My first month as an IVY Project Partner
Hello everyone! My name is Irini and I am an IVY Volunteer at the SEACAP 4 SDG Project from the ENI CBC Med Programme at the University of Patras. It’s been an exciting month since I started as an IVY Project Partner and I am eager to share my experiences. The host organization team welcomed me warmly and informed me in every detail about the project I was going to participate in. SEACAP 4 SDG aims to address climate change adaptation and mitigation challenges in territories surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Specifically, the project focuses on implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy measures in public buildings in France, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Spain and Tunisia. The main goal of SEACAP 4 SDG is to develop a unified strategy and evaluation framework that capitalizes on the results of reference projects, integrating Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plans (SE(A)CAP) within a common vision. The project aims to establish uniform and adapted assessment methods and financing approaches to support sustainable development goals in the context of a smart society. In this way SEACAP 4 SDG will largely benefit public administration agents, energy agencies, actors in the building and construction sector and general public. As an IVY Project Partner in SEACAP 4 SDG, there are several roles and activities Ι engage in. I actively participate in collaborative workshops, and discussions, working alongside other project partners to define goals, strategies, and action plans. Also, I contribute my knowledge in areas related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development to find innovative solutions that can benefit the project. Additionally, I assist in the implementation of project activities assigned to the organization, which includes conducting research, collecting data and developing guidelines or frameworks. Moreover, I actively participate in efforts to raise awareness about the importance of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable development. To sum up being an IVY volunteer is an experience that I will remember throughout my life. Even though, it has been only a month that I am involved in this project, I have had the privilege of connecting with individuals from diverse countries and acquiring knowledge that will be a catalyst for my professional growth and development. – Irini, IVY Project Partner for the ENI CBC MED project “SEACAP 4 SDG” at the University of Patras. Discover more about the ENI CBC MED project “SEACAP 4 SDG” Click Here Discover more about our host organisation University of Patras Click Here
How to reinvent the futur of Europe
The main goal of AYCH (Atlantic Creative Youth Hubs) is to improve the cooperation between the Atlantic territories of Europe through the promotion of the youth entrepreneurship. The project is led by five countries (United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Portugal, and Spain) and it aims to exchange ideas and create new synergies that will help build the future of Europe. Us, the young people, are the main actors of this program, and it is up to us to make a difference and a real impact on our future. So far, we have organized different events online and in presence, that basically consist in Hackathons. These competitions provide us with the opportunity to enhance our team-working and intercultural skills, as well as to meet people from other countries and from different backgrounds. In fact, last May we had our biggest meeting in L’ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique, where people from up to 20 nationalities worked in teams for three days, to recreate our urban spaces in a sustainable and healthy way. As for my specific role in the project, I mainly help the Chamber of Commerce of Santiago de Compostela with the organization of the events. I also participate in the encounters as a mentor of the teams, in which my creative and innovative side is challenged. After the events, we make a summary of all the prototypes created by the participants and we offer them the chance to incubate them and make them real, which I believe is a crucial step. If we talk about what I like the most, that will be the creativity involving the process; the interesting ideas that can be created in such a short time just by gathering skills and perspective from such diverse people. This proves that together, different as we are, we can create the future of Europe together. – Sara, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Atlantic Area project “AYCH” at the Chamber of Commerce of Santiago de Compostela. Discover more about the Interreg project AYCH Click Here Discover more about our host organisation Chamber of Commerce of Santiago de Compostela Click Here
My IVY experience in the heart of the European Union
Hello everybody, my name is Julia and since February I am an IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Atlantic Area project “SAFER” within the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) in their Brussels office. Following my Cross-border Cooperation Studies, I wanted to see how projects were implemented and nothing better than to experience it from the heart of the European Union. I am volunteering within the Atlantic Arc Commission for the SAFER project financed by the Interreg Atlantic Area program. SAFER is about Smart Atlantic Seafood Clusters and mainly promotes innovation in the aquaculture sector while also promoting international cooperation. In the project we work with four countries: Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal with some labs also located in Northern Ireland and partners form Canada (New Foundland and Labrador). It is a very interesting project that also shows the importance and resilience of the sector while actively contributing to sustainability. Having the opportunity to volunteer from Brussels has offered me the chance to not only get involved on an EU funded project but to witness the development of legislation that happens at the same time in the institutions. During my time with the SAFER project through the Atlantic Arc Commission, I have had the task of creating a Policy Toolkit with useful policy recommendations that will be taken from the project with regards of the development of Smart Specialisation Strategies and recommendations that can be given to institutions, governments, and regions to pursue the promotion of the seafood sector. Moreover, the project was granted the opportunity to participate in the European Maritime Days, a two-day event during which Europe’s maritime community meet to network, discuss and outline joint action on maritime affairs and sustainable blue economy, that have taken place in Brest. The first day, the project held a workshop, Industry 5.0 towards a responsible seafood sector, for which I had the chance to help with the organization and directly work with the partners. It was an honor to have the chance to experience an event such as this one while promoting such an interesting project. I am looking forward to the rest of my experience and I am very grateful to be able to have this experience. See you soon! – Julia, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Atlantic Area project SAFER at the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) – Atlantic Arc Commission Discover more about the Interreg project SAFER Click Here Discover more about our host organisation CPMR – Atlantic Arc Commission Click Here
