBy4noC0QYjbj0Fkc0NLtEmRK4

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sun-blue-congress_agenda-eventos-nacional-westmed-12-de-marzo-activity-7302967512361558016-dt_5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAhRFRwB4YBy4noC0QYjbj0Fkc0NLtEmRK4

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fundacion-fundamar_fisatur-turismoazul-westmed-activity-7305594957380173824-RgYI?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAhRFRwB4YBy4noC0QYjbj0Fkc0NLtEmRK4

Ruben Eiras and Lidia Rossi showing just signed memorandum of Undertanding between MadBAN and CALLMEBLUE

Strategic Cooperation between CallMEBLUE and MEDBAN

25 March 2025/in News /by Communication team

On 18 March 2025, CALLMEBLUE (Cluster Alliance Med Blue) and MedBAN (Mediterranean Blue Acceleration Network) formalized their collaboration through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Strategic Cooperation.

This agreement marks a significant milestone in strengthening synergies between these maritime cluster initiatives, both of whom are committed to fostering sustainable innovation and advancing the Blue Economy across the Mediterranean region through supporting sustainable blue startups and SMEs

The MoU was signed during the MedBAN Final Conference 2025, a key event bringing together stakeholders from across the blue economy ecosystem. The agreement establishes a framework for long-term cooperation, facilitating the exchange of knowledge, best practices, and support services for SMEs in the sector.

The document was officially signed by Ruben Eiras, Secretary General of Fórum Oceano (Lead partner of MedBAN) and Lidia Rossi, Managing Director, ForMare – Polo Nazionale per lo Shipping (Lead partner of CallmeBLUE).

Together, CallmeBLUE and MedBAN are committed to driving innovation, digitalization, and resilience in the blue economy, supporting SMEs, and fostering strategic partnerships for a more sustainable future.

WestMED support
Both initiatives have been and are actively supported by the WestMED Initiative. Not only through WestMED’s Maritime Cluster Alliance, but also ongoing with Stephanie Vella (WestMED’s National Hub Malta), being an official MedBAN ambassador and Lorella Ciutti (WestMED’s National Hub Portugal), being MedBAN’s project coordinator.

More about CALLMEBLUE | More about MedBAN

Ufm Mediterranean pavillion stand with people passing by at an exhibition

UfM and Interreg NEXT MED renew commitment to tackle regional challenges together

13 March 2025/in News /by Communication team

12 March 2025, Barcelona – The Union for the Mediterranean and Interreg NEXT MED, the largest EU-funded transnational cooperation programme promoting socioeconomic development and environmental initiatives in the Mediterranean Basin, have reached an agreement formally extending collaboration between both parties for at least another three years.

The Memorandum of Understanding, which highlights how both Euro-Mediterranean institutions strive to reinforce political, socioeconomic, and cultural ties in the region, was signed by UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel and Director General of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme Giovanna Medde. The agreement, significantly, foresees mutual participation in events and conferences and, when relevant, extends invitations to participate in internal meetings as observers. It will also see the organisations continue to exchange information on projects of common interest, identify joint coordination actions and raise awareness of regional challenges together.

“The UfM and Interreg NEXT MED are united by the common goal of enhanced dialogue and cooperation between Mediterranean countries. The indisputable success of our partnership over the years is a positive sign for the future,” said UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel. “The UfM remains convinced of the long-term constructive influence of this alliance and looks forward to three more years of shared accomplishments.”

The long-standing partnership between these Euro-Mediterranean institutions has resulted in a multitude of impactful actions including Interreg NEXT MED’s participation in the UfM-sponsored Mediterranean Pavilion at the latest three United Nations Climate Change Conferences, its commemoration of the anniversary of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, and involvement in thematic UfM forums on youth empowerment or the blue economy, among others.

“The UfM-Interreg NEXT MED agreement has been instrumental in enhancing coordination between both institutions,” said Giovanna Medde, Director General of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme. “It is essential for developing and implementing jointly-owned solutions to the complex challenges our region faces. I am confident that renewing it will help us move closer to achieving our common goal of a more integrated, peaceful and prosperous Mediterranean.”

