Date: 8 September 2023
Time: 17:00
Venue:
The Final Event of the Interreg FAST project will take place on Friday 8 September 2023 at 17:00, at the Clementi Theatre of the University of Catania, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences (via Androne 81). This event marks the culmination of 30 months of dedicated efforts, where we will showcase the project's achievements.
The FAST project is led by the University of Catania as the Lead Partner, in collaboration with the University of Malta, the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, the Metropolitan City of Catania and the Free Municipal Consortium of Ragusa. This project was funded by the Interreg Italia-Malta 2014-2020 call 2/2019 program, Priority Axis III - which aims to counter the introduction, naturalization and spread of Invasive Alien Species (IAS).
On this occasion, the project's results are supporting the European Union's strategy aimed at combating biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Among the project's objectives and actions, the recognition, classification, containment, and eradication of invasive alien species. The project placed significant emphasis on communication and dissemination of results. These were promoted through the creation of a multilingual website and numerous posts on major social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok), as well as on the YouTube channel. Additionally, numerous environmental education initiatives were organized to raise awareness about the issue of Invasive Alien Species and to disseminate the project's results to the general public, with a particular focus on schools, university students, and various stakeholders.
The event will be moderated by Maria Antonietta Buccheri (CNR-IMM) and Giuseppina Messina (DSBGA, University of Catania), and will be attended by the following speakers for welcome addresses: Lucia Zappal脿 (Delegate of the Rector for Internationalization, University of Catania), Anton Refalo (Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights of Malta), Simon G. Fabri (Pro-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer, University of Malta), Enrico Trantino (Metropolitan Mayor, Metropolitan City of Catania), a representative from the Free Municipal Consortium of Ragusa, Daniela Bica (Head of the INTERREG V-A Italy-Malta Program), Salvatore Saccone (Head of the Animal Biology Section, DSBGA, University of Catania).
Starting at 17:50, the scientific presentations and results will be illustrated. The discussion will be opened by Giorgio Sabella (Scientific Coordinator of the Project, DSBGA University of Catania - Lead Partner), followed by: Davide Coco (Project Administrative Coordinator, DSBGA University of Catania); Fabio Massimo Viglianisi (DSBGA University of Catania); David Mifsud and Arthur Lamoliere (Institute of Earth Systems, Division of Rural Sciences and Food Systems, University of Malta); Pietro Minissale (DSBGA University of Catania), Matilde Tessitori (Di3A University of Catania), Yana Debono Grech and Immanuel Grima (Plant Protection Directorate, Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Animal Rights, Malta); Gaetano Torrisi and Umberto Troja (Office of Natural Reserves, Metropolitan City of Catania); Maria Carolina Di Maio and Roberto Cundari (Office of Natural Reserves, Free Municipal Consortium of Ragusa).
The event's closing remarks will be delivered by Gian Pietro Giusso del Caldo (Director of DSBGA, University of Catania - Lead Partner of the project).
