Earlier in June, the FUTURE4PRIMA project team welcomed representatives from the 21 project partner to Barcelona for the first General Assembly meeting since the project launched six months ago, in Brussels. The two-day event brought together experts from across the Euro-Mediterranean region, both in-person and virtually, to drive forward this crucial initiative.

Funded by the European Union under Horizon Euopre, FUTURE4PRIMA builds upon the foundational work of the PRIMA program to expand research and innovation activities to widening countries and third nations bordering the Mediterranean. By pooling resources and aligning efforts, the project aims to tackle emerging sustainability challenges in line with the European Green Deal and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The General Assembly kicked off with welcoming remarks from PRIMA Chairs Angelo Riccaboni and Mohamed El-Shinawi, followed by Project Coordinator Antonella Autino, who underscored FUTURE4PRIMA’s guiding role for the future of the partnership program.

Over the course of the meeting, partner representatives actively participated in discussions centered around the project’s seven core work packages:

1. Coordination and Management
2. Strategic Planning
3. Supporting the Alignment of Processes
4. Enhancing the Mediterranean Innovation Ecosystem
5. Widening Actions to Extend the PRIMA Partnership
6. Fostering Progress on UN Agenda 2030 SDGs and EU Green Deal
7. Dissemination, Communication, and Exploitation

Collectively, these work packages structure the efforts to advance a renewed, impactful PRIMA partnership by ensuring efficient coordination, strategic program alignment, interoperability, innovation ecosystem strengthening, partnership expansion, sustainability prioritization, and comprehensive communication and outreach.

The second day featured kickoff meetings for the Executive Board and newly formed Advisory Board, whose members bring invaluable expertise to guide FUTURE4PRIMA’s trajectory.

Moreover, the consortia also celebrated Bulgaria’s recent accession as a PRIMA participating country, with representatives from the Ministry of Innovation and Growth joining the PRIMA Board of Trustees meeting held back to back. This expansion reinforces one of FUTURE4PRIMA’s key objectives – strengthening the international dimension of the European Research Area.