Finnova Foundation

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Finnova organiza um evento no âmbito da Semana Verde da UE 2023 e do projecto FIREPOCTEP: “Lições para modelos mais sustentáveis de gestão de incêndios florestais”.

A Fundação FINNOVA, como uma das entidades beneficiárias do projecto FIREPOCTEP, está a organizar um evento no âmbito da Semana Verde da UE 2023. Sob o título “FIREPOCTEP: Lições para modelos mais sustentáveis de gestão de incêndios florestais”, este evento reunirá especialistas do projecto FIREPOCTEP que farão uma série de apresentações sobre os resultados do projecto, bem como sobre a gestão dos incêndios florestais.

Link de inscrição: https://acortar.link/9rnjTO

O evento terá lugar na segunda-feira, 5 de Junho de 2023, das 09:00h às 10:30h (hora de Lisboa). O principal objectivo deste evento é destacar as lições aprendidas ao longo do projecto FIREPOCTEP, centrando-se no trabalho realizado e nas realizações como base para futuros projectos relacionados com a gestão florestal. Para além disso, procura inspirar entidades e iniciativas interessadas em melhorar as suas práticas e contribuir para a sustentabilidade florestal. Durante o evento, serão destacados os progressos significativos e os resultados alcançados no âmbito do projecto, realçando a sua relevância para enfrentar os desafios actuais na gestão dos incêndios florestais.

O projecto “Reforço dos sistemas transfronteiriços de prevenção e extinção de incêndios florestais e melhoria dos recursos para a geração de emprego rural pós Covid-19” (FIREPOCTEP) enquadra-se no âmbito da quarta convocatória do Programa de Cooperação Transfronteiriça Interreg V-A Espanha-Portugal 2014-2020 (POCTEP), co-financiado a 75% pelos Fundos FEDER com um orçamento total de 5,6 milhões de euros. O principal objectivo do projecto é analisar o impacto das alterações climáticas no risco de incêndio e os seus efeitos na zona da Raia (Espanha e Portugal).

www.firepoctep.eu

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Notícias pt

FOIL-CILIFO: Promoção de boas práticas e balanço final da Semana Verde Europeia 2023

Sevilha, 31.05.2023. A Fundação Finnova está a organizar um evento FOIL-CILIFO no âmbito da Semana Verde Europeia 2023, como uma das entidades beneficiárias do projecto CILIFO. Sob o título “FOIL-CILIFO: Boas práticas e encerramento final”, este evento será uma plataforma para destacar as boas práticas na luta contra os incêndios florestais e as alterações climáticas, em conformidade com o Acordo Verde da UE.

O evento terá lugar na segunda-feira, 05 de Junho de 2023, das 12:00h às 13:00h (hora de Lisboa), os participantes terão a oportunidade de conhecer o Projecto CILIFO como um exemplo notável de boas práticas no combate aos incêndios florestais e às alterações climáticas. Serão abordados temas relevantes como tecnologias aceleradas, prémios EEPA, fontes de financiamento, inovação aberta para a transição verde, entre outros.

O principal objectivo deste evento é realçar a importância do combate aos incêndios florestais e às alterações climáticas, destacando o seu papel crucial na transição verde e em linha com o Ano Europeu das Capacidades. A FOIL-CILIFO procura promover uma transição ecológica amiga do ambiente, e este evento será uma oportunidade para partilhar conhecimentos e experiências para promover uma gestão mais eficaz e sustentável dos incêndios florestais.

Link para inscrição: https://bit.ly/41YUaml

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Notícias pt

Sessão de formação e comunicação FIREPOCTEP sobre medidas de prevenção e extinção de incêndios florestais

A Diputación de Huelva e a Fundação Finnova, no âmbito do projeto FIREPOCTEP, organizam uma sessão de formação para os alunos do curso “Atividades auxiliares na conservação e melhoramento das florestas”. O seminário intitulado “Medidas de prevenção e extinção de incêndios florestais” acontecerá em 28 de Março de 2023 às 11:00h (hora de Madrid) em El Campillo (Huelva), presencialmente e com trasmissão online.

