My IVY experience in Greece
My name is Ioannis and I am from Greece, where I live my experience as an IVY volunteer. The project I volunteer for is called ”HERMES” and we are working with virtual reality – augmented reality, cultural heritage, theater and music. More specifically this period, we work with virtual reality and augmented reality applications.Archaeological sites and museums are places that collect, document, display and preserve creations of art and science where members of a society can learn, research, and make connections between the present, the past, and the future. The Interreg ‘’HERMES’’ project aims to interact with collaborating partners and to approach the curiosity of visitors-tourists to archaeological sites and museums with the use of innovative IT tools. AR and VR are reality technologies that either enhance or replace a real-life environment with a simulated one. The Mobile app was designed and developed for Android devices and provides the following: The history of the castle of Arta city through an interactive book (text, photos, sound, and 3D models); 3D reconstruction of the castle (rotate, zooming, panning); Points of interest of the castle; AR functionalities. If you are interested in checking out the “Hermes” app, you can download it at this link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Hermes.AR The virtual reality application was designed and developed for VR Headsets (testing with Oculus Quest 2) and provides the following: Virtual Tour inside the Castle of Arta; Interactive Virtual Learning with Game (quiz, puzzles, etc.); Multilanguage (Greek, English). Some of my duties are to collect panoramic footage of the castle of Arta with the help of a drone; also, I help with technical features, supporting the programming part, and, finally, I help with the promotion of the project: I’m often in contact with European tourists and I show them the VR application so that they can use it themselves. I am very happy for my participation in this project as a volunteer, because I managed to combine IT technology with the cultural aspects of the local community. I hope that I will continue to volunteer and to contribute as much as I can to the promotion of cultural heritage throughout Europe, with the help of technology. – Ioannis, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Project Hermes, under the programme Interreg Greece – Italy, at the University of Ioannina Discover more about the HERMES project Click Here
Volunteering for the Organic Ecosystem project
I am volunteering in the framework of the project “ORGANIC ECOSYSTEM” which is funded by INTERREG ENI-CBC Programme. The project “Organic Ecosystem – Boosting cross border Organic Ecosystem through enhancing agro-food alliances” aims at enhancing organic MSMEs through the creation of a Cross-Border Organic Ecosystem in collaboration with Public Authorities and private actors. This is pursued by the scaling up organic value chain through the establishment of new Med business alliances. The Project involves partners from 6 Mediterranean Countries where Competent Authorities, in charge of sector’s policy and surveillance, are involved and ensure project results sustainability. Objectives are reached by: A Cross-Border Organic Ecosystem and a common strategy; Consultancy services for business development to facilitate SMEs in innovative value chain creation; Local Labs to share knowledge and support new business alliances and international business events to facilitate MSMEs market access and the link with research. 150 MSMEs (production, processing, supply, trade etc.) are involved and at least 24 organic MSMEs are directly supported. Project final beneficiaries are agro-food MSMEs at large and consumers that benefit at all levels from a trustful organic sector. The most interesting activity I was involved in recently was the participation in the BIOFACH 2023 event, which was attended by key organic producers from Greece. It was an important business, emotional event for the organic sector, and both a get-together and an opportunity for positioning. I personally benefitted from the experience of co-organizing with INNOPOLIS the participation of the Greek SMEs to this event. The participating SMEs had the chance to benefit from their participation in various ways like: Networking Opportunities: BIOFACH Expo is the world’s leading trade fair for organic food, offering an excellent platform to network with industry experts, potential business partners, and customers. Business Expansion: The Expo provided to them an opportunity to showcase their products, services, and innovative ideas to a global audience, opening up new markets and increasing sales. Brand Awareness: They had an excellent opportunity to build brand awareness and increase visibility in the global market. – Vasileios, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Project ORGANIC ECOSYSTEM, under the programme ENI CBC MED, at INNOPOLIS – Centre for Innovation and Culture Discover more about the ORGANIC ECOSYSTEM project Click Here
Being an Interreg reporter for the Euro-MED programme
Hello! My name is Silvia, I’m Italian and it’s been a month since I started my experience as IVY Reporter within the National Authority of the Interreg Euro-MED programme in Marseille, France. The Interreg Euro-MED Programme supports cooperation across Mediterranean borders. The cooperation area covers a territory of 69 regions of 14 countries from the Northern shore of the Mediterranean with a common objective: a climate neutral and resilient society. With the help of the Regional Development Fund, the supported projects work together across borders to make the Mediterranean region smarter, greener and better governed. From the very first moment I arrived at the office, I was warmly welcomed by my colleagues who offered to help me get more comfortable and to answer any kind of questions I had. Unfortunately, at the time of my arrival, an event that had brought together in Marseille all the national contact points involved in the latest call for governance projects had just ended. However, my arrival coincided with the closing of the 14-20 program and the beginning of 21-27, which makes this period particularly dense and rich in work. Personally, my main task consists in the collection and categorization of the main results produced by projects financed during the 2014-2020 programming period. In particular, I recently finished drafting summary sheets of some of the projects from the last programming period that were selected regionally for the concours des étoiles, an initiative aimed at rewarding the best projects in terms of persistence and value of the outcomes. My activities also include right now the revision of the new Internet page on the website of Région PACA (and in detail the part concerning the Euro-MED program) and the communication with the national partners. What I like most of the IVY programme is the opportunity given to young people to get acquainted with European cooperation programs directly on the ground. This means the chance to work in a stimulating and international environment but also the understanding of what the main challenges for cooperation construction are. – Silvia, IVY Reporter at the National Authority for programme Interreg Euro-Med Discover more about Interreg Euro-Med Click Here
