-The Mediterranean in Figures-

-The Mediterranean in Figures-

PROTEGGERE IL MEDITERRANEO

The Mediterranean Sea only covers 1% of the oceanic surface worldwide, but it is capable of providing 20% of the world’s marine product gross. It is considered one of the most important ecosystem on the planet as it contains almost 8% of the global marine biodiversity.

Unfortunately, the exacerbation of climate warming in recent decades has led to an increase of temperature which was 20% faster than the global average in the Mediterranean Sea. The increase of temperature is leading to changes in alteration of marine ecosystems and loss of biodiversity.

The negative impact of climate change on the Mediterranean Sea is further exacerbated by direct anthropic activities. Fuel from the shipping sector is polluting the water of toxic substances. Moreover, large quantities of waste are discharged in the sea every day, for example from fishing vessels (for example the so-called “ghost nets”) or from rivers

What do we propose?

The employment of the vessel will allow the systematic collection of a wide range of data, contributing to the development of collaborative systems for sea monitoring. The current inadequacy of these systems has been stressed several times by the European Union, both during the launch of the EuroSea project in 2019 and in the occasion of the approval of Horizon EU in 2020.

The creation of a community database consisting of reliable data (both quantitative and qualitative) is essential for understanding complex systems such as marine ecosystems and for the development of an effective action plan that will guarantee a sustainable governance

The tongue is not enough to tell nor the hand to write down all the wonders of the sea.

Cit. Cristoforo Colombo

PROTEGGERE IL MEDITERRANEO

The Mediterranean Sea only covers 1% of the oceanic surface worldwide, but it is capable of providing 20% of the world’s marine product gross. It is considered one of the most important ecosystem on the planet as it contains almost 8% of the global marine biodiversity.

Unfortunately, the exacerbation of climate warming in recent decades has led to an increase of temperature which was 20% faster than the global average in the Mediterranean Sea. The increase of temperature is leading to changes in alteration of marine ecosystems and loss of biodiversity.

The negative impact of climate change on the Mediterranean Sea is further exacerbated by direct anthropic activities. Fuel from the shipping sector is polluting the water of toxic substances. Moreover, large quantities of waste are discharged in the sea every day, for example from fishing vessels (for example the so-called “ghost nets”) or from rivers

What do we propose?

The employment of the vessel will allow the systematic collection of a wide range of data, contributing to the development of collaborative systems for sea monitoring. The current inadequacy of these systems has been stressed several times by the European Union, both during the launch of the EuroSea project in 2019 and in the occasion of the approval of Horizon EU in 2020.

The creation of a community database consisting of reliable data (both quantitative and qualitative) is essential for understanding complex systems such as marine ecosystems and for the development of an effective action plan that will guarantee a sustainable governance

The tongue is not enough to tell nor the hand to write down all the wonders of the sea.

Cit. Cristoforo Colombo

Is the Mediterranean in crisis?

We must monitor and protect the natural resources of the Mediterranean Sea. Otherwise, we risk reaching a point of no return beyond which any intervention would be vain and the possibility of restoring just an illusion.

Is the Mediterranean in crisis?

We must monitor and protect the natural resources of the Mediterranean Sea. Otherwise, we risk reaching a point of no return beyond which any intervention would be vain and the possibility of restoring just an illusion.

-Venice in Figures-

-Venice in Figures-

RE-DISCOVERING VENICE

In recent years, a deep depopulation crisis has hit the city of Venice. According to recent estimates published by the Municipality of Venice the amount of tourist sleeping accommodations are currently equal to the number of inhabitants of the historic Venetian city centre

Dramatically, Venetians have been pushed out of the city and on to the mainland over the years. This has been also due to the sharp increase in house rent prices, which has also contributed to the closure of many different commercial activities. Furthermore, the recent outbreak of Covid-19 pan- demic put additional pressure on the city, highlighting once again the grave unsustainability of its economic and civic strategy.