O seminário será ministrado pelo Sr. José Lopes, Técnico Superior da Unidade de Proteção Civil da Região de Coimbra (Portugal).

A Fundação Finnova também dedicará parte da sessão para comunicar e promover as boas práticas realizadas no âmbito do projeto FIREPOCTEP.

Link de registro para o público:

taller.prevencion.firepoctep.eu

O projeto “Fortalecimento dos sistemas transfronteiriços de prevenção e extinção de incêndios florestais e melhoria dos recursos para a geração de emprego rural pós Covid-19” (FIREPOCTEP) está inserido na quarta convocatória do Programa de Cooperação Transfronteiriça Interreg V-A Espanha-Portugal 2014-2020 (POCTEP), cofinanciado 75% pelos Fundos FEDER com um orçamento total de 5,6 milhões de euros. O projeto te, m como objetivo principal a análise do impacto das alterações climáticas no risco de incêndios e os seus efeitos nos arredores da região de Raya (Espanha e Portugal).

www.firepoctep.eu

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General-pt Notícias pt

Apresentação do projeto FIREPOCTEP na 7ª Conferência NEXT LATAM-EU GENERATION sobre Catástrofes Naturais

Durante a tarde de 13 de outubro de 2021, Dia Internacional para a Redução de Catástrofes Naturais, realizou-se de maneira online o evento “Protecção e prevenção de catástrofes naturais”. O objetivo deste evento, organizado no âmbito da NEXT LATAM-UE GENERATION, fora oferecer soluções sustentáveis e inovadoras para a redução e prevenção de catástrofes naturais. Devido ao âmbito do evento, foi uma boa oportunidade para apresentar o projeto FIREPOCTEP (reforço dos sistemas transfronteiriços de prevenção e extinção de incêndios florestais e melhoria dos recursos para a geração de emprego rural pós-Covid-19), que foi aprovado no âmbito do Programa Interreg VA Espanha-Portugal de Cooperação Transfronteiriça 2014-2020 (POCTEP).

O evento faz parte de uma série de conferências que visa reduzir o risco destes acontecimentos tanto na Europa como na América Latina, a fim de lançar novos projetos empresariais que visam a proteção e prevenção dos espaços naturais. Este evento faz parte da Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre Alterações Climáticas (COP26), que acontecerá na cidade de Glasgow, Edimburgo, em novembro de 2021.

Como resultado, várias catástrofes ocorreram  em diferentes partes do mundo. Por exemplo, a erupção do vulcão Cumbre Vieja em La Palma, incêndios florestais intensos na Austrália e na Amazónia, terramotos na Europa e na América Latina, furacões nas Caraíbas, seca na Califórnia, entre muitos outros.   

O evento online foi mediado por Juan Manuel Revuelta Pérez, Diretor Geral da Fundação FINNOVA.  Como primeira intervenção, Leda Sánchez, Doutorada em Geologia pela Faculdade de Ciências Exatas e Naturais (UBA), apresentou o Centro Internacional de Sismologia da América do Sul, uma organização internacional criada em 1966 através de um acordo bilateral entre as Nações Unidas, que está disposta a reduzir o número de vítimas e o número de perdas materiais. O evento continuou com uma apresentação de José Luis Rojo Franco, Gestor de Projetos da Agência Espanhola de Cooperação Internacional para o Desenvolvimento no Panamá (AECID). José Luis descreveu algumas das ações que a AECID implementou para a prevenção de incêndios. Por exemplo, trabalharam no fornecimento de água potável em antecipação de erupções vulcânicas e terramotos, como o de La Palma, que ocorreu em agosto de 2021.             

Por último, o técnico da Fundação FINNOVA Héctor Juan Armas apresentou o projeto FIREPOCTEP, ligando o âmbito do projeto e os seus objetivos com a luta contra a redução de catástrofes naturais como os incêndios florestais.

