\ Innovazione \ The BLUEAIR project Final event marks a milestone for the future of Blue Growth in the Adriatic-Ionian area

The BLUEAIR project Final event was held in a hybrid format in Trieste on July 11th. The Project involves 31 strategic partners representing the 8 countries of the Adriatic-Ionian Macroregion.

The Final event “Shaping together the sustainable Blue Economy on the Adriatic-Ionian macro-region”, was attended by 100 representatives coming from all the countries involved (Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro and Greece).

The event was opened by Salvatore La Rosa, Director of the Research and Innovation Division of Area Science Park, the project’s lead partner, while Alessia Rosolen, Regional Councillor for Labour, Training, Education, Research, University and Family of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia had opened the afternoon session.

Four thematic panels (I-Innovation Community, II-Innovation strategy, III-Blue skills to feed jobs and IV- Technology Foresight) offered an overview of the Sustainable Blue Economy context in the Adriatic-Ionian area – both as regards EU countries and IPA ones – and of the role that BLUEAIR has acquired within it. More than 20 representatives of the quadruple helix (EU, national and regional institutions and bodies, university and research bodies, and companies) provided important insights into the state of the art of EU and national policies and EU projects, as well as on topics related to the development of S3 and the Blue Economy, such as blue skills and innovation strategies, with specific in-depth analyses on the topics of alternative fuels, robotics, aquaculture and waterborne transport.

The event was also an opportunity to launch and present two of the main outcomes of the BLUEAIR project.

Firstly, the creation of an Innovation Community, an operational platform open to all players, public and private, aiming at improving and simplifying the collaboration for innovation in order to promote a sustainable blue economy in the Adriatic-Ionian region, operating at the micro, meso and macro-regional level and promoting collective innovation actions to drive and increase the visibility of Blue Growth and build strong partnerships across sectors and disciplines, supporting the development of a macro-regional innovation system, promoting supportive policies and practices, strengthening and supporting the awareness of new generations to sustainability and development issues and engaging with innovation ecosystems in other sea basins.

A special insight was also devoted to the Technology Foresight conducted between 2022 and 2023. Its results were highly appreciated by the participating experts for its scientific accuracy and concrete approach.

As in the case of the Innovation Community, the results of the Technology Foresight of the BLUEAIR project represent a heritage to be maintained and expanded in the perspective of the development of the Blue Economy in the Adriatic-Ionian area.

The BlueAir project is financed under the Interreg ADRION program, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the IPA II Fund.