The Catalan Technology Centre, Eurecat is to host the International Cassandra Conference, an initiative to discuss and provide scientific and technological answers to help make socio-political decisions in response to the direct impact of climate change on health, migration, conflicts and gender inequality in the Mediterranean. It is supported by UNESCO, the European Commission, the World Water Quality Alliance, the African Ministers’ Council on Water, the World Bank and the Union for the Mediterranean, among others.

The event is to be held online on 15-17 November and is aligned with the key issues at the COP26 summit which will take place a few days beforehand in Glasgow. It will host 10 panels featuring over 90 experts from organisations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the OECD, the European Commission and the European Parliament, the governments of Spain, Catalonia and Slovenia (who currently holds the Presidency of the European Union) some fifty leading universities, NGOs including Medicins Sans Frontieres, Open Arms and The World Wildlife Fund and cultural organisations from around the world. In the sessions, speakers will interact with each other and the audience who will also be able to join in the discussion.

By hosting the Cassandra conference, Eurecat “commits itself to fostering permanent dialogue and building synergies with social and political leaders about innovation in order to address the potentially dramatic effects of climate change in the Mediterranean area,” says Richard Elelman, Eurecat’s Head of Politics.

Science and technology “should be made available to and work for society at a time of scarce resources,” notes Xavier Torra, Eurecat’s Chair. “As a leading technology centre in environmental technologies, Eurecat is sponsoring this meeting for scientists, technologists, social and economic stakeholders and public organisations to fast-track the sustainable and inclusive development of our society.”

“Bringing experts from around the world in various disciplines closer to the reality experienced by the Mediterranean will help towards sharing agendas and roadmaps among the key players,” argues Joan Guasch, Eurecat’s Director of International Development.

Eurecat draws on technological research and development to deliver responses to the climate emergency and will publish the contents of the discussions at the Cassandra conference in a book as part of the RENAISSANCE Science, Culture and Sustainability diplomacy strategy set up in conjunction with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.