Every year, Ecomondo—the leading European fair dedicated to circular economy and environmental innovation—brings together institutions, businesses, research centres, and organizations committed to ecological transition in Rimini. The 28th edition in 2025 placed particular focus on the European Union Missions, especially “Restore Our Ocean and Waters by 2030”, and on the role of transnational collaboration through INTERREG programs, positioning the Mediterranean at the center of a wide-ranging discussion on solutions, methods, and experiments for the restoration of marine and inland water ecosystems.
In this year’s fair Venice Lagoon Plastic Free (VLPF) brought its experience gained in the World Heritage Site, Venice and its Lagoon to the Mediterranean Lighthouse Bootcamp of BlueMissionMed, participating in three central events that intertwined international cooperation, scientific research, and technological innovation in support of the European Mission “Restore Our Ocean and Waters by 2030” and territorial cooperation through INTERREG programs.
On the morning of November 5th, VLPF took part in the roundtable “Impacting Together… Promoting Cross-Fertilisation between Interreg and the Mission Ocean and Waters”, held at the ART-ER Blue Economy stand. The meeting, coordinated by the CPMR Inter-Mediterranean Commission, brought together institutions, research networks, and European projects working on water quality management and restoration.
During the discussion, VLPF shared insights on how experiences developed in local contexts can strengthen the European dimension of Mission Ocean, presenting its approach based on the connection between the INTERREG program—specifically the IPA ADRION JOINABLE project—and the lighthouse projects of Mission Ocean, HEUROPE REMEDIES and SeaClear2.0.The VLPF team was prized by Ms Elisabetta Balzi from the EC with an official token of appreciation and recognition of VLPF’s commitment to the target of the Mission Ocean and Water for the Mediterranean Sea. The token is made of recycled fibreglass provided by partner GEES Recycling.
In the afternoon of the same day, VLPF presented at the Blue Economy Agorà (Pavilion B7), speaking in the session “From Knowledge to Action: Accelerating the Mission Ocean and Waters Implementation in the Mediterranean Region”, organised by the HEUROPE BlueMissionMed project (CSA), European Commission, CNR, WWF Mediterranean, and ECORYS.
During the “Knowledge for Action” section, VLPF presented the Mediterranean lighthouse project SeaClear 2.0, focusing on the robotized and integrated system of the SeaCat vessel, which operates through the deployment of underwater and aerial drones for the surveillance, identification, and removal of marine litter on the surface and seabed multiple environments and locations: coastal and port areas, rivers and canals, fish-farming structures, etc. This monitoring and recovery system will be tested in Venice next spring during the sixth edition of the Venice Boat Show.
On the following day, November 6th, VLPF participated in the roundtable “IPA ADRION Blue: Accelerating the Ecological and Circular Transition in the Blue Economy”, hosted at the Emilia-Romagna Region stand (Hall SUD/206).
The meeting, moderated by the program’s managing authority, connected the main projects funded by the Interreg IPA ADRION program, emphasizing transnational solutions for a resilient and sustainable Blue Economy. VLPF illustrated the activities of the JOINABLE project, which aims to develop a blue and circular economy from abandoned waste found at sea and in inland waters through a transnational and territorial cooperation approach.
JOINABLE promotes digital solutions for macroplastic monitoring through transnational citizen science campaigns, also enabled by cooperation and interaction with the Ocean Mission projects in which VLPF participates (SeaClear2.0, REMEDIES).
Through participation in these three events, Venice Lagoon Plastic Free strengthened its role in the Mediterranean landscape of applied research and environmental governance, promoting the Venice World Heritage Site and its Lagoon as a place for experimentation and replication of solutions and strategies that can connect scientific data to territorial action, building bridges between science, institutions, and society for a blue and circular economy in the Mediterranean.