Spoke 3 of RAISE at the “Pontos – Euromediterranean in Dialogue” festival

On January 15, as part of the “Pontos – Euromediterranean in Dialogue” festival, the panel “Protection of the seas and inter-Mediterranean cooperation” took place at Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, with the following program:
– Monica Montefalcone (UniGe): The changing Mediterranean. A look at marine ecosystems;
– Paolo Prati (UniGe and INFN): A look at atmospheric pollution;
– Marco Faimali (CNR-IAS, coordinator of Spoke 3, RAISE): The Mare nostrum, a great natural capital to be preserved: the technologies of the RAISE project for the protection of the Mediterranean marine environment;
– Nicola Rasore (Coldiretti): Fishing in the Mediterranean Sea: people, sailors and fish. So similar, so different;
– Raffaella Bruzzone (Chamber of Commerce): The role of the chamber system in supporting sustainable development in the Mediterranean.

The director of CNR-IAS and coordinator of Spoke 3, Marco Faimali, with his presentation “The Mare Nostrum, a great natural capital to be preserved: the technologies of the RAISE project for the protection of the Mediterranean marine environment”, introduced the ecorobotics activities of RAISE, starting from an initial question addressed to an intercultural audience, with a majority of young people, and a reflection on the relationship between human beings and the environment.
Faimali then illustrated the concept of “anthropocene”, highlighting the acceleration of the anthropic impact on planet Earth, which has occurred since 1950. This impact includes the exploitation and pollution of air, soil and sea.
The coordinator of Spoke 3 then focused on the fundamental role of the oceans, both as a thermostat (“without oceans, we would have a temperature of 36 degrees”), and as a “blue lung”: 50% of oxygen is produced by the sea.
The Mediterranean, central theme for the Pontos festival, represents 1% of the seas, but is in itself a precious and irreplaceable natural treasure chest: it contains 10% of the planet’s biodiversity.

The coordinator of Spoke 3 then highlighted some of RAISE’s important results in the field of ecorobotics, showing images of future scenarios, created for Roma Fotografia Future and videos of RAISE projects, with prototypes of robots already built and under development.
Director Faimali commented: “I am grateful and satisfied for this invitation from the Pontos festival, as an opportunity to disseminate the RAISE ecosystem and new meetings for future collaborations, both scientific and artistic”.

The panel was therefore an opportunity to involve a young audience on the themes of RAISE spoke 3 and to dialogue between experts on the themes of biodiversity, monitoring and care of the environment, with a focus on the Mediterranean Sea.

Cover Image
Marco Faimali (CNR-IAS) at the Ducal Palace for Pontos
Author: Nderim Kaceli (Pontos)
Credit: Pontos, photo courtesy of RAISE