BlueMed Ambassadors' activities report

The BlueMed Ambassadors' Programme was implemented under Task 5.3 of the BlueMed CSA EC funded project supporting the intergovernmental BlueMed R&I Initiative for blue jobs and growth in the Mediterranean area (www.bluemed- initiative.eu/). The objective was to engage and coach a group of highly-motivated young people from non-EU Mediterranean countries, to share the BlueMed vision in their contexts and set the grounds for the development of a pan-Mediterranean network of 'BlueMed Ambassadors'. The network's aim would be to promote the project's research-based vision and approach to a sustainable Blue Economy at the Mediterranean scale and beyond. The report detailedly describes the BlueMed Ambassadors' activities, proving how empowering youth with the appropriate knowledge on global challenges and with an adequate interdisciplinary vision facilitated their becoming agents of change, able to enhance awareness in the wider communities they live in and interact with. The experience from BYCA programme shows that highly-motivated young people with a robust communication strategy at national level can reach out to groups of actors from academia, industry public bodies, NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) and citizen associations and drive behavioural changes. These local voices and actions can be united under the auspices of international projects (such as BlueMed CSA) and international fora (eg. Union for the Mediterranean - UfM, United Nation Environment Programme - UNEP) for triggering international attention and ensuring applicability and effectiveness of approaches beyond national borders, supporting science diplomacy initiatives related to tackling international/global challenges.