REBLUE
N(N)LE International Business and Economic Development Center is implementing EU funded project on “Representative Deliberative Processes for Sustainable Blue Economy Planning in the Black Sea Basin” (REBLUE) in Georgia with lead partner the Kavala Development Agency S.A.(ANKA) from Greece and partner Eastern Black Sea Development Agency(DOKA) from Turkiye in the framework of (Interreg VI-B) NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme.
Project total budget: 501.733,19 Euro
Interreg Funds: 451.559,87 Euro.
Overall Objective
The REBLUE project, in line with SO3, aims to foster participatory blue economy in the Black Sea Basin. It aims enhancing capacity and citizen participation and developing ICT tools for policy improvement. The project targets authorities, education institutions, NGOs, and SMEs support organizations. Activities include setting up Citizens' Councils, operating digital platforms, and organizing events to promote blue economy planning, growth and governance.
The REBLUE project is in line with the EU Black Sea Basin Neighbourhood Programme’s SO3 priority (“Promoting a sustainable blue economy”) and aims to foster the development of the blue economy in the Black Sea region through modern approaches and practical tools, which covers the following sectors: Maritime Transport and Logistics, Maritime Tourism, Aquaculture and Fishering. It aims enhancing capacity and citizen participation and developing ICT tools for policy improvement. The project targets authorities, education institutions, NGOs, and SMEs support organizations. Activities include setting up Citizens' Councils, operating digital platforms, and organizing events to promote blue economy planning, growth and governance.
The project focuses on capacity building, the development of innovative digital information and communication (ICT) technologies, and raising awareness in this area, which will contribute to the formulation of more sustainable and effective recommendations in the blue economy, including the digital economy.
Within the project, the beneficiary groups include local authorities, educational and research institutions, sectorial Civil Society Organizations, professional associations, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s).
The project foresees the establishment of working groups and advisory platforms, the development and deployment of digital tools, and the organization of informational and educational activities in close collaboration with local authorities. These efforts will advance the blue economy, support its practical implementation, and foster the exchange of best practices in the digital domain.
Setting up and facilitating the REBLUE Councils at local and cross-border levels involves short, structured consultation sessions, typically with around 15 participants over 1–2 days. Their compact format means that the information-sharing and discussion phases complement and build on each other, allowing sector-specific challenges to be addressed efficiently. The process is focused on the project’s priority areas, ensuring targeted discussion and concrete outputs.
During facilitated discussions, participants work together to identify practical solutions and develop recommendations that address challenges within the project’s scope, particularly focusing on the development of digital innovations in the project’s relevant sectoral areas (Partizipation.at, 2019). The facilitation approach is flexible, enabling participants to contribute ideas freely, which encourages the exchange of perspectives and supports innovative proposals (Centre for Wise Democracy, 2019).
The project places particular emphasis on capacity building and the development of innovative digital information and communication (ICT) technologies, ensuring that the Councils not only generate recommendations but also strengthen knowledge-sharing and digital cooperation across project related sectors.
Project outcomes are shared in an open session (Citizens’ Café), designed to disseminate findings more widely, particularly within the maritime domain. The resulting recommendations are then communicated to local institutions. Overseeing progress and project implementation will be delegated to smaller follow-up group (Partizipation.at, 2019).
By avoiding lengthy preparatory phases, the Councils remain resource-efficient and easy to organise. They provide a structured yet flexible mechanism to periodically highlight priorities and support evidence-based responses in the fields of maritime transport and logistics, maritime tourism, aquaculture, and fishing.
PP3 International Business and Economic Development Center will be involved the following activities within the REBLUE Project:
- Studying in-depth the socio-economic context at local level and cross-border level for the purpose of designing and organizing the project’s representative deliberative processes in the blue economy sector;
- Design and operate the REBLUE Digital Democratic Innovations (DDIs) for use in the representative deliberative processes;
- Setting up and facilitating the REBLUE Citizens’ Councils at local and cross-border level;
- Designing and operating the REBLUE Digital Democratic Innovations (DDIs) for use in the representative deliberative processes (online platforms for the REBLUE Citizens’ Councils at local and cross-border level);
- Ex-post evaluation of the operation of the REBLUE Citizens’ Councils at local and cross-border level;
- Promoting project activities and achievements in social media;
- Organizing a final conference on the issues of blue economy growth, representative deliberative processes and Digital Democratic Innovations (DDIs); Participation in the project events in Greece and Turkiye;
- Preparing and organizing the project’s main public events (info days, open days, etc.).
PARTNERS
GREECE: Kavala Development Agency S.A. (ANKA)
TURKIYE: Eastern Black Sea Development Agency (DOKA)
GEORGIA: N(N)LE International Business and Economic Development Center (IBEDC)