After an opening of the conference involving the Ministry and National Agency for Science, Research and Innovation, and the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg ADRION, presentations address various aspects, for example:

• Presentation: Blue Economy: planning for establishing capacities for the Albanian Blue concept, with a focus on the European Institute for Innovation and Technology
• Presentation: The BLUEAIR project: state of the art and main results presented by BLUEAIR Lead Partner
• Discussion. Embedding transnational cooperation in the S3 across the Adriatic Ionian area: prospects and challenges; The CPR of EU Regulation cohesion package for 2021-27 at Art. 15 introduces the concept of the enabling conditions. Thereinafter, among the enabling conditions, the “Good governance of national or regional smart specialisation strategy” considers “Measures for enhancing cooperation with partners outside a given Member State in priority areas supported by the smart specialisation strategy” as one of the relevant fulfilment criteria. Hence, the BLUEAIR project can play a substantial role and provide a platform conducive to that cooperation across the transnational area. The session is intended to discuss and deepen such potential benefits and the corresponding challenges to make them happen.
• Transformative Actions Towards Blue Sustainable Solutions; Long-term sustainable development of the blue economy sectors and its niches should include transformative actions. New technologies and greening frameworks that drive innovative solutions to transform traditional "business as usual" models are accelerating the necessary capabilities in industry and the public sector to meet the challenges of environmental and ecosystem services in blue sectors.
• Discussion: Alignment of Institutional framework; The bottlenecks caused by inconsistent institutional frameworks in the AIR are a mayor burden to achieve a more effective and impactful cooperation for blue R&D and innovation in the region. The point is particularly relevant since the unique sea basin and the corresponding common challenges call for a coordinated sound approach across the whole area. As a matter of fact, a lot of efforts have been devoted over the time, to pursue a more coherent and aligned institutional framework. Despite these efforts, the issue is still open. The session will shed light on the progress made over the last years pursuing a more aligned institutional framework. Then, appropriate actions, measures and solutions at stake but still unaccomplished for enhancing macro-regional cooperation in blue innovation will be discussed, leveraging the potential of S3 common approach.
• Discussion: Preparing the next generation of blue skills to match the training offer to the market needs: advanced digital, green and soft skills for future blue careers
• Macroregional innovation community for the sustainable blue economy; The transition to a sustainable blue economy requires innovative technologies. A coordinated approach to various blue innovation actors and stakeholders and the promotion of transregional collaboration among them is needed to achieve this goal. In recent years, many efforts have been made to achieve closer innovation cooperation in the macro-region. The Adriatic-Ionian Innovation Community for a Sustainable Blue Economy that we are setting up in the BLUEAIR project is intended to build on these efforts. The panel will present and discuss views on the shape and future tasks of the BLUEAIR innovation community.
• Conclusions: What’s in front of us? Conference Conclusions and Recommendations. Open debate on the transition from challenges and opportunities to solutions towards the BLUEAIR Innovation Community and Innovation Strategy

Registration is required at the following link: https://bit.ly/3xuo8B2
Once registered you will be receiving the link to Zoom if you are planning to follow the event online.

For more information about the list of speakers and how to find support and infos, please consult the attached document (provided by organisers).