CAPACITY BUILDING FOR EDUCATION AND APPLIED RESEARCH IN MEDITERRANEAN UNESCO's BIOSPHERE RESERVES

The project aims to strengthen, ameliorate and upgrade academic activity at four Moroccan and Lebanese Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the context of Mediterranean Biosphere Reserves (BRs), in collaboration and through networking with BRs’ stakeholders (citizens, visitors, managers and technicians), public administrations and EU Partners. ‘BR’ is a UNESCO label for territories composing a mosaic of natural protected areas, cultural heritage, human settlements, and land use designations for small-scale, eco-friendly economic activity. The designation falls under the auspices of UNESCO’s “Man and Biosphere” (MAB) program, which aim is to explore solutions for the improvement or relationships between people and their environments on a multidisciplinary scientific basis. It grows the necessity in Region 3 to link countries, universities and territories so that they cooperate in tackling common socio-economical-ecological challenges of the new era. After an in-depth analysis of the inertias at the intersection of knowledge fragmentation between and within HEIs, needs and demands from BR citizens and staff, and policy frameworks, the Consortium will gather to set the work agenda by means of thematic workshops. The idea is to build an infrastructure for the flow of knowledge made of (i) IT systems for data management and sharing; (ii) ‘citizen science’ tools to engage civil society as co-producer of knowledge; (iii) training for teachers from the South at a Winter School in Europe; (iv) international mobility and internship schemes for teachers and learners to conduct collaborative case study research in BRs; (v) scientific and education materials –including a MOOC course; (vi) curricula upgrading. The initiative will align Region 3 HEIs’ activity with territorial needs; innovate their research capacity; promote internationalization and openness; enrich staff’s expertise; enable mutual learning between stakeholders; enhance the interdisciplinary character