Third Steering Committee Meeting at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

On October 28-31, the third Steering Committee meeting of the CARE SEA project was held at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The three-day event included a Steering Committee meeting, an educational seminar, a training and a study visit to the Axios River Delta and the Thermaikos Gulf on combating plastic pollution in rivers and seas.

At the Steering Committee meeting, representatives of partner universities from Greece, Georgia, Turkey, Moldova and Romania discussed the progress of the project and future plans. A workshop was held on the topic “Tools and Methodologies for Assessing Microplastic Pollution”, where participants heard interesting presentations from researchers from different countries and discussed common environmental challenges in the Black Sea region. The training sessions presented practical examples, European waste management standards and awareness-raising initiatives. The event was attended by more than 70 participants both in the hall and online.

As part of the study visit, the participants visited the Axios River Delta and the Thermaikos Gulf, where they got acquainted with the unique ecosystems and discussed the impact of microplastic pollution on the natural environment.

The CARE SEA project is implemented within the framework of the EU Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin program and brings together partner universities and research institutes from the Black Sea region. The project leader is Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, and the partners are: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Karadeniz Technical University, Moldova University of Politics and Economics and the National Research Institute of the Danube Delta of Romania.