Promoting UPcycling in Circular Economy through INNovation and education for creative industries in MEDiterranean cities
Mediterranean cities face the issue of overwhelming waste production demanding effective and urgent actions. Circular economy principles may offer a solution to this problem. As it is generally recognised that a noticeable percentage of waste in city centres is produced by Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), their involvement in circular economy schemes is of great importance. Although there are disparities between cities in the North and the South of the Mediterranean area, they share common cultural characteristics. Therefore, by building on their common identity and by integrating into their productive schemes the principles of the circular economy, Mediterranean cities can create resilient urban environments and communities, establishing a supportive framework for CCI SMEs clustering. INNOMED-UP proposes to work with CCIs to shift local urban economies towards a circular production and consumption paradigm including optimal use of material resources, innovation enhancement for SMEs, knowledge transfer among cities, social inclusion and citizens’ engagement. The project will work at a cross-border level supporting both technological developments (such as modern procedures of upcycling, technological informative platforms, etc.) and traditional recycling practices.