[Karim El Arnaouty]

We are AViTeM, a French public agency based in Marseille and working on sustainable urban development, and we are thinking about getting involved in the Urban Heat Islands topic, especially by updating a project proposal that we had already developed in 2018.
The subject of urban heat islands is unfortunately a hot topic, and is in line with the priorities of the Commission as well as the Interreg EURO MED Programme, notably Policy Objective 2 “A greener, low-carbon transition towards a net zero carbon economy and resilient Europe” and its specific objectives 2.4 “Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention, resilience, taking into account eco system-based approaches” & 2.7 “enhancing protection and conservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructure, including in urban areas, and reducing all forms of pollution”.

We are not in a position to act as Lead Partner for this particular project, but we can make our work and our network and long experience of cooperation available to help bring this project proposal to fruition.

If interested, you may contact me at k.elarnaouty@avitem.org

[Valeria Rossi]

Dear Karim,
the Municipality of Cesena is situated in Northern Italy within Emilia-Romagna Region, some 15km from the Adriatic coast and it has 96.000 inhabitants. Since 2007 the municipality has established an European project office acquiring a great experience in project management. Cesena is a member of Eurocities (Environment forum) and the first Italian signatory city of the new “Green City Accord”, as well as the “Mayors Adapt” initiative.

CLIMATE is one of the current Administration priority themes, and recent analysis on climate has been developed for the the city SECAP (Sustainable Energy and Climate Adaptation Plan) together with the National Research Council, and within the Interreg Italy-Croatia project called Adriadapt. Among the main tools to counteract urban heat islands these analysis identified urban forestry and greening; urban climate regeneration and natural based solutions; naturalization of the Savio river; capacity building for climate adaptation planning and stakeholders engagement.
We would be interested in better knowing your approach and possibilities to cooperate. Feel free to contact rossi_v@comune.cesena.fc.it
Best regards.

[MONICA SALVIATO]

Dear Karim El Arnaouty,

Greetings!

Many thanks for your e-mail and for your interest in our institution.
I apologize for the late response. Indeed, we would be interested in participating as partner to you project proposal and we would be delighted to work along with you. Although we are not in the position to be lead partner, we may assist you with the research.
I would like to ask you a few inquiries; kindly see the following:
– have you already selected a lead partner?
– do you already know what’s the contribution on the project you expect from the Municipality of Spinea?
– have you already drafted the budget?

Finally, kindly see a brief presentation of the Municipality of Spinea:
The Municipality of Spinea is established near Venice (IT) and it is in charge of all administrative functions regarding its population and territory of Spinea, with a specific focus on services devoted to citizens and community, local territory and economic development, safety and culture. Moreover, Spinea will be European City of Sport in 2023.

Do not hesitate to contact me for any further information.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
Monica

[Cveta Dimitrova]

Dear Karim,

We, are ABERON OOD., a Bulgarian, Sofia based private research and consultancy company, with expertise in designing and implementing climate related adaptation measures, such as NBS, green belts and vertical gardens for minimizing CO2 emissions.
Through own IT subsidiary we develop different tools and platforms for DRM, EWS and data monitoring in real life.

We are therefore, very interested in joining the partnership and contributing to the project implementation.

I would like to hear more about your proposal but meanwhile stay in touch through cveta.dimitrova@aberon.bg

Best regards,

Cveta

[Maria Tsagkataki]

Dear Karim,

We are also looking for a lead partner and we are very intrested on the topic you suggest.

The Municipality of Heraklion is interested to be a partner in your proposal. We would like to have more information and details on the development of your project idea.

Heraklion is the capital of Crete, one of the most economically active towns in the wider region. Also is fourth largest city in Greece. According to the results of the 2021 census, the municipality’s population is 157.452 people.

Since March 2011, the Municipality of Heraklion signed the Mayors’ Pact, which is an ambitious initiative to involve local authorities and citizens in reducing energy consumption, saving resources and upgrading the quality of life of citizens. This European Commission’s main objective is to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020. For this purpose, the Sustainable Energy Action Plan was developed as a tool for identifying and certifying the energy policy of the Municipality and its intention to achieve the above objective. The participation of the Municipality of Heraklion following the proposal of the Energy Centre of the Region of Crete for the Covenant Capacity project, co-funded by the Europe – Intelligent Energy Program, is an important part of the training of the SDAE and aims to support the development of Action Plans On Sustainable Energy in Europe. In recent years, institutional players in the city, as well as public and private organisations have worked together more closely to promote and capitalise on the benefits of the city. Heraklion has an economy with comparative advantages in the agro-food sector and tourism. Emerging sectors of the economy are the Environment / Energy and innovation / new technologies sectors.

