The Mediterranean is home to an extraordinary concentration of knowledge, ideas and innovation. Across its shores, researchers, businesses, public authorities, civil society organisations and communities are already working on solutions to restore ecosystems, reduce pollution and accelerate the transition towards a circular and climate-neutral blue economy.
The challenge is not only to develop new solutions. It is to connect what already exists, strengthen the ecosystems around it and create the conditions for innovation to scale.
This is where MEDCONNECT begins.
MEDCONNECT brings together partners and innovation ecosystems from across the Mediterranean to strengthen the Mediterranean Basin Lighthouse and contribute to the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”.
From fragmented initiatives to a connected ecosystem
MEDCONNECT is built around a networked model.
At basin level, three Regional HUBs — Western, Central and Eastern Mediterranean — will connect national ecosystems, helping knowledge, priorities and opportunities travel across borders. Regional Living Lab Systems will provide spaces where stakeholders can work together around concrete challenges, test approaches and learn from different territorial contexts.
The objective is not to create another isolated project network, but to reinforce connections between existing actors and initiatives and make the Mediterranean innovation ecosystem more coordinated, visible and accessible.
During the project, MEDCONNECT will select 15 innovative solutions aligned with the objectives of Mission Ocean and Waters and support their progression through demonstration, capacity building, feedback, business development and investment pathways.
Solutions will be brought into contact with the people who can help them move further: researchers and technical experts, citizens and practitioners, public authorities, potential users, investors and other innovation actors.
The aim is to shorten the distance between a promising idea and its real-world application.
A digital connection too
MEDCONNECT will also develop a Digital Portal as a shared entry point into the Mediterranean Lighthouse ecosystem.
The portal is designed to connect data, stakeholders, Living Lab activities and environmental and social impact tools, while supporting collaboration and access to knowledge across the project.
Over time, it will become one of the places where the different layers of MEDCONNECT come together: territories, solutions, people and opportunities.
People at the centre
But MEDCONNECT is not only about technologies, platforms and investment.
Its success will depend on the community that grows around them.
Through stakeholder mapping, workshops, consultations, training activities, Living Labs and a transnational Community of Practice, the project will connect people with different expertise and roles around shared Mediterranean challenges.
Because scaling innovation also means building trust, exchanging knowledge and creating relationships that can continue beyond individual activities.
Across the Mediterranean
This magazine will follow that journey.
Across the Mediterranean will tell the stories emerging from MEDCONNECT: the people behind the project, the places where activities take shape, the solutions being explored, the challenges encountered and the connections being built across the basin.
MEDCONNECT starts from a Mediterranean that is diverse, fragmented and full of potential.
Its ambition is to make those connections stronger — and turn them into action.
Next Stop: Limassol
The MEDCONNECT journey will officially begin in Limassol, Cyprus, on 29–30 September 2026, where project partners will come together for the Kick-off Meeting hosted by CMMI.
The two-day meeting will be the first opportunity to bring the full partnership around the same table, align priorities and turn the project architecture into a shared programme of action.
From there, MEDCONNECT will begin moving across the Mediterranean — connecting hubs, people, knowledge and solutions from one shore to another
