The WATERMELLON project took part in PRIMA Project Day 2026, held on 20–21 October in Barcelona, bringing together Mediterranean research and innovation projects to exchange knowledge, build synergies and explore opportunities for collaboration.
WATERMELLON coordinator, Dr. Efi Alexopoulou, an expert at the Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES) in Greece, represented the project at the annual PRIMA Project Day. The two-day event gathered around 90 participants representing 60 projects, creating a valuable space for networking, shared learning and the development of new connections across the PRIMA community.
Held at Casa Convalescència, within Barcelona’s Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, the event focused on strengthening cooperation between projects working to address shared challenges across the Mediterranean region.
Building synergies across the Mediterranean
The programme combined opportunities for networking and knowledge exchange with sessions on project implementation, reporting, financial management, communication and dissemination. Participants also explored the PRIMA Atlas of Demo Sites and the PRIMA MedWaterHub, before taking part in project pitching sessions and a Café Scientifique poster exhibition.
As a member of the PRIMA community, WATERMELLON benefited from the opportunity to connect with other initiatives, exchange experiences and identify potential areas of collaboration. These interactions are particularly valuable for projects addressing interconnected Mediterranean challenges, where sharing knowledge, approaches and results can help maximise the impact of research and innovation.
A growing mosaic of Mediterranean solutions
Reflecting on the event, PRIMA Director Sanaa Zebakh described each project as a piece of a larger mosaic of solutions for the Mediterranean. Her message captured the spirit of the meeting: individual projects contribute their own ideas, methods and results, while collaboration helps bring these contributions together into a broader collective response.
For WATERMELLON, participation in PRIMA Project Day reinforced the importance of strengthening links between European and Mediterranean projects. By fostering dialogue, exchanging experiences and exploring complementary approaches, projects can create synergies that extend beyond their individual activities and contribute to more sustainable and resilient Mediterranean agri-food systems.
WATERMELLON looks forward to continuing to engage with the PRIMA community and to building new connections that support knowledge sharing, cooperation and the wider uptake of innovative solutions.