Source UfM website

2nd call for experts WestMED stakeholder Group on Susttainable tourism incl beach with kayak

2nd Call for Experts: WestMED Technical Group on Sustainable Tourism | Deadline 31 March 2025 (EOB)

10 March 2025/in News /by Communication team

Deadline to register for this 2nd Call for experts: 31st March 2025 (EOB). Only applications submitted within the deadline will be accepted. In case of too many applications, prioritization will be given to experts from Southern shore countries of the Western Mediterranean region.

About the Technical Group on Sustainable Tourism

Given the fact that tourism plays such a significant role in the Western Mediterranean as one of the key contributors to both the upside gains as well as the downside risks of the blue economy, there is an urgent need for enhancing eco-tourism in the region. In order to address the challenges of the sector in the Mediterranean, we should enhance EU and external territorial cooperation (including non-EU WestMED countries as partners such as Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) and promote active knowledge sharing amongst stakeholders from both the northern and southern shore, to multiply results.

The Westmed Initiative has set up a technical group on Sustainable Tourism, the objective of which is to serve as a technical forum to discuss trends and opportunities towards sustainable tourism within the region and to provide support to participants to develop project ideas around the topics already set at EU level with regards to the tourism-related topics of green transition, digitalization, promotion of social inclusion, governance, and skills.

In 2024 we issued a call for experts and we are reissuing a second call, calling for experts particularly in the Southern shore countries of the Westmed.

We are looking for technical stakeholders of tourism initiatives including: partners of the Interreg Euro MED Sustainable Tourism Mission; partners from previous EU tourism projects; Mediterranean Tourism Stakeholders from the public and private sector; Non-EU Associated Partners; Travel Foundation; Associations; Networks; Tourism businesses; research and innovation centers; technological centers; universities; ports and their representatives; townhalls; yachting/small cruising; nautical sector, etc.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU

Role: This expert group will suggest project proposals and be the main contact point for establishing consortia and projects for future EU funding opportunities around sustainable tourism. The expert group will also serve as the main forum to discuss specific topics of interest to the group.
Participants in the WG are currently in the process of setting up project proposal.

Requested involvement: This group will gather periodically to be informed about opportunities, recent developments and discuss specific topics of their choice. We envision to have 3-4 online meetings with the expert group per year.

Application

For questions: contact Marta Pascual from the WestMED National Hub Spain or Stephanie Vella from the WestMED Nation Hub Malta

Check the dedicated Sustainable Tourism Technical Group page

coastline Mediterranean with sea and olive tree on the rocks

Family picture of participants Callmeblue project meeting in Tunisia on 21 February 2025

WestMED Tunisia participates in the 3rd transnational CALLMEBLUE project meeting

26 February 2025/in News /by Communication team

The 3rd Transnational CallmeBLUE project meeting, took place successfully in Gammarth (Tunisia) on 21 February 2025.

Next to the project partners (all representing different maritime clusters in the Mediterranean region), Anja Detant, Project Officer from CINEA – European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency and Slim Jerbia, from WestMED Tunisia were present.

This meeting served as a pivotal milestone for project partners, to showcase the progress achieved and outline the next strategic steps. Key highlights included:

✅ Maritime Cluster Blue Economy Reporting: Presentation of the Maritime Cluster Blue Economy reporting findings, including a comprehensive needs assessment and stakeholder mapping.

✅ Matchmaking Local Workshops: Successful engagement of key stakeholders in Tunisia, Algeria, and Mauritania to explore blue economy opportunities and the role of maritime clusters in fostering sustainable growth.

✅ Feasibility Study on Emerging Clusters: Ongoing assessment in Morocco and Egypt to evaluate the economic and social impact of developing maritime clusters.

✅ Capacity-Building Initiatives: Launch of Learning Labs and Advanced Learning Labs on Business Activities, equipping future maritime cluster actors with critical skills and knowledge.

✅ Regional Cooperation & Policy Dialogue: Advancing stakeholder mobilization for enhanced south-south collaboration, alongside discussions on regulatory frameworks and funding mechanisms.

✅ Business Forum: A dedicated platform to drive collaboration and facilitate north-south matchmaking opportunities within the maritime sector.

