It has been a couple months since I stepped into the communication office at the Italian National Contact Point of the Interreg Euro-MED Programme, and here’s a glimpse of what I’ve had the chance to experience up to now.
The Interreg Euro-MED Programme brings together 16 countries of the Mediterranean region with the aim of contributing to the transition towards a climate-neutral and resilient society, while improving governance between its stakeholders. It does so by providing funds to projects which focus on 4 different missions, namely Strengthening an innovative sustainable economy, Valorising the natural environment and heritage, Promoting green living areas and Enhancing sustainable tourism.
Project partnerships necessarily have to involve at least 4 different countries, in the spirit of cooperation and transnationality. This results in unique projects drawing together far away but similar territories that share common challenges and make a joint effort to find sustainable solutions.
Providing representative examples of Euro-MED projects is not easy, as they really operate in multiple and diverse fields and involve different partners and beneficiaries (research institutes, universities, entrepreneurs, civil society and many others). Euro-MED is the new sustainable public transport in your city, it is behind the new floods risk prevention strategy of your region, it is a project on wind marine energy, but also on restoration of seagrass, carbon removal, and the driving force of the new Renewable energy community in a marginalized neighborhood, and possibly an innovative platform to manage tourism flows on your favorite beaches, just to name a few.
Here at the Euro-MED National Contact Point Italia, in Florence (Regione Toscana), we provide support and guidance to Italian applicants and project partners, and we are involved in every strategic step of the programme.
But who am I and how do I contribute?
My name is Maya and I’m a 24 years old graduate in International Relations, with a strong passion for climate justice and environment protection, who aspires to work on climate change governance, storytelling and hopefully soon take part in significant initiatives that take concrete action to bring about a needed paradigm shift.
My role as an IVY Reporter here at the Euro-MED NCP Italy is to contribute to the communication activities and support the capitalization process. Actually, before entering this world I didn’t even know what capitalisation (which is the transfer and sharing of knowledge and good practices/solutions) was, while now I believe it is one of the most fascinating aspects of cooperation.
Communicating on the programme means I need to be aware of everything that is going on, from decisional processes, ‘high level’ seminars, citizens consultation and projects description; which enables me to constantly learn something new on communication tools and strategies but most of all about how European cooperation works, while discovering the latest innovations and projects to tackle climate change. I manage social media accounts and website, write newsletters, prepare summary documents and take part in programme initiatives, such as the Multiprogramme mechanism, which we are currently shaping together with other Interreg Programmes.
Moreover, my colleagues are young people I can relate with but also learn from, and I am so lucky to be doing my IVY experience together with not 1, not 2 but 3 other IVYs that are deployed here at Regione Toscana working on other Programmes.
Interreg Volunteer Youth gave me the hands-on experience I was looking for and enabled me to put in practice skills learned during my study years and work in an enriching environment.
I am extremely grateful for this opportunity, which I believe to be an empowering, affordable and most of all needed and unique way for every young person willing to take the first steps in the field of cooperation and the working world. I’m looking forward to the months to come!
– Maya, IVY Reporter for the Italian National Contact Point of the Interreg Euro-MED programme
