Training Mediterranean stakeholders to bring science and local communities together

On the issue of plastic pollution, civil society has often influenced political decisions through evidence-based initiatives and data. In this virtuous process, scientific data are often left aside due to their volume and complexity. Understanding, synthesizing and popularizing this data to convey it in a locally relevant and appropriate manner requires skills, and training.

The project led by the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies at the University of Salento aimed to bring science and society closer together by strengthening the skills of the BeMed laureate community in the management and exploitation of scientific data, through a collaborative and interdisciplinary working group.

Main results:

Development of a roadmap in collaboration with BeMed and organisation of two preparatory webinars.
Selection of 19 participants from eight countries through a call for projects.
Organisation of a working group leading to the creation of a white paper on scientific data visualisation tools, integrated into BeMed resources and used in an MSc course at the University of Salento.
Practical use of solutions co-created by some participants in their local projects (e.g. reducing the impact of fishing nets in Lebanon).

Updated on 04/08/2025