The first day of the event, namely 9 November, was organized at Palacongressi. It was a private event for the key stakeholders of SwitchMed addressing the state of play of the programme.

The seconf day included a High-level session, introduced by a recording from Mr. Maciej Popowski, Acting Director-General – Directorate General Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) and gathering Ms. Müge Dolun, Industrial Development Officer at UNIDO, Mr. Stephan Sicars, Director of the Division of Circular Economy and Environmental Protection at UNIDO, Mr. Ilias Mavroeidis, Programme Management Officer at UNEP/MAP, Mr. Almotaz Abadi, Deputy Secretary General for Water, Environment and Blue Economy at UfM and Ms. Elizabeth Tuerk, Director of the economic Cooperation and Trade at UNECE, who shared their perspectives on the current regional landscape, particularly focusing on leverage points which can enable a transition to a just Circular Economy in the Mediterranean. Following this panel that gave a bit of context, 2 thematic and cross-sectoral sessions were held, namely on Blue Economy and the textile sector. To have an overview of the content, PPT presentations of the second day (public sessions) can be found below.

The event concluded with the #EYESONBLUE ceremony, an initiative launched on the occasion of the World Ocean Day and jointly carried out by the European Commission Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), EU Neighbours South, and the SwitchMed programme. It awarded the winners as follows:

1^st Prize: IrriApp (Tunisia)

2^nd Prize: Petra Green (Jordan)

3^rd Prize: Chitosan Egypt (Egypt)

Public’s favorite: Qout Libya (Libya)

The prizes consist of:
– First prize: A cash prize of 2,000 euro and 2,000 euro voucher to spend on services or trainings for the business.
– Second Prize: Cash prize of 1,750 euro and 1,750 euro voucher to spend on services or trainings for the business.
– Third Prize: Cash prize of 1,000 euro and 1.000 euro voucher to spend on services or trainings for the business.
Winners will also have access to TheSwitchers.org platform. MedWaves will ensure follow-up of the technical assistance with the winners for a more efficient implementation of the vouchers.

Watch here the video to have an overview of the whole event:

Watch all the videos of the event in our YouTube playlist.

Find all pictures of the event in our dedicated Flickr album

More information about the event on the website: https://switchmedconnect.com/