Med_Net Project

Introduction

In 2017 a network was formed - IFLA Europe Med_Net working group - that brings together countries bordering the Mediterranean or that share its climatic and environmental characteristics. The aim of the working group is to optimize the work of landscape architects on similar issues by concentrating their efforts, increasing awareness and ensuring a more efficient communication, while saving energy and resources.

The constituent group is made up of delegates from Portugal, Spain, France, Greece (plus Cyprus) and Israel with Italy as coordinator. At the beginning of 2019 the delegates of Slovenia, Croatia and Turkey have joined in, completing the number of Mediterranean countries of IFLA Europe. Next step is to include the delegates of the Mediterranean countries of IFLA Middle East and IFLA Africa.

The first meeting of the working group was held in Lecce, Italy, in June 2018. On this occasion the mission and objectives of the group’s work have been defined, a schedule and agenda were set and opportunities for the first concrete activities have been drafted.

Objectives

The main reason why we have come together is that we all share a strong concern about the challenges regarding:

• Climate/Environment
• Social/Cultural issues
• Political/Economical issues
• Landscape education

What is our mission?

• To share the cultural and environmental values of challenges common to all
• To identify the principal topics and opportunities of the specific conditions common to all
• To declare the Mediterraneity of these issues
• To develop a network based on sharing experiences and exchanging knowledges
• To share initiatives, information and documentation on educational matters

The group meets twice a year: the Spring Meeting is held in rotation in the member countries. A topic related conference reporting the member countries projects will be scheduled in parallel. The second annual meeting will coincide with the IFLA Europe General Assembly. In this Autumn Meeting the working group intends to choose the arguments that express the moments concerns and to seize opportunities to go public efficiently and draw specific partners in. This “topic of the year” will be the core issue for the group’s work on which the member countries will focus their efforts (research, events, communication…) as and how they consider best for their specific interest. During the remaining time work will be carried out according to the specific opportunities and needs of the member countries. The results of all the works and researches will be shared and made available to the members of the Med_net.

Members of Med_Net project:

• Uta Zorzi, AIAPP, Italy, Med_Net Co-ordinator
  
• Darija Perkovic, Croatia
• Katerina Gkoltsiou, Greece
• Ariane Delilez, France
• Nikola Watté, France
• Leor Lovinger, Israel
• Simone Scuderi, Italy
• Marlene Chahine, Lebanon
  
• Margarida Cancela D’Abreu, Portugal
• Manuel Sanchez, Spain
• Urban Svegl, Slovenia
  
• Sukran Sahin, Turkey
• Daniela Micanovic, IFLA Europe

Med_Net meetings:

2020 Med_Net, Marseille, FRANCE

2019 Med_Net, Tel Aviv, ISRAEL -

2018 Med_Net, Lecce, ITALY - Landscape architects in the Mediterranean countries - opportunities and challenges

© Background photo by KAROLINA WASZEK