Héctor Juan Armas, técnico da Fundação FINNOVA, e que faz parte do projeto FIREPOCTEP, apresenta o projeto em streaming através da plataforma ZOOM.

FIREPOCTEP trabalha para um controle eficaz dos incêndios florestais e aborda as suas consequências para evitar a sua ocorrência a partir da base, através de formação e de uma abordagem orientada para a mitigação com ênfase no ambiente rural. Por meio de um conjunto de 21 beneficiários que compõem o consórcio do projeto, tanto portugueses como espanhóis, o mesmo esforça-se para melhorar as medidas de prevenção e supressão dos incêndios florestais na região transfronteiriça entre Espanha e Portugal, conhecida como ”A Raia”. 

Sobre Interreg FIREPOCTEP (www.firepoctep.eu/pt)

O projeto busca a prevenção e a extinção de incêndios florestais transfronteiriços, e a melhoria dos recursos para a geração de emprego rural pós-Covid-19 (FIREPOCTEP). Insere-se no quadro da quarta convocatória do Programa de Cooperação Transfronteiriça Espanha-Portugal Interreg V-A 2014-2020 (POCTEP), cofinanciado em 75% pelos Fundos FEDER com um orçamento total de 5,6 milhões de euros. Com uma duração de 3 anos (01/01/2019 a 31/12/2021), o principal objetivo do projeto é analisar o impacto das alterações climáticas quanto ao risco de incêndios e os seus efeitos sobre o ambiente da Raia (Espanha e Portugal). Para efeito, serão criadas ferramentas conjuntas para facilitar a gestão do risco no território de cooperação através da capitalização de resultados, conhecimentos e boas práticas. FIREPOCTEP não só melhorará a cooperação e coordenação das forças de combate a incêndios, como também servirá de exemplo de boas práticas centradas na proteção e promoção do ambiente que, por sua vez, permite a criação de emprego e inovação nas zonas rurais através de ações de formação, apoiando a economia local e a conservação da paisagem.

Sobre a Fundação Finnova (www.finnova.eu/pt)

Fundação Europeia para o financiamento da inovação. É uma fundação europeia com sede em Bruxelas e Espanha, cujos objetivos são promover a cooperação público-privada através da inovação para enfrentar desafios sociais como o emprego, a formação, o empreendedorismo, os ODS das Nações Unidas, a economia circular, etc. Finnova organiza os Prémios Startup Europe, uma iniciativa da Comissão Europeia e da Fundação Finnova para reconhecer as melhores startups europeias no campo social.

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Chamadas Notícias pt

INFODAY: Opening of the call for the European accelerator CirCoAX, which will scale SMEs in the fashion and textile industry that favour the circular economy in the sector

The application form will be open from Wednesday, 21st July at 17h CET.

The selected applications will receive a financial support of 12,000 EUR. 

Proposals must favour the sustainable transition of the sector, through the circular economy but also social innovation. 

Interested candidates will have until October 13th to send in their applications.

Registration link to the infodays: http://registration.nextextilgeneration.eu/

On Wednesday 21st of July at 17h CET and next Wednesday, 28th of July, the CircularInnoBooster project is holding two Infoday sessions regarding the opening of the call for proposals for interested SMEs, startups and entrepreneurs from the fashion and textile sector to apply to be part of its CirCoAX accelerator. 

The application form will be available to potential candidates from Wednesday 21st of July and the call will close the 13th October 2021.

CircularInnoBooster Fashion and Textile (F&T) is a project of the COSME programme of the European Union, with an initial duration of two years and a budget of €1,128,000.  It is 75% co-financed by the European Commission. Led by the IED (Istituto Europeo di Design), together with the Finnova Foundation, Texfor, Circulab and The Circular Project with HumanNation, it aims to transform the highly polluting fashion and textile industries through innovation, fostering entrepreneurship to generate business models based on the circular economy, turning SMEs and start-ups into sustainable and circular companies. Through the regenerative economy model, the project aims to become a benchmark for the total transformation of the industry, from raw materials to the end of life of the garments, providing a solution to the structural problems of conventional industry. 

