Hello IVY community! I’m Matteo from Sicily. I’m passionate about European Territorial Cooperation and I love bringing people together to work for a more sustainable future. I studied international cooperation and I have a master in Grant Office Management.

I am currently volunteering in Ragusa, Sicily, for my host organisation SVI.MED. Euromediterranean Centre for Sustainable Development. I support them in the URBANFLOODS project, funded by the INTERREG IPA ADRION Programme.

URBANFLOODS – “Promoting Urban Resilience Through an Integrated Advanced Decision Support System for Flood Control” started on September 2024. This project seeks to enhance urban resilience to flood risks in the Adriatic-Ionian region through a unified Decision Support System (DSS). Briefly, a DSS is a tool helping actors (in our case municipalities, local and regional authorities, Civil Protection…) to improve their decision-making capabilities, assisting them in making quick and precise decisions, which are vital in emergencies like floods.

URBANFLOODS big partnership is composed by 11 partners and 11 associated partners from Albania, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. The Lead Partner is the University of Western Macedonia, Greece.

SVI.MED. is in charge of one the pilot activities for the DSS development, in a torrent that flows between the beautiful cities of Modica and Scicli, included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. I definitely encourage to visit them!

SVI.MED. is also responsible for URBANFLOODS’ communication so I assist the staff in coordinating these activities (preparing the Communication Plan, managing official website and Social Networks, setting up the Newsletter, engaging communities and stakeholders).

SVI.MED.’s staff is composed by high level professionals, they are great in valorising your skills, and helpful. I immediately felt valorised and welcomed.

Last November, I have the great opportunity to participate to the Kick-Off Meeting of the Project in Kozani, Greece. Assisting to a KOM is a really valuable experience for those who want to work in project management. It is the first time in which all the partners officially meet, present each other and start paving the way for project activities. SVI.MED. gave me the possibility to proudly present to all partners our territory, in Sicily, which will be the objective of our pilot activities. I have the chance to meet lots of professionals from different countries of the Balkan peninsula. Everybody was really kind with me. We met also in the evening for a fantastic typical Greek dinner.

The next day, we visited the Ilarion Lake and its Hydroelectric power plant. Inner Greece is wonderful, with beautiful mountains and fresh air.

Ευχαριστώ πολύ, Ελλάδα!

The project has just started, but I already feel part of a great community with a great objective. I think this is the best aspect of being an Interreg Volunteer: the consciousness of working for something good, overcoming differences to work together for the wellbeing of our people. In these dark times for international community, European Territorial Cooperation is silently but relentlessly working for a better world.

Thanks, IVY!

 
– Matteo, IVY Project Partner at SVI.MED for Interreg proejct URBANFLOODS