Being an IVY Volunteer for BSB CIRCLECON
My name is Despina, I am 23 years old and I’ve been volunteering as an IVY Project Partner for the ENI CBC Black Sea project BSB CIRCECON at European Regional Framework for Cooperation (ERFC) in Athens Greece for 3 months already. This experience is so unique and interesting. I get to participate first hand in the promotion and management of BSB CIRCLECON project. The BSB CIRCLECON project is crucial, as it aims to promote entrepreneurship, innovation, and business growth in the Black Sea Basin region through cross-border collaboration and knowledge-sharing. By supporting the development of SMEs and enhancing the competitiveness of the region, the project can contribute to economic growth and job creation, as well as strengthening the overall social and economic development of the area. All this with the main focus being on circular economy. BSB Circlecon is important outside of the EU as it fosters regional development, cooperation, and economic growth, which can have a positive impact on neighboring countries and beyond. Its focus on entrepreneurship and innovation can inspire and benefit businesses worldwide. Hopefully all this information makes you take the next step and apply to become an IVY Volunteer yourself, to get the chance to experience the European cooperation projects offered and promoted by all the partners collaborating within Interreg. It’s definitely a once in a lifetime experience ! – Despoina, IVY Project Partner for the ENI CBC Black Sea project BSB CIRCECON at European Regional Framework for Cooperation (ERFC). Discover more about the Interreg project BSB CIRCLECON Click Here Discover more about our host organisation European Regional Framework for Cooperation Click Here
My experience as an Interreg Volunteer
Hello everyone, My name is Marianne and it has been almost two months since I started my experience as an Interreg Volunteer. So far, everything is going well, being a volunteer is a very rich experience at both personal and professional level. Within the CPMR Intermediterranean Commission, I’m currently supporting the planification of activities for “Community4Tourism”. This project is a governance project of Thematic Community of the Interreg Euro MED programme. It belongs to Mission 4 of the programme “Enhancing Sustainable Tourism”. “Community4Tourism” aims at: facilitating the exchanges and the development of synergies between thematic projects at Med level; developing technical knowledge embedding the results of the projects and strategies; supporting the effective transfer of their results to other territories or stakeholders; The project will coordinate and work very closely with Dialogue4Tourism, the Institutional Dialogue project of Mission 4. In the framework of my mission as a volunteer I have already being involved in the current activities of the project. We are at this stage, launching the first activities of the project and planning the work for the next years. Previous Next I hope that this small overview made you want to follow our project and the mission. If so, note that soon our website will be available. There, we will be sharing on the progress of activities, main results, and events regarding the mission. -Marianne, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Euro-Med project “Community4Tourism” at CPMR Intermediterranean Commission. Discover more about the Interreg project Community4Tourism Click Here Discover more about our host organisation CPMR Intermediterranean Commission Click Here
My Volunteering Experience for Interreg Alpine Space projects ADAPTNOW and X-Risk CC
Hey! My name is Julie, I from France and I started an interreg volunteer in Lyon 1 month ago. My host organization is a regional agency of energy and environment which is working a lot on European projects. They are part of two new projects that started in November last year: ADAPTNOW and X-RISK. The first one, ADAPTNOW, works on strengthening the adaptive capacity of Highly Affected and Exposed Territories to be able to cope with unpredictable climate events for the future. The second one, X-RISK, is similar but is focusing on extreme events. The goal of these two projects is to be better prepared for the natural risks that are changing with the climate change. Two topics that interest me a lot! My mission is to help with the first stage of each of the two projects. For that, I am doing the inventory of the risk management tools that already exist (with the aim then to see what can be improved), I will also interview some natural hazard actors about a storm in France that happened 4 years ago, and I already participated to some meetings. One of these meetings was a few days ago. I had the chance to go with some colleagues at the Eurac Research Center in Bolzano for a X-RISK meeting and to exchange with all the partners from the project. It was super interesting to see how people from the alpine space (Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Slovenia…) gather and work together to find solutions for the future! I am super happy to have joined the IVY community, it is a super experience, and I am glad to contribute at my level in environmental European territorial cooperation projects! – Julie, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Alpine Space ADAPTNOW & X-Risk CC at the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Energy Environment Agency – AURA EE Discover more about the Interreg project ADAPTNOW Click Here Discover more about the Interreg project X-Risk CC Click Here Discover more about our host organisation Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Energy Environment Agency Click Here
