Black Sea Young Ambassadors: Orientation Programme 2020

On 12 October 2020, a productive Orientation Meeting was held online for Black Sea Young Ambassadors, aiming to provide fundamental information on Blue Growth, Black Sea SRIA, and science communication.  This training was held after the ambassadors met with their Black Sea CONNECT mentors and participated in the National Black Sea SRIA Consultation Workshops. In the meeting where all Black Sea Young Ambassadors came together for the first time, the ambassadors mingled with each other. The Young Ambassadors shared “what connects them to the Black Sea” and started to develop their vision and goals based on this connection and the needs and opportunities of the Black Sea.

The meeting started with the opening remarks of Black Sea CONNECT Coordinator Baris Salihoglu. After this icebreaker, Black Sea Young Ambassadors had a chance to listen to the All-Atlantic Youth Programme of European Commission Policy Officer Laura Mc-Donagh. The training continued with learning the fundamentals of Blue Growth and Blue Growth in the Black Sea. In the second half of the meeting, young ambassadors provided insights on “Connecting Black Sea to our Citizens: How to communicate science to different audiences?” The first group work on how to make the Black Sea more visible was carried out by INDIGO-MED Science Communicator Martha Papathanassiou.

This event provided a great first connection for the young ambassadors to get to know each other, have the necessary foundations for their future activities, and develop strategies on how to make waves for the Black Sea.