The Mediterranean Researchers’ Night (Mednight) kicks off its third edition on the Greek island of Lesvos

Organisations from six countries, including Turkey, meet to agree on a strategy for the dissemination of Mediterranean science.

On 7 and 8 April, an expedition made up of institutions from Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Belgium will meet on the Greek island of Lesvos to kick off “Mediterranean Researchers’ Night” or Mednight. The project, which started in 2020 and is celebrating its third edition this year, has received funding from the European Union thanks to the “Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and Citizens” call of the “Horizon Europe” programme. Mednight was awarded 14 points out of a possible 15, obtaining €600,000 for the 2022 and 2023 editions.

The Mediterranean is going through a transcendental time for the 500 million people living on its shores. Mednight aims to generate Mediterranean unity around science, recognising common problems, highlighting the value and support of research and technology towards the common main concerns and highlighting the figure of women researchers, especially in areas such as “sea and pollution”, “climate and clean energy”, “diet and nutrition” and “life and health”. Climate change, pollution, overfishing, desertification, wildfires, few opportunities for young people… are at the top of a long list of shared problems, which no single country can solve or address on its own.

To show the attractiveness and value of the work and profession of researchers to the general public, a series of activities will take place under the common umbrella of what Mednight calls “Mediterranean Science”. The activities, which begin in Lesvos, will take place over several months and until 30 September, when this celebration of science will be held in more than 400 European cities, including Lesvos, Valencia, Messina, Istanbul, Alicante, Orihuela, Torrevieja, Nicosia and El Cairo by Mednight.

Among these activities, the European Commission has highlighted the “Mediterranean Science Team”, where an international jury will choose the 11 researchers who have made outstanding contributions to Mediterranean science and society; The marine expedition of the Toftevaag, where this 100-year-old sailing ship will sail the Mediterranean from April to October to conserve turtles, whales and dolphins and track illegal nets, the “curtains of death”; and the “Mind the Lab”, an activity where scientific experiments are carried out in public places such as train stations, ports, beaches or parks. In addition, during the project, a documentary that will capture the voices of the scientists and their research work on the Mediterranean Sea in the different areas of Mednigth will be produced. These and other Mednight activities will also be present in more than a hundred schools and secondary schools throughout the academic year.

Mednight brings the participation of 10 institutions in consortia: FISABIO, INCLIVA, CSIC, MUDIC, El Caleidoscopio, SciCo Cyprus, the University of Messina, the Kadir Has University of Istanbul and the European Women Rectors Association (EWORA), under the coordination of SciCo Greece.

Please click to watch Mednight teaser.

Please click to view the Mednight photo gallery.

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