CO-WATERS Consortium meeting picture (photo of the team behind the CO-WATERS watermark)

CO-WATERS takes off: consortium meets in Rimini and upcoming needs assessment workshop

In the beginning of November, partners of the CO-WATERS Horizon Europe project gathered in Rimini, Italy, for the project’s first in-person consortium meeting. Over three days, the Coalition of Waterfront Cities, Regions and Islands advanced its shared agenda to support waterfront territories in delivering clean, healthy, and resilient water systems across Europe.

The meeting brought together all consortium partners, including the six CO-WATERS pilot territories: Région Réunion, Region of Crete, Comune di Rimini, Burgas Municipality, De Blauwe Cluster (Blue Cluster), and Région Sud – Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Discussions centred on implementation progress to date, the definition of shared priorities, and the roadmap for supporting cities (including ports), regions and islands in their blue transition.

Partners engaged in collaborative mapping exercises, explored local waterfront initiatives during a study visit in Rimini and worked through project workstreams on governance, stakeholder engagement, knowledge tools, capacity building and communication. Pilot areas also presented their specific contexts, challenges and strengths, providing concrete insights into territorial needs and opportunities.

CO-WATERS contributed to two sessions at ECOMONDO 2025. In “Boosting the implementation of the EU Mission Ocean and Waters”, the project’s Technical Lead Maria Loloni (Climate-KIC) outlined how the Coalition will help cities, regions, and islands implement Mission objectives. A contribution from Région Sud highlighted how blue transition initiatives are already taking shape on the ground. The session “CO-WATERS & Blue Economy Synergies” showcased the project’s services and support offer, featuring contributions from the project coordination team and several consortium partners, including Ana Nava from ERRIN's secretariat.

Upcoming opportunity: CO-WATERS online workshop

Stakeholders are invited to participate in the CO-WATERS workshop “Co-create the support you need to lead the transition to clean, healthy, and resilient water systems”, which will take place on Wednesday 3 December 2025, from 13:30 to 15:30 CET.

The session will focus on identifying the needs and priorities of waterfront cities, regions and islands, with particular attention to stakeholder and community engagement and to the development of the CO-WATERS Label. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss key challenges, relevant forms of support, and the conditions under which the Coalition and its services can deliver the greatest added value. Both respondents and non-respondents to the prior needs assessment survey are welcome to join the workshop, as it will recap survey results and explore them further.

The workshop will be held online via Zoom and facilitated by the Stickydot team. It is designed as an interactive session, allowing ample space for discussion and the exchange of experiences.
Registration link

All interested territories are encouraged to attend and contribute to shaping the services and tools that CO-WATERS will offer to Europe’s waterfront communities.

ERRIN is a partner in CO-WATERS, leading the preparatory work for the coalition-building process. This task includes stakeholder mapping, engagement and outreach to relevant actors across EU missions and initiatives. Furthermore, ERRIN contributes to the design of the coalition’s governance, supports continuous member engagement and plays a key role in policy, communication and sustainability-related activities.