Knowledge Sharing & Public Learning
European Researchers’ Night — Bright Night Siena.
SDSN Mediterranean · 29 September 2023
Youth-led projects for the sustainable development of the Mediterranean.
On 29 September 2023, Green Growth Generation founder Gabriella Esposito participated in Bright Night — the European Researchers’ Night hosted at the Santa Chiara Lab of the University of Siena — on the occasion of the event “Youth-led projects for the sustainable development of the Mediterranean: the network of SDSN (Youth) Med”.
Bright Night combines the acronym Brilliant Researchers Impact on Growth Health and Trust in research with the word night — a “Brilliant Night” dedicated to the world of research and researchers across Europe, offering a space for the presentation of sustainability projects and initiatives in the Mediterranean area, with a particular focus on the agri-food sector.
The event — Youth-led projects for the sustainable development of the Mediterranean
Organised by SDSN Mediterranean and SDSN Youth Mediterranean, the event was conceived as a space for students, young innovators, entrepreneurs and researchers to present sustainability projects in the Mediterranean area.
An opportunity that brought academic research, civil society and youth innovation into dialogue around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
What is SDSN Mediterranean
SDSN Mediterranean is the regional hub for the Mediterranean area of the Global United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN) — the United Nations network launched in August 2012 by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to support research and innovation in sustainable development.
Through projects and partnerships, SDSN Mediterranean mobilises scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society and the private sector to foster the sustainable growth of the Mediterranean region.
Among the youth networks contributing to its mission, SDSN Youth Mediterranean — bringing together 80 youth organisations from 16 countries — works to inspire and engage young people as active agents of change towards the implementation of the SDGs. Three keywords: education, networking and cooperation.
The Mediterranean Youth Solutions Report 2022
Bright Night was also the occasion to present the Mediterranean Youth Solutions Report 2022 — a publication presenting a series of highly innovative projects with the aim of encouraging greater youth mobilisation at local, regional and national level within the Decade of Action.
The Decade of Action is the call to action launched in 2019 by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda — an urgent appeal to intensify efforts towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Green Growth Generation’s contribution — Farmer Community Accelerator
Among the projects presented in the report and during the event, the Green Growth Generation Farmer Community Accelerator — launched in Lebanon in October 2021 as part of GGG’s Food & Sustainable Agriculture programme.
Gabriella Esposito, GGG founder and creator of the programme, presented the project as one of the main speakers at the event:
“The goal is to strengthen the environmental, social and economic sustainability of local producers, connecting local farmers with the many other communities present: consumers, suppliers and institutional stakeholders. Lebanon is a small country, but highly strategic for trade routes in the eastern Mediterranean area.”
The Farmer Community Accelerator operates as a connection platform between local farmers, consumer communities and institutional stakeholders — a model of sustainable and participatory agricultural development rooted in the Lebanese territory and replicable in other vulnerable Mediterranean contexts.
Why this participation matters
Green Growth Generation’s presence at Bright Night in Siena represents a moment of connection between GGG’s territorial practice — rooted in Lebanon and Turin — and the international research and innovation networks for sustainable development in the Mediterranean.
Bringing the Farmer Community Accelerator into a context like SDSN Mediterranean means contributing to the construction of a shared heritage of solutions for the transition towards more just, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems in the Mediterranean area.