Volunteering for Interreg Central Europe
Hello everyone! My name is Clara, I’m German, and since December I’m an IVY volunteer at the Joint Secretariat of Interreg Central Europe in Vienna. Like other Interreg programmes, Interreg Central Europe is a European funding programme that encourages and supports transnational cooperation projects to make cities and regions more resilient to common challenges. Such challenges include, for example, climate change adaptation, the energy transition, or overcoming the socioeconomic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the help of the Regional Development Fund, the supported projects work together across borders to make Central Europe smarter, greener, better connected, and more integrated – which are all goals of the European Cohesion policy. Connecting professionals from the public and private sectors in the programme area of Central Europe is thereby especially important since the area was formerly divided by the so-called “Iron Curtain”. The cooperation across borders helps to overcome the leftovers of this division, which contributes not only to Central Europe’s cohesion but to the European Union’s cohesion in general. This is also what makes Interreg Central Europe so special for me. However, December not only marked my beginning at Interreg. But it was also the starting shot for the first call of funded projects under the 2021-2027 programme. On the 15-16th December, the monitoring committee of Interreg Central Europe jointly decided in Bratislava to fund 53 projects with a total budget of 100 million Euros. So at the Interreg Central Europe Joint secretariat, we are now busy contracting these innovative projects, drafting workshops, where the participants can learn about and from each other, and also preparing the second call starting in March. Personally, I support the Communications Department in its day-to-day activities. These activities include right now the launch of the new website (visit the new website, it is very informative!), starting a new Social Media campaign, and organizing our Programme Conference in March. But since everybody in the office here is very welcoming, I also had the chance to get some sneak peeks into other departments like project management or financing. In this short period of being an IVY, I already learned a lot about communication in general, the EU’s cohesion policy, and how transnational cooperation affects our daily lives. And I am very thankful to be part of this open-minded and international team for the upcoming months. Can’t wait for what’s about to come! – Clara, IVY Reporter at Joint Secretariat Interreg Central Europe Discover more about our host organisation Interreg Central Europe Click Here
My first month as an IVY volunteer for the Interreg IPA CBC Programme Greece – Republic of North Macedonia
Hello everyone, my name is Thanos and it has been one month since I started volunteering as an IVY reporter for the Interreg IPA CBC Programme Greece – Republic of North Macedonia 2014-2020 at the Managing Authority/Joint Secretariat in Thessaloniki, Greece. From the first moment, I felt very welcome. Exchanging emails with AEBR made me feel safe. The working environment in the Joint Secretariat is also amicable, everyone was very nice to me. During this month, I had the opportunity to participate in many tasks, such as creating content for social media and reviewing the projects’ communication outputs. In this way, I gained knowledge about several of the co-funded cross-border projects. For example, one of the articles I had to write was about the “wine-up” project, whose main goal is to attract tourists, develop the local economy and create new jobs in the cross-border area. Two of the project’s deliverables are the development of the public square of Archea Krini in Pella, Greece, and the redesign of the public square at the clock tower in Negotino, North Macedonia. In this way, the EU cohesion policy is achieved. I believe that IVY is an opportunity for young people to get to know and embrace the European Union. As the world evolves, the gap between generations grows, and therefore we need the perspective of young people. – Thanos Efthymiou, IVY Reporter for the Interreg IPA CBC Programme Greece – Republic of North Macedonia Discover more about the host organisation Managing Authority for the Interreg IPA CBC Programme Greece – Republic of North Macedonia Click Here
My experience as an IVY Reporter at the Managing Authority of Alcotra Programme in Lyon
Hello everyone! My name is Lavinia Agostinelli and a month ago I started my experience as an IVY volunteer at the Managing Authority of the Interreg ALCOTRA Program in Lyon. The ALCOTRA Program operates in the cross-border Alpine area between France and Italy and has five main objectives: to tackle environmental challenges, to respond to the consequences of the health crisis, to test new forms of territorial cooperation, to overcome cross-border obstacles and to make the economy of the ALCOTRA area more dynamic. The aspect that I find most interesting about this Interreg Program and which I am personally involved in is the Youth Council: this is a new cunsultative body, created in July 2022 and made up of some fifteen young representatives of the ALCOTRA territory, which was born out of the need to give a voice to the needs of the young generations. The Youth Council actively participates at each Monitoring Committee, make propositions to improve the development of the cross-border Alpine region and follow the projects funded by the Programme. In particular, I support the communication strategies through which the Council promotes and represents the Interreg ALCOTRA Program at the events in which the Council is invited. For example, on the occasion of the ALCOTRA 2021-2027 Program launch event, the ALCOTRA Youth Council was involved in several activities during the two days of 28 and 29 November in Courmayeur and Chamonix. On the 28th, the Youth Council participated in the Citizen’s Café at the Skyway in Courmayeur and was then involved in the selection of the three “coup de coeur” projects at the Forum held in the afternoon in Chamonix. During the day of 29 November, the Youth Council was the protagonist of the animation of the three round tables, during which the young people were able to ask a series of questions to the elected representatives and technicians present. I think it was a very good opportunity for young people to get to grips with European policies and to understand how they work in practice on the ground. It was also a very formative experience for me in terms of both organisation and content because it allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and get involved in a big event. – Lavinia, IVY Reporter for the Managing Authority Interreg France-Italy Alcotra Discover more about the ALCOTRA Youth Council Click Here