In addition, the project has an important social perspective, favouring the creation of value-added jobs at all levels of production, contributing to the achievement of several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as the end of poverty, zero hunger and gender equality.  

To achieve these objectives, the CirCoAX accelerator has been created to provide SMEs with both financial and business support to enable them to scale their proposals. The business model of the applications must favour the circular economy, being able to focus on any of the areas of the Fashion Design and making, Textile Industry, Education & Research, Dissemination and Communities & Platforms. Likewise, applications that provide social innovation will be positively assessed.

In the presentation of the call, which will be led by Sharam Yalda, founder of HumanNation and project manager of CircularInnoBooster, the representatives of the different partners of the project will introduce the key points that candidates must meet to be selected. 

Following the submission of applications, which will close on 13 October 2021, the 30 most disruptive candidates selected will receive a €12,000 grant to scale their innovative ideas. In addition, thanks to the team of industry experts that make up the project, the beneficiaries will have access to mentoring, as well as training and workshops in which best practices to be implemented throughout the value chain will be shared. In addition, marketing knowledge and business plans will be offered to ensure the success and sustainability of the projects once the programme has ended. 

Participation in this accelerator not only helps to receive support at various levels to implement new business models in line with an ecological and circular transition of fashion and textiles, but also gives them the opportunity to set themselves up as benchmark projects on a European scale.

About COSME

COSME is the program for the Competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises (EASME) of the European Commission.

Through this program, assistance is offered to SMEs to develop their business models, access financing and internationalize. Likewise, support is offered to public administrations to improve the business environment and facilitate economic growth in the European Union. During the 2014-2020 funding period, this program allocated 2.3 billion euros to support SMEs.

About IED 

The Istituto Europeo di Design is an academic institution that operates in the fields of education, training, and research in the disciplines of design, fashion, visual communication, and management, covering professional, vocational, and business design training. IED has branches across Spain (Madrid, Barcelona), Italy (Milan, Rome, and 5 other cities), and Brazil (São Paolo, Rio de Janeiro). It operates across several EU and COSME countries through collaborations and agreements with institutions, business support organizations, professors, experts, and mentors with whom it has established relationships. IED draws on a broad network of connections in the F&T sector specifically for this project, drawing on R&D in the areas of fashion design, product design, interior design, visual arts, communications, and management.

https://iedmadrid.com/

 

About Finnova

FINNOVA is a foundation that works for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship at the EU level. With headquarters in Brussels, it operates through collaborations and partnerships across EU countries. FINNOVA expertise in leading communication and dissemination activities for EU projects is coupled with strong proven experience in setting up businesses and entrepreneurial support programmes, like accelerators, incubators and selection and award/ceremonial events.

https://web.finnovaregio.org/

 

About Texfor

TEXFOR is the reference textile association in Spain with 400 members. Founded in November 2010 and located in Catalonia, it groups companies of the whole textile value chain, from yarns to fabrics including accessories, finishing processes, printing and dying for the apparel industry, home textiles, and technical/industrial applications. Texfor has specialization and experience, having worked on important EU-level expert committees: University and Vocational Training, Financial capacity building, Cross-Sectoral collaboration, R+D+I promotion, specialized services, and sustainability leadership focused on the circular economy.

https://www.texfor.es/

 

About Circulab

CIRCULAB is a business design lab and studio specialised in developing transformation methodology, tools and programmes to help businesses develop circular and sustainable business models. CIRCULAB has designed a toolkit for implementing Circularity in businesses and operates across +23 countries (9 EU countries), supporting projects through +60 certified independent CE consultants, applying the Circ methodology and tools.

https://circulab.com/ 

 

About The Circular Project co-designed with HumanNation

TCP (The Circular Project) favours and promotes a circular and sustainable fashion in different areas, offering the fashion industry a communication strategy based on a cross-cutting and systemic approach of the circular economy. TCP combines social, ethical, environmental and economic aspects, and has a strong presence and connections in the sustainable fashion world. TCP has promoted the Circular Sustainable Fashion Week Madrid, a one-of-a-kind event, and also serves as HQ for the Spanish Association for the Sustainability, Innovation and Circularity in the Fashion Industry. TCP is also an ambassador of Sannas (Triple Bottom Line Business Association) and has collaborated in a wide array of Spanish, European and Latin American institutions and enterprises.

