An event with European messages was held in Skopje: let’s not take the soil for granted!

On May 15, 2023, the event “NATI00NS: Healthy Soil + Green Businesses = Investments in Our Future” took place at EU House – Skopje, putting Macedonia on the map among 43 countries where this project is being implemented. NATI00NS is a European project funded under the HORIZON program, coordinated by Arhus University from Denmark. The main goal of NATI00NS is to reach and prepare regional and national stakeholders from Europe to apply and implement the so-called Living Labs, contributing to the European Union’s mission “A soil deal for Europe”.

The event in Skopje was organized by ARNO and the Agricultural Institute – Skopje, with the support of the BioSense Institute from Serbia. The attendees were addressed by Mr. Trajko Dimkovski from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Economy, Irina Janevska from ARNO, and Marija Gjosheva Kovachevikj from the Agricultural Institute – Skopje. After the welcoming speeches, the representative from the BioSense Institute in Serbia presented the Nati00Ns project, providing a broader context and explaining why the initiative is taking place in a total of 43 countries. The participants were informed about the concepts of living labs and lighthouses, as well as the grant support intended for their functioning. “Living labs are initiatives for collaboration in building shared knowledge and innovations. They are defined as transdisciplinary ecosystems for research and innovation focused on the user and involving multiple relevant actors,” said Dajana Vujaklija from the BioSense Institute. 

Information was shared about the Green Ideas national competition  by ARNO, open until May 21, as well as information about the current call for support from the Preda Plus Foundation. The localization of the topic was provided through a panel discussion in which representatives from the academic community took part (Dushko Mukaetov from the Agricultural Institute – Skopje and Kiril Sotirovski from the Faculty of Forestry Sciences, Landscape Architecture, and Eco-Engineering “Hans Em”), a representative from the Macedonian Ecological Society (Robertina Brajanovska), Dimitar Samarjiev – a speaker from the association “Green Ark” and the community garden “Bostanie,” and Dejan Stojanovic from the social enterprise “InVivo,” who spoke about biohumus and the employment of people with fewer opportunities. The event concluded with the understanding that soil, as a natural resource, has natural, economic, and societal values, and the most important message conveyed was that the management and care of soil should be the responsibility of scientific and educational institutions, farmers, government and non-governmental organizations, citizens, and all other stakeholders involved.

After the event, a networking cocktail was held for the participants, accompanied by an appeal to use the platform created under the project for further connecting the stakeholders.