On October 27, 2021, at the Programming Department of Calabria Region, the kick-off Coordination Meeting took place between the technical teams of Calabria Region and the Agenzia Regionale per lo Sviluppo dell'Agricoltura in Calabria (ARSAC),the agency of the Regional Department of Agriculture. The meeting aimed at achieving a unique coalition within the GREENLAND strategic project, in which ARSAC will contribute in providing technical assistance, as expected within the work plan.

GREENLAND project involves 7 Mediterranean countries (Italy, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Portugal, Greece) and promotes social inclusion and fight against poverty, by providing NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training until 30 y/o) and women with marketable skills and qualifications for job placement in the Green and Circular Economy sectors.

The Calabria Region is the Lead Beneficiary of the project and participates by means of its Programming - Territorial Cooperation- Institutional Capacity – Strategic Projects Sector within the Programming Department. As far as the actuation, Calabria Region launched a cooperation with ARSAC, by taking into consideration the competences and vocation that such a company does have in the project areas of interest.

ARSAC will indeed implement specialized actions thanks to its experience in developing innovative services provided to Calabrian agri-food companies and in the management of experimental dissemination centres in agriculture.

ARSAC background represents a success factor for GREENLAND project, which aims at increasing knowledge in the Green Economy sector by promoting a model of economic development so as to take into account human well-being and social equity, through a conscious use of environmental resources.

The creation of new employment opportunities for the beneficiaries identified by the project will also be strengthened by the involvement of TVET (Institutions of technical and vocational education and training) and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises).

ARSAC is accustomed to deal with European Territorial Cooperation. In 2011, the company participated in the Balkan and Mediterranean Framework Programme Agreement of the 2007/2013 programming and, more recently, within the Interreg Europe Programme by means of the Agrirenaissance project.

Thanks to the company natural vocation to innovate, contribute to sustainable development and create job opportunities within one of the key areas identified in the initial phase of the project, the agri-food sector, the collaboration between Calabria Region and ARSAC will allow to implement GREENLAND project thanks to a technical team fully dedicated and with the aim of giving value to endogenous resources and activities of the Calabrian regional territory, simultaneously achieving the project results.