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My name is Chiara, and I am currently an IVY Project Partner at the Autonomous Region Friuli Venezia-Giulia in Trieste, Italy, within the framework of the project MARLESS. MARLESS, acronymous of “MARine Litter cross-border awarenESS and innovation actions”, is part of the Interreg Italy-Croatia Programme and it aims at implementing a concrete and joint action to address the issue of marine litter in the Adriatic Sea. The Interreg Italy-Croatia Programme indeed supports cross-border cooperation among the territories overlooking the Adriatic Sea; particularly, the current Interreg Italy-Croatia CBC Programme 2021-2027 is focused on the blue economy, and it capitalise on previous cooperation experiences for creating stronger synergies with EUSAIR. /*! elementor – v3.6.5 – 27-04-2022 */ .elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=”.svg”]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block} Being an IVY Volunteer within the project MARLESS has been exciting and gratifying since the first day. Indeed, I am learning a lot about the EU Cohesion Policies and the extent to which they play a vital role in our daily life as European citizens. Moreover, this experience is raising my awareness about the relevance of interregional cooperation for effectively facing current and future challenges. However, being an IVY Volunteer is not just about being immersed in a daily learning process confined to the EU interregional cooperation and European Cohesion Policies, it is even networking, acquiring essential skills, and feeling part of a vibrating IVY community. Personally, I have found not just colleagues but friends, and every day I have the opportunity to exchange interesting ideas with the project partners and know more about their amazing works and experiences. In addition, I am acquiring knowledge and skills that might boost my future career as well as contribute to my personal growth. Indeed, I am currently working on several different tasks, such as communication tasks, data revisions, drafting reports, and social media content creation. Accordingly, I am becoming confident with communication, the project management cycle, the functioning of the European Regional Development Fund, and the overall intricacies of the EU Cohesion policies. After just one month of being involved in this exciting journey, I can say that I am glad to be part of this programme, which allows youth to concretely experience the EU cooperation system within a stimulating environment, empowering our chances to actively take part in the future of Europe along with increase our consciousness about European citizenship which does not know any borders! – Chiara, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Project MARLESS, under the programme Interreg Italy-Croatia, at the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region Discover more about the MARLESS project Click Here

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

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

Hi! My name is Agata. I come from Poland, which is where I am currently carrying out my IVY experience. I am volunteering with the Balteus Foundation – a non-governmental organisation focused on enabling cooperation of institutions across the European Union. The Foundation implements projects mostly in the field of sustainable use of natural and cultural resources as well as cultural heritage. As part of my IVY experience I have been involved in the “BaMuR – Baltic Museum Resilience” project for over a month now. The project is carried out under the Interreg Baltic Sea Region 2021-2027 programme and it is aimed at increasing the resilience of museums, memory institutions and cultural institutions in difficult times, such as the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Within the project a toolbox will be developed, which will provide these heritage institutions with solutions that they can apply in case of any other future crisis. What’s more, the outcome of the project is expected to not only provide the resilience opportunities for these institutions but also for the whole societies. This topic is especially important to me as I am an art history graduate. I believe that museums as well as other cultural institutions play an extremely important role in society in terms of education and preserving the local history and heritage. That is why I think it is crucial for them to gain the ability to overcome challenges and adapt to new realities in difficult times. One of my tasks so far has been to conduct questionnaires among museums and other cultural and memory institutions to find out about their experiences with such events as the COVID-19 pandemic. It was particularly interesting as I have been able to find out what particular museums in Poland have been struggling with during the times of crisis and what solutions they have developed. I am very grateful for this opportunity that I probably wouldn’t be able to get if I didn’t join the IVY programme. I am looking forward to further contributing to the project and finding out more about resilience of cultural institutions! – Agata, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Balic Sea Region project “BaMuR” at Balteus Foundation /*! elementor – v3.6.5 – 27-04-2022 */ .e-container.e-container–row .elementor-spacer-inner{width:var(–spacer-size)}.e-container.e-container–column .elementor-spacer-inner,.elementor-column .elementor-spacer-inner{height:var(–spacer-size)} Discover more about the Interreg project BaMuR Click Here Discover more about our host organisation Foundation Balteus Click Here

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

Since my arrival to Martinique, a French overseas territory in the Antilles, I have been immersed in the Caribbean culture, getting to understand its uniqueness and the need to showcase it to the world. For over a month now, I have been an IVY Project Partner in the project RICHÈS KARAYIB – We can make the Caribbean bigger, a joint initiative created by three local organisations to promote the development of a business environment in the cultural sector in the Greater Caribbean. Within the framework of the Interreg-Caraïbes programme, the project aims to develop a permanent space for meetings and exchanges, to federate the Caribbean population and diaspora as well as the international population around the Caribbean richness through a digital platform and a series of itinerant events. As we are a small – but growing – team, I have been involved in several aspects of the project. My main focus is assisting on the planning and production of the events that we organize in other partner countries. After the project launch last December, I have participated in the events in Saint Lucia and recently, in Anguilla; where we organized a culturally themed event followed by the song competition Richès Karayib Voices. With these events we try to showcase a particular aspect of Caribbean culture as well as artists, craftsmen and any other players in the cultural industry. Parallelly, the song challenge gives an opportunity to young locals in each participating territory, to demonstrate their talent and interact with music executives to strengthen their skills. With this experience I have realized how crucial it is for the different territories in the Antilles to develop linkages between them and work together to strengthen their voice as Caribbean. It is thanks to ambitious projects like Richès Karayib that local communities and stakeholders get a chance to participate to the economic development of their territory and their people. – Adriana, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Caraibes project RICHÈS KARAYIB Discover more about the Interreg project RICHÈS KARAYIB Click Here Discover more about our host organisation ASIS W.I. Click Here