A sea of cooperation. Towards a cohesive Euro-Mediterranean research community

On April 11, the second "Annual Socratic Dialogue Event”, was held, hosted in the headquarters of MASAF, in Rome, under the title "A sea of cooperation. Towards a cohesive Euro-Mediterranean research community".

 

The event aimed at deepening and widening the outcomes of the successful Annual Socratic Dialogue Event (ASDE) held in Budapest in 2023, sharing information, experiences, and reflections in the aim to strengthen the collaboration between the ERA research community and the countries from the southern and eastern coasts of Mediterranean and from the Western Balkans. In this view, another GEH event held on April 12, back-to-back with the ASDE, aimed at the widening to the western Balkan countries, provided a great added value.

 

Around 40 participants attended the two events (largely the same group in the two days), about a dozen from the targeted countries, both research funders and researchers.  The presentations given by GEH members, representatives from the EC and from the three HE Partnership more pertinent to the GEH remit (Agroecology, FutureFoods and Animal Health and Welfare), plus some keynotes from experienced researchers and experts, provided the ground for a round table where interest from those countries’ research communities was largely confirmed and relevant concerns were raised and debated.

 

The questions and answers following the presentations, and the overall debate, highlighted some challenges and possible action points for the future. They can be seen as an outcome of both the events, given the continuity between the two. Among the former: the complex (or at least perceived as such) administrative and bureaucratic burden to cope with for joining the ERA initiatives, and the lack of adequate knowledge and awareness of these opportunities, and of related potential benefits, by the funders in the targeted countries. Among the latter: more pro-active efforts by the responsible for the ERA initiatives in the widening, including the capability to give continuity to engagement efforts (meetings, workshops, letters of support) in the aim to clarify any doubts and find solutions to possible obstacles to stronger collaboration.

 

Finally, the ASDE (but actually the two events together) were also an opportunity for community building and networking among representatives of the targeted countries on the one side and of GEH and Partnerships on the other. The possibilities for joining in the short-term existing networks and upcoming Calls for research proposals were also explored.

 

Last but not least, the guided visit at the historical library of MASAF and a social dinner were the easy but warm social events that framed the 2024 ASDE and further strengthened the community building aim of the event.

 

 

240403 FINAL AGENDA GEH ASDE 11_02_24.pdf (319.25 KB) Socratic dialogues events