The Heraklion Municipality is currently implementing many projects regarding energy efficiency in public buildy, transportation. Since this is a priority for the municipality, we consider your proposal an assent to the strategic orientation.

To be able to consider possible collaboration please contact us on euprograms3@heraklion.gr

Regards,

Maria Tsagkataki

Municipality of Heraklion Crete
Directorate of Planning, Programming and ICT
European Programmes Dept.
66, Ikarou Av., Crete, Greece
tel. 0030 2813409199, 0030 2813409221
euprograms3@heraklion.gr

[gaetano volpe]

Good morning I just register in the platform and we in Latitudo 40 are working with satellite data and Artificial Intelligence to identify areas of cities with Urban Heat Island problem and to identify how to solve this problem with Nature Based Solution.
Can we join any project to validate and evolve our technology with a real application

Let me know

Gaetano Volpe
Latitudo 40
gaetano.volpe@latitudo40.com
+393355797883

[Juan Francisco Suarez]

Dear Karim

We are writing to you on behalf of the Association of Municipalities of Camp de Turia (Mancomunidad de Municipios del Camp de Turia), an association of 17 municipalities with more than 160.000 inhabitants in the Autonomous Community of Valencia on the east coast of Spain. They have experience in projects related to circular economy and sustainability and they are now in the process of commitment to the European Green Deal and the reduction of carbon footprint, so they would be really interested in a project like this. They also are signatories of the Mayor´s Pact which is an ambitious initiative to involve local authorities and citizens in reducing energy consumption, saving resources and upgrading the quality of life of citizens

If you have possibility of joining the consortium yet, please contact us at the following email: juanfco.suarez@sicidominus.com

Best,

[Balkan Bridge]

Hello Mr.

We from Balkan Bridge Bulgaria would like to indicate our interest as we have huge experience within the field of European projects including low-carbon and circular economy initiatives.
More about our profile:

Balkan Bridge is an organisation aiming to bring together the societies of the Balkans and to achieve cooperation and growth. The organisation’s mission is to cover the gaps of the Balkan area in terms of professional training, networking and research activities with the goal to transform Balkans to a sustainable ecosystem with a highly skilled human capital and businesses able to adapt to the needs of the society and the global trends.

In order to achieve its goals, Balkan Bridge is providing consultancy services, training for the improvement of professional skills to individuals and corporate training for businesses in order to achieve teams’ growth and empowerment.

Within this context, the main target groups of Balkan Bridge are:

Individuals (incl. minorities such as migrants and refugees)
SMEs (Small & Medium Enterprises)
Industries
Educational Institutes
Policy Makers

Regards,

[ersilia incelli]

Dear Karim
we are an interdisciplinary group of researchers consisting of linguists (communication and discourse analysts), economic geographers and statisticians (including demographers) and urban heat islands is exactly what we are working on at the moment, in particular the Heat-Health nexus, – we have actually written a project connecting heat and rising sea levels (specifically in the urban and coastal areas of Lazio) – Rome is particularly interesting with numerous Urban Heat contexts around Rome and especially the periphery with fewer green living areas. We would be extremely interested in joining a project on this theme – please seriously consider us because it is certainly something we can contribute to in an effective way. my email is ersilia.incelli@uniroma1.it.
best wishes
ersilia

[Denisa Sarajlic]

Dear colleagues,

We are following this project idea with great interest. SKRIPTA is an SME from Bosnia and Herzegovina working at the intersection of local government, innovation, design thinking and human-centred design.

If a Lead Partner is identified and the consortium moves forward, we would be interested in exploring a role focused on the municipal innovation and real-life piloting dimension of the project. We work closely with local governments and could help translate urban heat challenges into practical pilot opportunities, particularly around shade and thermal comfort, small-scale green public-space interventions, green and blue corridors, accessibility and community use.

