Today, the Head of R&D Projects and Innovation Department, and Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Blue Economy (CoE-SUBE) at the Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI), Prof. Mounir Ghribi, attended ´´Protecting the Planet and Fostering Green Growth: Deployment of Green Technologies,´´ organised within the framework of the European Union sponsored programme: People-to-People EU – US Emerging Leaders Visitors Programme (EVLP).
The event, which runs from 26 May – 1 June, took place at the premises of the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The morning schedule was dedicated to a series of presentations of Slovenian foreign policy priorities in green diplomacy with Prof. Ghribi presenting the Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Blue Economy and all its activities. During his presentation, he emphasised the importance of skills development to fuel jobs in the blue economy sectors, and the capacity to adapt in a rapidly evolving world in terms of digitalisation and mitigating climate change, while taking into account generation gaps.
The Centre of Excellence was planned at a time when the need for a transformation of marine and maritime sectors towards sustainable development has never been more urgent, and the EU’s commitment to doing so has never been stronger. In 2021 the EU acknowledged the seas and oceans as central to the accomplishment of the objectives of the EU’s strategic agenda – the European Green Deal. At the same time, a green transition was made one of key pillars of the EU´s strategy vis-à-vis its Mediterranean neighbours. The Centre is therefore, invaluable in fostering interactions in the knowledge triangle (academia-policy-society) related to the theme of the blue economy, both in how this plays out in the EU, and in relation to the Mediterranean region, pooling knowledge and competence on the subject of the EU’s blue economy.