✅ Regional Alliance Development: Structuring a long-term cooperation framework through the Hub Azul initiative, reinforcing connections among North African and Mediterranean stakeholders.

The meeting underlined the significance of alliances and collaborative efforts, leveraging strategic frameworks such as the WestMED Initiative and the Union For the Mediterranean (UfM) to drive impactful, sustainable change in the region.

For more information, visit the CALLMEBLUE website or contact Slim Jerbia (WestMED National Hub Tunisia)

group pucture decarbonisation conference Valencia port February 2025

WestMED participates in the Fundación Valenciaport conference “Innovation initiatives for decarbonising the Mediterranean”

15 February 2025/in News /by National Hub Spain

On 11 February 2025, Fundación Valenciaport organised the conference “Innovation initiatives for decarbonising the Mediterranean” in Valencia. The main objective was to present the many initiatives in which it participates, related to energy transition and decarbonization.

The event brought together more than fifty representatives of the port community with national and international speakers specialised in port sustainability.

During the opening, Antonio Torregrosa, general director of Fundación Valenciaport, welcomed the attendees and Leonardo Manzari, representative of the WestMED Initiative in Italy. Mr Manzari presented the main challenges of decarbonization in the Mediterranean port logistics sector.

Alternative fuel for maritime transport
The first block of the day was focused on alternative fuels for maritime transport.

Manolis Annetis, research engineer at the Maritime Risk Group of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), presented the objectives and progress of the GREENMED project; an initiative that aims to promote green shipping in the Mediterranean basin by analyzing the energy demand of the currently operating fleet and evaluating transition scenarios towards a sustainable future. He also presented a techno-economic analysis of the current bunkering system in the region and the actions needed to promote decarbonization in port logistics.

Next, Aurelio Lázaro, Senior Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, presented the progress and first results of the POWER4MED project. This project aims to develop tools to facilitate the path towards carbon neutrality of three sectors; fishing vessels, commercial vessels and marinas.

This session was concluded with a roundtable discussion focused on new fuels in the maritime industry. This roundtable was moderated by Francisco Tinaut, Professor of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) in the CMT- Clean Mobility&Thermofluids. Daniel García (POSEIDON), Jan Octavio Wilske (SEAFAIRER), Marta Pascual (WestMED), Manolis Annetis (GREENMED) and Aurelio Lázaro (POWER4MED) participated in this roundtable.

Decarbonising Ports
Marina Arroyo, Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, began the second block of the day with the presentation of the SEANERGY project. SEANERGY seeks to move towards “Zero Emissions” ports. During his speech, he highlighted the Catalogue of Technologies for Port Decarbonization, one of the main tools of the project to facilitate the energy transition.

Next, Ignacio Benítez, Senior Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, presented the BLUEBARGE project, whose main objective is to develop a barge designed to supply electric power to docked and anchored ships, through the use of batteries of different technologies, contributing to the reduction of emissions and the promotion of more sustainable infrastructures in the port logistics sector.

Subsequently, the SEANERGY workshop was held by Marina Arroyo and Sandra Roselló, deputy director of Fundación Valenciaport, where they explained the main resources developed by the project to help port organizations to develop their energy transition strategies.

Adaptation to Climate Change in Spanish Ports
The last block of the day focused on the adaptation of ports to climate change, which began with the intervention of Begoña Pérez, from the Department of Climate Change and Prediction of Puertos del Estado, who presented the strategies to improve the resilience of Spanish ports against the environmental impacts of climate change.

The conference concluded in the afternoon with the presentation of the ARSINOE project, an initiative that studies the impact of climate change on ports with the aim of developing strategies to mitigate its effects.

Noemí Monterde, Senior Project Manager of Fundación Valenciaport, shared the functioning of the Climate Change Observatory of the Port Authority of Valencia, created within the framework of this initiative, with the aim of analyzing the effect of climate phenomena on port infrastructures and operations.

For his part, José María García-Valdecasas, head of Coastal Services at NOW Systems, presented Clevertool, a tool designed to evaluate these impacts and support the definition of adaptation measures.

For more information about this event, contact Marta Pascual (National Hub Spain)