On the occasion of the 2021 Monaco Ocean Week, BeMed organized several events aiming at promoting the field actions it supports and facilitating the sharing of experience within its network.
By bringing together all of its 2020 awardees for a workshop, BeMed wanted to encourage exchanges on the successes and difficulties encountered as well as the tools and data used in the implementation of projects in order to facilitate their success and strengthen their impact.
An initial discussion in sub-groups allowed each participant to express his or her views on the main theme of his or her project: engaging stakeholders, working with the private sector and developing alternatives or raising awareness. The conclusions of these exchanges were then shared with the rest of the group so that everyone could bring their experience to the debate.
Key takeaway:
Health situation
The health crisis context makes fieldwork more difficult:
– Increase in the use of single-use plastics presented as solutions to the pandemic.
– Working with the private sector is more complicated because it is less receptive to environmental issues.
To overcome these difficulties, the associations must strengthen their awareness-raising work by relying in particular on the press and young people, who facilitate dialogue, understanding and acceptance of the message.
The health crisis has also created various opportunities such as the development of the use of videoconferencing, which allows associations to reduce their travel and continue their actions at lower cost.
Working with municipalities for effective local actions
Municipalities play a central role in the implementation of effective field actions in the long term. Associations can work in different ways with this key actor: BtoB discussion, creation of community platforms, support towards the implementation of local waste management action plans… However, they are often confronted with changes in municipal representatives, the lack of human and financial resources that municipalities face and the lack of space to store waste.
Pooling resources for international impact
Many actions are underway in the Mediterranean. These projects face similar difficulties, use tools and develop solutions that could be applied to other contexts. Collaboration between all project leaders is crucial to share good practice and to achieve a more global impact.
Toolbox:
BeMed is generously supported by the Didier and Martine Primat Foundation and the Aether Fund of the Foundation for Future Generations for its call for micro-initiatives.
BeMed is hosted by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