Our added value would be in connecting municipalities with SMEs, innovators, academia and technical partners, and supporting challenge-based co-design, innovation sprints, user-centred testing and uptake of solutions in real municipal settings. We could also help identify suitable pilot territories in Bosnia and Herzegovina for approaches or technologies developed by other consortium partners.

If the proposal progresses and a Lead Partner is secured, we would be very interested in discussing a possible contribution.

Best regards,
SKRIPTA
info@skripta.ba
nedo@skripta.ba

[Simona Aprile]

Dear Karim,

Thank you for sharing this interesting project concept.

We are in a similar position to yours, as CREA Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC), Palermo, Italy, is currently not in a position to act as Lead Partner. Nevertheless, we would be very interested in joining and contributing to the development of the proposal as a scientific partner.

CREA-DC has extensive experience in Mediterranean biodiversity, Nature-Based Solutions, climate adaptation and sustainable urban greening, with particular expertise in extensive green roofs under Mediterranean climatic conditions.

Over the past years, our team has developed significant research and demonstration activities on the use of Mediterranean plant species for green roofs, focusing on ecosystem services, biodiversity enhancement, urban heat mitigation, water-use efficiency and climate resilience.

In addition, CREA-DC operates dedicated experimental facilities for ex situ green roof research, as well as areas suitable for the implementation of pilot actions and demonstration activities. We can therefore contribute both scientific expertise and testing capacity to evaluate nature-based solutions aimed at mitigating Urban Heat Island effects.

Our team also has specific expertise in Healing Gardens and therapeutic landscapes, exploring the contribution of green infrastructures to human well-being, social inclusion and healthy urban environments.

We believe that our experience could complement the project very well, particularly regarding:

Mediterranean green roofs and blue-green infrastructure;
urban heat island mitigation strategies;
biodiversity-based Nature-Based Solutions;
ecosystem services assessment;
pilot testing and demonstration activities;
healing gardens and well-being-oriented green spaces.

We would be pleased to discuss potential synergies and possible roles within the consortium.

Kind regards,

Dr Simona Aprile
CREA Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC)
Palermo, Sicily, Italy
simona.aprile@crea.gov.it

[Center for Development of Pelagonija Planning Region CDPPR]

Dear,

I am writing on behalf of the Center for Development of the Pelagonija Planning Region (CDPPR), from Bitola, Macedonia, to express our interest in establishing cooperation with organisations looking for reliable and experienced partners for Interreg Euro-MED projects.
CDPPR is a public institution for regional development, established by the nine units of local self-government comprising the Pelagonija Planning Region. As a regional development institution, we work closely with municipalities, public institutions, local stakeholders, businesses and civil society organisations to identify and address regional development needs and translate them into concrete projects and actions. Our responsibilities include preparation and implementation of development projects, coordination of regional development activities, support to local communities, promotion of tourism and cultural heritage, and activities related to civil protection, resilience and sustainable territorial development.

CDPPR has substantial experience in project development, partnership building and project implementation under various national and international funding instruments. While Euro-MED would be a new programme framework for our institution, we have practical experience with Interreg cross-border cooperation, including project preparation, partnership coordination, financial and administrative management, implementation of activities, communication and reporting. Our experience also includes projects and initiatives related to sustainable and rural tourism, cultural and natural heritage, local economic development, environmental protection, climate resilience and capacity building of local stakeholders. Through our institutional position, we can also facilitate access to the municipalities and relevant stakeholders across the Pelagonija region and support the testing, adaptation and territorial transfer of innovative solutions and good practices.
For the upcoming Interreg Euro-MED opportunities, we are particularly interested in joining partnerships where our regional expertise, territorial network and capacity to implement pilot actions can provide concrete added value.
If you are looking for a reliable partner from North Macedonia with strong links to local and regional authorities and practical experience in project implementation and territorial development, we would be pleased to discuss potential cooperation.
Please feel free to contact us at info@pelagonijaregion.mk to exchange information about your project ideas, partnership needs and potential areas of cooperation.
We look forward to establishing successful cooperation.

Kind regards,
Jasmina Matevska
Center for Development of Pelagonija Planning Region (CDPPR)
Bitola, Macedonia
info@pelagonijaregion.mk

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