Effective action is more urgent than ever. The city lies stagnant as a “open air museum” where not real citizens live. To reverse this tendency, actions guided by a long-term vision are necessary. The city of Venice has historically enjoyed a privileged and intimate relationship with The Adriatic sea. Nonetheless, the Adriatic is now for Venice more of a threat than an opportunity

What do we propose?

This project aims at making the same Sea to which the city owns its own history, richness and uniqueness, the centre of a new unexpected renaissance

The construction of the vessel and its headquarters will make Venice emerge as a key European centre for maritime and underwater research in the Mediterranean, enabling it to attract researchers and high-potential professionals. This new source of people will provide the city with the human capital it so urgently needs.

«...Venice will die if it loses its memory, if we won’t seize its essence and rebuild its destiny, Fragile, Ancient, Unique for its relationship with the environment... The historic memory of our cities doesn’t need stasis, but movement. It doesn’t preach taxidermy, it advocates life. A movement which respects the genetic code of the city...»

Cit. Salvatore Settis

RE-DISCOVERING VENICE

In recent years, a deep depopulation crisis has hit the city of Venice. According to recent estimates published by the Municipality of Venice the amount of tourist sleeping accommodations are currently equal to the number of inhabitants of the historic Venetian city centre

Dramatically, Venetians have been pushed out of the city and on to the mainland over the years. This has been also due to the sharp increase in house rent prices, which has also contributed to the closure of many different commercial activities. Furthermore, the recent outbreak of Covid-19 pan- demic put additional pressure on the city, highlighting once again the grave unsustainability of its economic and civic strategy.

Effective action is more urgent than ever. The city lies stagnant as a “open air museum” where not real citizens live. To reverse this tendency, actions guided by a long-term vision are necessary. The city of Venice has historically enjoyed a privileged and intimate relationship with The Adriatic sea. Nonetheless, the Adriatic is now for Venice more of a threat than an opportunity

What do we propose?

This project aims at making the same Sea to which the city owns its own history, richness and uniqueness, the centre of a new unexpected renaissance

The construction of the vessel and its headquarters will make Venice emerge as a key European centre for maritime and underwater research in the Mediterranean, enabling it to attract researchers and high-potential professionals. This new source of people will provide the city with the human capital it so urgently needs.

«...Venice will die if it loses its memory, if we won’t seize its essence and rebuild its destiny, Fragile, Ancient, Unique for its relationship with the environment... The historic memory of our cities doesn’t need stasis, but movement. It doesn’t preach taxidermy, it advocates life. A movement which respects the genetic code of the city...»

Cit. Salvatore Settis

Is Venice in crisis?

The fragile beauty of Venice risks disappearing below the sea waves , which level increases hand in hand with the current climate temperature increase. The start of this ambitious project will raise Venice as a symbol of the many coastal cities that today are threatened by the sea . Cities that will no longer be at the mercy of their inexorable fate, but protagonists of a global transformation that starts from those most threatened areas

Is Venice in crisis?

The fragile beauty of Venice risks disappearing below the sea waves , which level increases hand in hand with the current climate temperature increase. The start of this ambitious project will raise Venice as a symbol of the many coastal cities that today are threatened by the sea . Cities that will no longer be at the mercy of their inexorable fate, but protagonists of a global transformation that starts from those most threatened areas

LEVERAGING EMERGING BEHAVIOUR

The importance of multilateralism in scientific research was repeatedly emphasized by several international organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is clear that cooperation is necessary to respond to global challenges in today’s world. As pointed out by the United Nations’ Secretary General António Guterres (2019):

“We live in a world where global challenges are increasingly integrated and the answers increasingly fragmented: if all this is not reversed, we will have a recipe for disaster “

Cit. António Guterres


For this reason, we believe that, in this project, it is fundamental to build a multidisciplinary work environment from the beginning.

What do we propose?