For this project, The Circular Project works with HumanNation for the co-design and development of the project. HumanNation is a consulting firm specialised in the development of transformative and disruptive ecosystems of innovation and business: the ‘New Economy’. Based on the Fourth Economic Sector, systemic thinking and co-creation, it promotes awareness within organizations and ecosystems to respect planetary boundaries and social fabric, creating resilient economies at the local level, with a global perspective.

https://thecircularproject.com/

https://humannation.earth

 

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Notícias pt

Fourth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation addresses business cooperation between the EU and Latin America in the water management sector

The webinar was held on July 13 to commemorate World Population Day and World Oceans Day

Circular economy and wastewater management project LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 was the overarching topic throughout the webinar

The event was supported by Red Business Market and the Congreso Iberoamericano de Empresas Familiares y Pymes

A meeting will be held in Medellin (Colombia) in late 2021 to deliver the LATAM Startup Europe Awards

Brussels, 14.07.2021 – On Tuesday 13 July, 2021, on the occasion of World Population Day and World Oceans Day, Finnova Foundation and Startup Europe Awards launched  the fourth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation: “Entrepreneurship and Water: a Driver of Economic Recovery and Social Development of Regions and Municipalities” together with Red Business Market and the Congreso Iberoamericano de Empresas Familiares y Pymes.

The main objectives of Next LATAM-EU Generation are the transfer of knowledge, the dissemination of information on available funding facilities for both continents and the development of shared projects among Latin American and European countries in order to forge business alliances.

The fourth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation: “Entrepreneurship and Water: a Driver of Economic Recovery and Social Development of regions and Municipalities” was chaired by Finnova – LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 CEO Juanma Revuelta, who used LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0. to showcase best practices in the wastewater sector. Partnered by Finnova, LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 aims to control on-demand production of biogas in WWTPs digesters. This project seeks to treat organic waste from livestock farms e.g. swine or chicken manure, waste from the HORECA sector, waste from cooperatives and supermarkets, and solid urban waste in order to foster sustainability and to reduce CO2 emissions.

Javier Vázquez Hueso, CEO of EMALGESA and Deputy Mayor of Ayuntamiento de Algeciras, which harbours the fourth most important port in Europe and is located between two continents, was the first speaker in the “Institutions” section of the webinar. Mr. Vázquez said that Algeciras will invest €25M in the upcoming years on its water agenda.

Rafael Heredero, Policy Advisor at EurEau, broke down into different sub-topics the European Green Deal, the EU’s strategy to become a resource efficient, competitive and modern economy, which urges to minimise GHG emissions by 2050.

Luis Lehmann, Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Consultant, initiated the “Water and Region Experts” section by pointing out the major problems which affect water in this decade i.e. water pollution, poor quality of water for human consumption and floods. All of these are particularly dangerous for Latin America. “Facing these challenges by implementing a circular economy model to reach sustainable development is a great opportunity, especially for local governments”.

The CEO of Red Business Market, Josu Gómez Barrutia, said that over the past years, “there has been a growing interest in the sustainability and circular economy start-up ecosystem”. According to Mr. Barrutia, the amount of environment-related start-ups in Spain has soared to more than 36%, which has led to a 361% surge in renewable energies and sustainability related patents. This clearly shows the concern of start-ups vis-à-vis the environment.

