Launch of the Mediterranean SDSN Network (MED Solutions)

July 03, 2013

The Mediterranean Sustainable Development Solutions Network (MED Solutions) was launched July 3 in Siena, Italy. MED Solutions, hosted by the University of Siena, will coordinate the activities of a vast network of universities, research centers and businesses interested in identifying and implementing solutions initiatives addressing sustainability challenges in the Mediterranean region.

Professor Angelo Riccaboni, Rector of the University of Siena, and Columbia Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), chaired the conference that brought together a unique combination of experts, researchers, policy makers, civil society leaders and students from 18 of the 21 countries in the Mediterranean region. The Italian Minister of Education, Universities and Research, Maria Chiara Carrozza, also attended the launch of Med Solutions. Discussions focused on two priority issues for the region: the health of the Mediterranean Sea and de-carbonizing the energy system. Several proposals for initiatives were adopted and will now be pursued by SDSN members. Presentations and details of the launch are available online.  For more information, please visit the website www.unsdsn.org.

Columbia Global Centers | Turkey Program Manager Rana Zincir Celal was on hand at the launch to discuss how universities from Turkey could be integrated into the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.   Also participating in the event were Bosphorus University Professors Taner Bilgiç and Nilgün Ciliz, Director of United Nations' Global Compact Turkey Deniz Öztürk and Assistant Professor Mehmet Efe Biresselioğlu of İzmir University of Economics.