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

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CPMR - Atlantic Arc Commission

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