Ana Beccar Varela, Water Project Manager at The Nature Conservancy, introduced a long-term water funds management strategy. Waters funds are organisations which design and promote financial and governmental mechanisms bringing together public, private and civil society agents to achieve water security based on the comprehensive management of watersheds and the implementation of nature-based solutions.

Diego Correa, CEO of APSU, talked about a microwave reactor APSU is currently using and which extracts biochar from sludge. This project was accelerated by Finnova’s Startup Europe Accelerator and won the Startup Europe Awards competition in the water category in 2017. This sludge represents “one of the greatest dangers to water”. Mr. Correa said this reactor “transforms this sludge into clean energy, eliminates pathogens and extracts biogas with steam in a single process”.

Speaking from Águas de Gaia in Portugal, CEO Miguel Lemos stressed the urgency to take care and to protect water. “Water is necessary for human life. We need to find a social, financial and environmental balance when it comes to water management”.

Sub-director of Agri-food Innovation at Cajamar Ricardo García talked about Almeria’s “agricultural miracle” i.e. its strategic water management system. Mr. García and his team strive to recruit new talent in the agri-food industry of Almeria to copycat this very same system in the rest of Spain and the world.

José Teixeira, Key Account Manager of Buntplanet, discussed how his company has created a unique software based on AI to optimise water management and to prevent leaks by digitalising it.

Adrián Nadal, CEO of Bioferric, talked about Bioferric’s technology to design and assemble water treatment and purification plants. Bioferric won the first edition of Water Accelerathon, an event implemented by Finnova. Thanks to their technology, Bioferric can recover up to 95% of components from effluents.

The last speaker in the “Experts” section was Carlota Corzo, Co-founder of Lazzaro, a technology-based and socially-oriented enterprise specialising in designing software for NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to manage their websites and to raise funds and donations, hence filling the digital divide. “One of our goals is to monitor transactions by using blockchain, as the first reason why people avoid donating to NGOs in Spain is the lack of confidence. We realised only 8% of NGOs are digitalised”.

Adrián Noheda, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Director at Finnova Foundation, wrapped up the “Funds” area by explaining the different EU funding opportunities for all those entrepreneurs wishing to bring their projects into the EU and who participate in companies operating in Member States.

Horizon Europe, the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation for 2021-2027, has been recently launched. It envisages international cooperation with non-Member States.

The LIFE Programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action created in 1992. For the 2021-2027 period, the programme has a financial envelope of €5.4 billion, which means €1.9 billion more as opposed to the 2014-2020 period. LIFE can be broken down into four sub-programmes whit a co-funding rate of up to 60%: Nature and Biodiversity, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Circular Economy and Quality of Life and Clean Energy Transition.

Mr. Noheda seized the opportunity to use LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 as a best practice example. This project is a consortium formed by Global Omnium, Finnova Foundation and Aguas do Centro Litoral.

Mr. Noheda also talked about the Innovation Fund, one of the most comprehensive funds in the world for the development of low-carbon innovative technologies. This fund will provide nearly €20 billion for 2020-2030 to commercialise industrial solutions to decarbonise Europe and to help achieve a climate-neutrality transition.

On the other hand, the European Innovation Council (EIC) offers up to €15M-worth investments and up to €2.5M-worth grants for entrepreneurs and SMEs having from 1 to 250 employees and less than €50M revenue.

The fourth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation was closed off by poet and president of Poets without Borders Chema Paz Gago, who read his ecopoem called “False Prestige”.

If you couldn’t attend the event, you can watch it here.

PREVIOUS SESSIONS

The first LATAM-EU session was held on March 8 on the occasion of International Women’s Day. It was run by several female speakers, such as Patricia Llombart, EU Ambassador in Colombia, Liskel Álvarez, External Actions Senior Officer at Cabildo de Tenerife, and Adriana Vargas, head of Trading Links of the Colombian Mission in the EU. The goal of this event was to discuss the role of women in business cooperation between Latam and the EU, with a special focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.

