SDSN Northern Europe welcomed Simone Cresti from SDSN Mediterranean – new collaboration areas identified

At the end of August, network manager Martin Eriksson and the rest of the team at the SDSN Northern Europe secretariat had the pleasure of welcoming Simone Cresti from SDSN Mediterranean to Gothenburg. The 10 days visit offered great opportunities to get to know each other’s networks on a deeper level. As a result, new areas for collaboration are identified.

Martin Eriksson arranged a rich program for Simone Cresti from the SDSN Mediterranean when he visited the SDSN Northern Europe secretariat in August. The main purpose of the visit was to exchange experiences with leading regional networks. There are both challenges and opportunities in working across national borders. Another topic that was discussed was how the two networks can work together under the umbrella organisation of SDSN Europe.

“We have found several common points of contact and especially when it comes to supporting organisations with tools to improve their sustainability work. It was very interesting to gain insight into SDSN Mediterranean’s work with the online tool called the University Footprint Calculator”, says Martin Eriksson.

In addition to meeting the team at the secretariat, Simone was able to meet people from the Gothenburg Centre for Sustainable Development, Chalmers University of Technology, and the University of Gothenburg. The purpose was to learn more about the work for sustainable development in Gothenburg and to investigate opportunities for collaboration, particularly within the food and agriculture sector, which is one of SDSN Mediterranean’s focus areas.

The visit from SDSN Mediterranean is in line with one of the objectives of the SDSN Northern Europe secretariat – to increase collaboration with other SDSN networks around the world. Earlier this year, SDSN Northern Europe arranged a UN Stockholm +50 event together with SDSN Kenya. This turned out very successful and the collaboration with SDSN Kenya continues.

“Now, Simone Cresti is back in Italy again but already next week we will meet again to discuss a presentation of the University Footprint Calculator at the next member meeting”, says Martin.

Watch the interview where Simone talks about his experiences of visiting SDSN Northern Europe and Gothenburg.