On 24 and 25 September 2026, the coastal city of Bizerte, Tunisia, will once again host one of the key international events on the southern shore of the Mediterranean dedicated to maritime issues.
Held under the theme “Acting for a Mediterranean Free of Plastic”, the Forum Mondial de la Mer (World Sea Forum) aims to mobilise stakeholders from across the Mediterranean basin – including municipalities, researchers, NGOs, ministries and the private sector – around concrete and collective responses to one of the region’s most urgent environmental challenges: reducing plastic pollution in the Mediterranean Sea.
On 24 September, Interreg NEXT MED will take part in a workshop dedicated to the SHARE4MED project (“SHAREd transition agenda FOR the MEDiterranean”), funded by the Programme. Discussions will focus on the project’s progress in strengthening the capacity of Mediterranean municipalities in Algeria, Italy and Tunisia to improve coastal governance and protect marine ecosystems. In particular, the project will present its action plan for establishing a coalition of Mediterranean cities committed to coastal and marine protection, in support of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030”. It will also showcase a first demonstration of the Digital Governance Dashboard, a tool designed to enable public authorities across the Mediterranean basin to assess the impact of actions taken to protect coastal areas in real time. Alongside project partners from Algeria, Italy and Tunisia, representatives from Egypt and Libya will also join the discussions, reflecting the transnational dimension of the challenges addressed by the project.
Following the SHARE4MED workshop, the new association “Circe.med” will be officially launched. The network aims to connect organisations from across the Mediterranean and support their transition towards safer, greener and fairer business practices.
On 25 September, the Forum Mondial de la Mer will bring together scientific evidence, policy perspectives and practical solutions. Sessions will focus on topics including the future global treaty on plastic pollution, pollution hotspots in Tunisia, circular economy and innovation, local action by Mediterranean cities, multi-stakeholder partnerships and civil society initiatives.
For more information, please visit the official website of the Forum Mondial de la Mer: https://forumdelamerbizerte.com/
Interreg NEXT MED is pleased to support the Forum Mondial de la Mer through the SHARE4MED project and looks forward to contributing to exchanges on concrete actions to strengthen the fight against plastic pollution in our shared Mediterranean Sea.
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