The second session, which was held on April 6 (on the occasion of World Health Day), was named “Challenges and Opportunities for Tourism through Cooperation between Latam and the EU during Covid-19”. Its main topics were the challenges that the tourism sector has to face and how to. This session was attended by Manuel Vegas, president of Asociación Española de Directores de Hotel (AEDH); Antonio López de Ávila, Co-founder and CEO of Toursim Data Driven Solutions (TDDS), and Irene Sánchez, Business Creation Manager at EIT Health Spain.

The third session, which was held on May 11 on Global Recycling Day, was named “Challenges of Circular Economy in LATAM-EU Cooperation as a Production and Consumption Model for Sustainability”. Speakers included Isabel Silva Souza, Ambassador of the European Commission’s Climate Pact; Álvaro Hernández, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Inboplast; Sharam Yalda, partner of CirCoAX and founder of HumanNation; Alonso Salguero, CEO at GTA Ingeniería y Medioambiente, and Giuseppe Liberati, Executive Director at Bridging Value.

Next LATAM-EU Generation is made up of nine online events which will take place every second Tuesday of each month. Each event is held on the occasion of an International Day in line with UN SDGs. To top it all off, if the health situation allows it, an on-site event will be held in Medellin (Colombia) to celebrate the final of LATAM Startup Europe Awards.

About LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0

The main objective of the LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 project is the real-scale demonstration of an innovative technology for the automated control of waste dosage in anaerobic digesters of WWTPs to maximise the production of biogas on demand as a renewable energy.

LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 undertakes to turn biogas into a reliable source of energy to supply green power to industries and companies in order to ensure that the EU’s goal to reach at least 27% of renewable energy in 2030 is met. This methodology is especially interesting for Europe, as there are 18.000 water treatment plants accounting for 0.8% of energy consumption.

LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 kicked off on 1 September, 2020, and will continue up until 29 February, 2024. Its main coordinator is Global Omnium Medioambiente, and its main partners are Finnova Foundation and Portuguese consortium Águas do Centro Litoral. It has a €970,000 budget.

https://www.lifecodigestion.com/

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation which helps institutions and organisations to get funds for their innovative projects. Finnova aims to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address social challenges, e.g. employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, circular economy, etc. As part of its commitment to innovation, Finnova has been organising the Startup Europe Awards since 2016, an initiative from the European Commission.

Finnova’s HQ are located in Belgium and across Spain – Comunitat Valenciana, the Basque Country, Andalusia, Madrid and the Canary Islands. It also has branches in Chile and Panama.

For more info, click on www.finnova.eu

About Startup Europe Awards

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an open innovation mechanism aimed to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to circular economy, sustainable tourism and fighting against climate change.

For more info, click on https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/

About Red Business Market 

Business Market is a forum connecting investors, businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups from Ciudad Real aiming to create a network of business, financing and support for economic and business projects in that area. All this funding can be coupled with venture capital, business angels, personal investments and corporate or financial funds for innovative and disruptive initiatives with an added value which need funding to start operating.

For more info, click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-vd9gSy19s

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Eventos Notícias pt

Ivace supports the cultural and creative industries sector with a new European initiative aimed at rendering them more resilient and competitive

Ivace supports competitiveness, innovation and sustainability in the cultural and creative industries sector by carrying out multi-sector and collaborative actions under different EU programmes

The goal is to find out innovative solutions to the challenges faced by this sector as well as to get EU funding

València (6.7.21) – The Instituto Valenciano de Competitividad Empresarial (Ivace) has just launched a challenge to the cultural and creative industries sector (CCIs) aimed at identifying innovative solutions eligible for EU funding under Horizon Europe, Creative Europe, LIFE, Green Deal or Next Generation EU.

This challenge will take form in an open innovation European programme led by Ivace. According to Júlia Company, General Director at Ivace, “our goal is to support those artists, creators, professionals and organisations that have an innovative project to cooperate and to jointly create products with local and European actors by offering them instruments to become more resilient and competitive”.

