Water Resilience In and Beyond Europe: Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation, Innovation and Global Leadership

This workshop will explore the international dimension of water resilience, positioning Ecomondo as a key Euro-Mediterranean platform for dialogue, cooperation, and innovation. A strong focus will be placed on international research and innovation projects, highlighting their role in developing, testing, and scaling up sustainable water solutions across regions. In this context, the session will showcase EU-funded R&I projects and flagship initiatives such as the Global Gateway and the Union for the Mediterranean. The session will also look ahead to the UN Water Conference 2026, emphasizing the importance of water diplomacy in addressing shared challenges and fostering strategic partnerships. Particular attention will be given to strengthening the global competitiveness of EU water technologies, supporting industrial leadership, technology transfer, and market uptake through research-driven innovation. Innovative financing mechanisms, including nature credits and blended finance, will be discussed as tools to unlock investments and support the scaling of results emerging from research and innovation actions. The workshop will further reflect on the evolution of the European and Mediterranean Innovation Action, reinforcing collaboration between research institutions, industry, and public authorities. Overall, the session aims to position Ecomondo as a strategic hub connecting European and Mediterranean stakeholders, with a strong emphasis on international R&I collaboration, driving innovation, investment, and policy alignment in the global water agenda.

Session Chairs

Sergio Ponsá Salas, Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee (STC) and BETA Technological Centre
Evina Katsou and Vasileia Vasilaki, Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee (STC) and Imperial College London
Francesco Fatone, Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee (STC) and Università Politecnica delle Marche
Luca Lucentini, Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee (STC) and Italian Institute of Health (ISS)
Konstantinos Aravossis, Professor, UNESCO Chairholder, Scientific Director Circular Economy & Sustainability Institute at National Technical University of Athens, former Secretary General Environment of Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy

Program 

10.00 Introduction by the Chairs

10.15 Opening High-Level Panel: 
European Strategies and International Cooperation for Water Research and Innovation
Chair: Francesco Fatone and Evina Katsou 

10.15 Impact and Future Perspectives of the European Framework Programmes for Water Research and Innovation
Bertrand Vallet, European Commission, DG Oceans, Seas and Waters, Unit B4 (TBC)

10.30 Water4All: Aligning National Programmes to Maximise the Impact of Water Research and Innovation
Benjamin Lopez, Water4All Partnership
Maria Chiara Sole, ISPRA

10.45 The Water4All Network of Water-Oriented Living Labs for Water Resilience and Innovation Deployment
Andrea Rubini, Director of Operations, Water Europe

11.00 Strengthening Water Cooperation in the Mediterranean
Ali Rhouma, PRIMA Foundation / Union for the Mediterranean

11.15 The European Water Academy: current status and future steps
Bernd Gawlik and Vasiliki Beretsou, Joint Research Cenre, European Commission

11.30 Italian Water Utilities as Drivers of Innovation: Scaling Research into Practice through European and International Projects
Monica Manto and Yuri Santagostino, UTILITALIA (TBC)

11.45 Building a Water Smart Economy in the Euro-Mediterranea Area: The Role of Business
Daniela Bernacchi, Executive Director UN Global Compact Network Italy

12.00 Strengthening International Water Cooperation: The Experience of the Hungarian Water Partnership
Balázs Varga, International Business Specialist of the Hungarian Water Partnership

12.15 Water resilience in the bioeconomy, ecological agro-food strategies in EU-funded strategies and projects
Sergio Ponsà Salas, Director, BETA Tech centre, Spain

12.30 Water and digitalization: lesson learnt at Imperial College London
Evina Katsou, Vasileia Vasilaki and Ilias Giannakeas, Imperial College London, United Kingdom

12.45 Human and artificial intelligence to innovate and operate water infrastructure in Europe and beyond
Orazio Giustolisi, Politecnico di Bari

13.00 Integrating circular economy models and green innovation into engineering, public policy, and higher education: focus on Water and Euro-mediterranean scenarios
Konstantinos Aravossis, UNESCO Chair Green Innovation and Circular Economy

Lunch break

Afternoon Session
Chairs: Luca Lucentini, Vasileia Vasilaki and Sergio Ponsa Salas

Speeches selected from the Call for Papers

14.15 Panel 1 – Building Water Resilience: Nature-Based Solutions, Governance and Regional Strategies 
Chairs:
Sergio Ponsá Salas, Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee (STC) and BETA Technological Centre
Konstantinos Aravossis, UNESCO Chair Green Innovation and Circular Economy

Focus: Nature-based Solutions, groundwater recharge, urban resilience, governance, regional cooperation and Mediterranean strategies for climate adaptation

Blue Credits for Boosting Groundwater Recharge
Alessandro Bosso and Marco Ottolenghi, ART-ER

Decoupling Urban Runoff through Nature-Based Solutions: A SuDS Retrofit in Paderno Dugnano (Italy)
Marco Callerio, Head of Engineering Services Gruppo CAP

