WestMED Initiative at POSIDONIA 2024 – the leading international shipping exhibition
With more than 32.600 visitors from 138 countries and more than 2000 exhibitors, POSIDONIA is one of world’s most prominent International Shipping Exhibitions. POSIDONIA 2024 took place in Athens from 3-7 June 2024 at the Metropolitan Expo.
Chaired by industry leaders,it was also marked by lively discussions and debates on a wide variety of topics that are relevant to the shipping industry .
Within this context the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership organised a workshop titled “Blue Economy – The key towards Mediterranean regional Sustainability” on June 7, 2024.
This workshop was an opportunity particularly for the maritime community of the Mediterranean sea basin to learn more about what the Partnership can offer in terms of funding, networking and investment opportunities. At the same time, it was an opportunity for regional initiatives and programs to be at the same table to share experiences, best practices and possible ways of cooperation for a sustainable blue economy.
Moderated by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the panelists from EUSAIR, BlueMissionMed, Interreg MED, UNEP/MAP and the WestMED Assistance Mechanism promoted their objectives, discussed how better to align their ongoing activities, identify relevant synergies to bridge science with policy and how funding and investments can become a significant tool for sustainable development.
The WestMed Assistance Mechanism, represented by Thanos Smanis from the central team, specifically outlined the work taking place in WestMED’s three Technical Groups: Maritime Clusters, Green Shipping and Aquaculture.
He also highlighted the work done by the ‘MSP Community of Practice for the Mediterranean‘ where MSP practitioners from around the sea basin gather on a regular basis to discuss common topics, learn from one-another and align activities across borders. Thanos Smains invited the other initiatives to actively follow and build on their results.
Adriana Salazar from the UfM moderating the expert panel with a.o. Thanos Smanis from the WestMED Assistance Mechanism
Photo source: Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership
