The UNESCO International Center for the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves will host from 17th to 19th of December the kick-off meeting of the Edu-BioMed Erasmus+ project. The event will host more than 50 people among university professors, researchers and staff from Morocco, Lebanon, Spain, France and Italy. The project has as main objective the strengthening, amelioration and upgrading of the academic activity at four Moroccan and Lebanese Higher Education Institutions in the context of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves, in collaboration and through networking with key stakeholders: citizens, visitors, managers and technicians, public administrations and European Partners.  

The UNESCO International Center for the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves, thanks to the Abertis Foundation, will take 10 young researchers to the First Youth Forum of the Ibero-American and Caribbean Biosphere Reserve Network (IberoMAB). It will take place from 5th to 8th of December 2018 at the Bosques de Paz Transboundary Biosphere Reservein Ecuador, and will be the first Man and the Biosphere (MAB) regional forum for young people. The conferences that will happen during the event have as main objective to enhance youth to develop a more sustainable future

Jordan’s Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature has given an award to the Abertis Foundation aknowledging its efforts to foster the Network of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves through the International Centre for Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves under the auspices of UNESCO. The Centre is a pioneer experience of a public-private managed intitution, as the Abertis Foundation partnered with the Spanish Government and the United Nations to create it.

The UNESCO International Centre for the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves is a partner of the 2018´s EFI’s Young Leadership Programme – Mediterranean edition (YLP-MED). EFI is the Barcelona-based European Forest Institute and through YLP-MED it provides training, knowledge sharing and networking on Mediterranean forest-based value chains and their contribution to a circular bioeconomy. 

A consortium of institutions who got in contact through the UNESCO International Centre for the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves (UICMBR) have been awarded approx. 1 million euros through the European Commission´ Erasmus+ funding scheme. The project is called Edu-BioMed, it will officially start next month and has as main objective the strengthening, amelioration and upgrading of the academic activity at four Moroccan and Lebanese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the context of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves (BRs), in collaboration and through networking with BRs’ stakeholders (citizens, visitors, managers and technicians), 

On the 26th of September 2018, the 3rd edition of the presentation of the Master's Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability was celebrated in the UNESCO’s International Centre for the Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves headquarters, the emblematic Castellet Castle (Barcelona). Around 50 students of the 2018/2019 edition showed up to the event, willing to get to know more about the UNESCO’s Centre and their Master’s degree main goals. Those were explained by Ms. Roser Maneja (researcher ICTA-UAB and technical coordinator of the UNESCO Centre) and Ms. Antònia Casellas (the Master coordinator). The event was also honoured with the presence of the Head of Research and Development of the Karst Biosphere Reserve (Slovenia), Ms. Vanja Devebec, who talked about the research challenges and opportunities that  Biosphere Reserves face under the current global change scenario. After her talk, the students asked her many questions, showing their engagement and interest for the topic.

Check out some pictures of the presentation in this link below!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/161167961@N07/6Y83i9