Sponge Cities and Water-Resilient Cities: The Sponge Measures Project and an International Comparison
Marino Cavallo, Città Metropolitana di Bologna
Mirco Bordin, Nuovo Circondario Imolese
Claudia Vannini, Città Metropolitana di Bologna
Elisa Spada, Nuovo Circondario Imolese

From WEFE Nexus Knowledge to Practice: Scaling Water Resilience through Living Labs, Nature-Based Solutions and Innovative Business Models in the Mediterranean
Maria Giulia Pelosi and Juan Diego Restrepo, Etifor - Valuing Nature 
Alessandra Santini, University of Padua

Water Resilience in the Mediterranean Area: The WISEMED Project (Mediterranean Joint Water Management and Conservation Sustainable Solutions)
Silvia Baralla, Maria Valentina Lasorella and Serena Marianna Ferrigno, CREA – Research Centre for Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy
Serena De Angelis, Institute for University Cooperation

CARDIMED, CSS Boost and SYSTEMICO: Advancing Circular Cities, Regional Water Resilience and Water Reuse in the Mediterranean
Simos Malamis, Nationa Technical University; George Arampatzis, Technical University of Crete; Nicolò Ciuccoli, Lorenzo Tombolini, Massimiliano Sgroi and Alessia Cherubini, Università Politecnica delle Marche; Giuseppe Mancuso, Attilio Toscano, Università di Bologna; Claudio Carini, CIIP SpA; Giorgio Gigli, Pamela Marconi, Fermo ASITE, Giovanna Faedda, Comune di Alghero

16.15 Panel 2 – Scaling Circular Water Solutions: From Innovation to Climate Resilience 
Chairs:
Luca Lucentini, Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee (STC) and Italian Institute of Health (ISS)
Vasileia Vasilaki, Imperial College London

Focus: Water reuse, circular economy, digital transformation, decentralised systems, drinking water resilience and innovation uptake

SOLUCIR: Innovative Circular Water Solutions for Decentralised Water Management
Christos Makropoulos, Panagiotis Kossieris, Natalie Bianchi

BOOST-IN: Boosting Innovation for Circular Water Solutions Across European Regions
Stevo Lavrnić and Attilio Toscano, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna

Enhancing Drinking Water Treatment Performance under Climate Change: Experiences from Mozambique
Elisa Gregorio and Sabrina Sorlini, Atumane Ussene

Enabling the Adoption of On-Farm Water Innovations: Cross-Country Evidence from Regional Social Labs
Tommaso Pomponi, Marianna Ferrigno, Myriam Ruberto, Andrea Arzeni and Silvia Baralla, CREA – Research Centre for Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy

Models without Borders: Digital Twins as Enablers of Water-Technology Transfer and Resilience across the Euro-Mediterranean Region
Jessica Ianes, Giacomo Bellandi, Roberta Muoio, Pieter Vlasschaert and Wim Audenaert, AM-Team, Ghent University

From Water Infrastructure to Energy Resilience: Integrated Solutions for Alpine Communities
Maria Ferrara, Hydrodata S.p.A. – Water Resources Engineering Company

17.45 Closure by the Chairs

SELECTED E-POSTERS

1 – European Sustainability Governance of Water-Related Impacts in Cotton-Based Textile Supply Chains
Filippo Nepi

2 – SEP – Siccità e Esondazioni
Gabriele Puccetti

3 – WrackValue: An Industrial-Scale Circular Bioeconomy Model for Converting Beach-Cast Biomass and Sargassum into Certified, Market-Ready Bioproducts
Pablo Martinez, ISAT
Leonardo Piccinetti, REDDIN
Gustavo Perez, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Alexia Massa Gallucci, BlueEcotech
Rocco Lagioia, TheGreenTech

4 – Environmental DNA as an Innovation and Decision-Support Tool for Water Resilience
Nicola Tommasi, Emiliano Pioltelli, Lorenzo Guzzetti and Nemoris S.r.l. Società Benefit

5 – UAV-SfM Multi-Temporal Monitoring and Sediment Transport Modelling for Sustainable River Basin Management: Preliminary Results from the Celone River Basin
Leonardo Mita, Università degli Studi della Basilicata; Commissario di Governo per il contrasto del dissesto idrogeologico nella Regione Puglia
Andrea Doria, Commissario di Governo per il contrasto del dissesto idrogeologico nella Regione Puglia
Gennaro Ranieri, Politecnico di Bari; Commissario di Governo per il contrasto del dissesto idrogeologico nella Regione Puglia

6 – OBLYSIS®: An Innovative Technology for Enhancing the Performance of Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plants – The Caronno Pertusella WWTP Case Study
OBLYSIS New Wastewater Era 

7 – Resilient Water Reuse Under Extreme Influent Variability: Performance of Pentair X-Flow Helix Tubular UF Membranes in a Side-Stream MBR Treating Tanker-Wash Wastewater
Elias Van den Broeck, Pantarein Water – Technology Integrator and Operator
Karthi Pitchaikani, Pentair – Technology Provider

8 – Real-Time Detection of Influent Toxicity through Activated Sludge Respirometry: Protecting Biological Treatment for Resilient Wastewater Management
Roberta Lotito, Gruppo Orion