The close cohabitation of heterogeneous research teams in the vessel (or in the Headquarters) will generate a dynamic and inclusive scientific environment, besides stimulating interactions, the cross-contamination of ideas as well as the emergence of new opportunitie, which are crucial elements in the innovation process.

The vision that underpins our choice consists in making the MRUV project the ideal breeding-ground for emergent behaviour.

The emergent behaviour or “emergence” is a distinctive feature of complex systems, as the one we want to develop, where the interaction of group members generate properties other than the simple sum of those of the components.

The emergent behaviour in groups is often responsible for the success of some visionary organisations in tackling issues of great complexity as well as human and technological relevance.

LEVERAGING EMERGING BEHAVIOUR

The importance of multilateralism in scientific research was repeatedly emphasized by several international organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is clear that cooperation is necessary to respond to global challenges in today’s world. As pointed out by the United Nations’ Secretary General António Guterres (2019):

“We live in a world where global challenges are increasingly integrated and the answers increasingly fragmented: if all this is not reversed, we will have a recipe for disaster “

Cit. António Guterres


For this reason, we believe that, in this project, it is fundamental to build a multidisciplinary work environment from the beginning.

What do we propose?

The close cohabitation of heterogeneous research teams in the vessel (or in the Headquarters) will generate a dynamic and inclusive scientific environment, besides stimulating interactions, the cross-contamination of ideas as well as the emergence of new opportunitie, which are crucial elements in the innovation process.

The vision that underpins our choice consists in making the MRUV project the ideal breeding-ground for emergent behaviour.

The emergent behaviour or “emergence” is a distinctive feature of complex systems, as the one we want to develop, where the interaction of group members generate properties other than the simple sum of those of the components.

The emergent behaviour in groups is often responsible for the success of some visionary organisations in tackling issues of great complexity as well as human and technological relevance.

Is it possible to tackle Climate Change?

Climate change complexity depends, to a great extent, on the number of the variables underlying its dynamics and their interdependencies. The complexity is even greater when considering the impacts that climate change has on ecosystems, all of which are also complex systems on their own.

The difficulties deriving from the complexity of studying this phenomenon add up to the narrowness of the research methods employed to date. This narrowness is often attributable to the low grade of multidisciplinarity of work teams.

“The innovations, in the complicated world of science, can only come from collaboration.”

Cit. Johannes Fruehauf


Consequently, we believe the vessel may be a suitable space to stimulate cooperation and to incentivize the sharing of knowledge and skills, as well as creating the conditions for the arising of emergent behaviours. These are fundamental elements to deal with complex, volatile and unpredictable scenarios, and to find effective solutions

If working separately we were strong enough to destabilize ours planet, surely working together we will be powerful enough to save it

Cit. Sir David Attenborough

The heterogeneity of research areas of team members is indispensable in order to produce an integrated knowledge to be used to study phenomena with a high degree of complexity, from the biological world to human society.

Affrontare il Cambiamento Climatico ?

Climate change complexity depends, to a great extent, on the number of the variables underlying its dynamics and their interdependencies. The complexity is even greater when considering the impacts that climate change has on ecosystems, all of which are also complex systems on their own.

The difficulties deriving from the complexity of studying this phenomenon add up to the narrowness of the research methods employed to date. This narrowness is often attributable to the low grade of multidisciplinarity of work teams.

“The innovations, in the complicated world of science, can only come from collaboration.”

Cit. Johannes Fruehauf


Consequently, we believe the vessel may be a suitable space to stimulate cooperation and to incentivize the sharing of knowledge and skills, as well as creating the conditions for the arising of emergent behaviours. These are fundamental elements to deal with complex, volatile and unpredictable scenarios, and to find effective solutions

If working separately we were strong enough to destabilize ours planet, surely working together we will be powerful enough to save it

Cit. Sir David Attenborough

The heterogeneity of research areas of team members is indispensable in order to produce an integrated knowledge to be used to study phenomena with a high degree of complexity, from the biological world to human society.