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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

My name is Constantinos and I volunteer as IVY Project Partner since November 2022. I live in the island of Cyprus. It’s my first time as volunteer  and the experience is wonderful. Through the IVY programme I had the opportunity to work with Nicosia Tourism Board and I met people who had experience with tourism. Nicosia Tourism Board is a non-profit organization with the mission to enhance and promote the city and peripheral area of Nicosia as a tourist and business destination. My studies are on Business Administration and my master degree is on the Tourism and local development, so the cooperation with Nicosia Tourism Board on the Interreg project EduTourism is very helpful for me as well. The Interreg project is on the Education Tourism in Cyprus. My country is an island dependent on tourism and any form of tourism development is important. The goals of this project are the creation of an Educational Tourism product that will highlight the natural and cultural heritage and extend the tourist season in the eligible areas between Greece and Cyprus. Also, the creation of a training program for trainers, teachers and tourism professionals to ensure the sustainability and repeatability of the project results, the creation of a platform that will aim to create an online community to promote educational tourism and the organization and implementation of targeted publicity actions, which will aim to inform the target groups.  I am involved in the creation of educational routes in the area of ​​Cyprus. These routes are divided into three categories, cultural, archaeological and religious. Οf these categories I have been more involved in the development of educational religious tourism. I help to create three routes which include some ancient churches in the central Nicosia. Also, the route includes some museums, that have various ancient relics and Byzantine icons.  This experience with cooperation is very helpful, I learned a lot about tourism, Interreg and how to communicate with other Interreg volunteers and beneficiaries all over the world. The work of next months will be so exciting and I can’t wait!!! – Constantinos, IVY Project Partner for the Interreg Greece-Cyprus project EduTourism at the Nicosia Tourism Board  Discover more about the Interreg project EduTourism Click Here Discover more about our host organisation Nicosia Tourism Board Click Here

Hello everyone! My name is Panoraia and I am an IVY volunteer at the GreenBuilding Project of the ENI CBC Med Programme at the University of Patras. It has been one month since I started as an IVY Project Partner and I feel grateful for the opportunity I have been given. Volunteering has a positive effect on both the community and the volunteer as it creates strong bonds between people and encourages a better quality of life. The host organization welcomed me with a warm reception and gave me more information about the tasks I have to undertake. Because of this, from the very first day I understood the philosophy of cross-border cooperation. GreenBuilding project is co-funded by the European Union under the European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI), through the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme (ENI CBC Med Programme) 2014-2020 and is composed of 7 partners from 2 EU – Mediterranean Countries (EUMCs) (Greece, Spain) and 3 MPC – Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs) (Lebanon, Tunisia, Jordan). The project seeks to reduce energy use and harmful environmental effects utilizing renewable energy sources and energy-saving techniques in public buildings. Αs an IVY Project Partner, during this first month, I have taken on various tasks related to GreenBuilding project such as researching energy measurement tools for buildings, supporting my colleagues in their activities and participating in a conference. I was also informed about the studies for energy refurbishment of the buildings of the three countries, Greece, Tunisia and Jordan, and learned about their requirements and the actions that will be taken in order to transform them into very low energy buildings. Continuing this journey, I will have the opportunity to meet new people and exchange opinions with different personalities. Cannot wait for new challenges. – Panoraia, IVY Project Partner for the ENI CBC Med Project GreenBuilding Discover more about the ENI CBC MED project GreenBuilding Click Here Discover more about our host organisation University of Patras Click Here