FoSaMed – Enhancing Food Safety in the Mediterranean

The European Green Week will take place from 31st May to 4th June 2021 and several events, to debate and discuss European environmental policy, are in the Agenda.

The European Green Week is organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment.

This year’s theme is Zero Pollution for healthier people and planet. “The zero pollution ambition is a cross-cutting objective contributing to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and complementing the 2050 climate-neutrality goal in synergy with the clean and circular economy and restored biodiversity goals. It is part and parcel of many European Green Deal and other initiatives, and the Commission will continue including the zero pollution ambition in future policy initiatives.” as reported in the EU Action Plan toward a Zero Pollution Ambition, adopted on May 12, 2021: a key deliverable of the European Green Deal.

The EU Green Week 2021 will also look at other relevant European Green Deal initiatives, such as the climate initiatives, the upcoming Chemicals Strategy, as well as initiatives in the fields of energy, industry, mobility, agriculture, fisheries, health and biodiversity.

Pollution has no geographical boundaries, the research for better practices to reduce pollution and safeguard the environment and its resources is more and more a global need. Universities, among others, are important actors in this process.

UNIMED participates in many projects – co-financed by the European Union funds – having the focus on the sustainability of the environment and of the natural resources and which are led by Universities or in which Universities are important partners.

UNI-ECO, led by the University of Montpellier, aims at responding to the need to build social and environmental sustainability into the core ethos of modern university, by designing sustainable campus and supporting students and HEI staff to bring it to life by taking action.

FoSaMed, led by the University of Evora, aims to bring together Moroccan HEIs that promote inclusive education through curriculum development and teacher education on food safety.

EduBioMed, led by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, aims to strengthen, foster and upgrade academic activity at four Moroccan and Lebanese universities in the context of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves. ‘Biosphere Reserves’ (BRs) is a UNESCO label for territories that compromise with the sustainable development goals.

Enbrain, led by the Politecnico of Turin, is working to design a Master in Renewable and Sustainable Energy in Libya following a multi-level approach in capacity building.

MAYA, led by the Desertification Research Center of the University of Sassari, aims at increasing the professionalism of young students by supporting the development of a new inter-university postgraduate Master on integrated water and agriculture management (IWAM) involving three Tunisian universities. The project has recently ended.

Urban Transports Community, led by MedCities, promotes sustainable urban mobility planning in the Euro-Mediterranean region as an effective tool to reduce carbon emissions and improve the quality of life of the population and the environment.

Sustainable Tourism Community, led by the Diputacio de Barcelona, works to make tourism a real driver for inclusive and sustainable growth.

Furthermore, Universities work together within the UNIMED network in thematic SubNetworks.

The overall aim of the SubNetworks is to support the economic and social cohesion in the Euro-Mediterranean region, in order to promote on the one side cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation and, on the other side, local sustainable development.

Discover more on the SubNetwork on Food&WaterSubNetwork on Transports&LogisticsSubNetwork on Mediterranean TourismSubNetwork on BlueMedSubNetwork on Safety and Security of Critical InfrastructuresSubNetwork on Climate and Environmental Change.