On July 15, Ivace will deliver an online presentation on this European programme. “We hope many businesses, professionals and stakeholders from the CCIs sector will join us. We want to find innovative solutions to meet the challenges the CCIs are currently facing”, said Company.

Participants in this programme (http://inscripcion.accelerathon.eu/) will benefit from the Startup Europe Awards methodology by DG CONNECT in order to find out innovative projects in the cultural sector. Startup Europe Awards is being implemented by Finnova Foundation and is backed by SEIMED (European Services supporting Businesses and Innovation), REDIT, Las Naves, el Foro de Agencias de Desarrollo Regional (ADR) (Spanish Association of Development Agencies), EURADA (the European Association of Development Agencies) and Startup Europe Accelerator.

Startup Europe Awards aims to look for disruptive start-ups promoting private-public cooperation, to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation and to foster partnership relations to meet the UN SDGs and to carry out the European Green Deal actions to address the circular economy, climate change and sustainable tourism.

Challenges faced by the CCIs

The CCIs are a major source of sustainable growth and job creation across Europe. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic downturn has deeply affected them. As a result of restrictions, many jobs have been lost and the economic activity has been paused.

According to the Reconstruyendo Europa: la economía cultural y creativa antes y después de la COVID-19 report (In English, Rebuilding Europe: The cultural and creative economy before and after the COVID-19 crisis), SMEs account for 90% of all CCI companies. Furthermore, this sector was one of the major sources of job creation in Europe in 2019 (7.6 million jobs created in different areas e.g. architecture, multimedia, advertising, publishing and press, music, the performing and visual arts, radio and videogames). This sector is responsible for creating 8.4 times more jobs than the telecommunications industry.

The CCIs are one of the most diverse and promising sectors, and they are also one of the key contributors to the EU’s GDP, as the turnover generated in this sector in 2019 accounted for 4.4% of the EU’s GDP (€643 billion). Nevertheless, due to the pandemic, in 2020, the cultural and creative economy lost approximately 31% of its revenues.

Register here to attend the webinar on July 15 at 4pm and find out more about this challenge: http://inscripcion.accelerathon.eu/

Categorias
Eventos Notícias pt

Fourth session of LATAM-UE Generation: “Entrepreneurship and Water: a Driver of Economic Recovery and Social Development of Regions and Municipalities”

The goal of LATAM-UE Generation is to promote business cooperation among EU and Latam countries

This fourth session is supported by Red Business Market and Congreso Iberoamericano de Empresas Familiares y Pymes

It will be held on July 13 on World Population Day and World Oceans Day

A meeting will be held in Medellin (Colombia) to celebrate the LATAM Startup Europe Awards in late 2021

Brussels, 22.06.2021 – On July 13, 2021, on the occasion of World Population Day and World Oceans Day, Finnova Foundation and Startup Europe Awards will hold the fourth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation: “Entrepreneurship and Water: a Driver of Economic Recovery and Social Development of Regions and Municipalities” together with Red Business Market and the Congreso Iberoamericano de Empresas Familiaries y Pymes.

Next LATAM-EU Generation seeks to exchange knowledge, to discuss available financial instruments for both continents and to launch common projects among different countries from Latin America and Europe aiming to create new business alliances. Each of the LATAM-EU sessions focuses on a World Day as part of its commitment to the UN SDGs.

The event on July 13 will be chaired by Juanma Revuelta, founder of Tourism Startup Europe Awards and CEO at Finnova, which has had more than 30 LIFE projects approved. According to Revuelta, “there are some €150,000M that can be redefined up until late 2023 and can be used up until 2030”.

The LIFE programme, established by the European Commission, will open for applications on late June until October 2021. It will have a financial envelope of €5,300M for projects addressing environmental issues.

The fourth session of Next LATAM-EU Generation, “Entrepreneurship and Water: a Driver of Economic Recovery and Social Development of Regions and Municipalities”, will feature Rafael Heredero, Policy Advisor at EurEau secretariat in Brussels; Javier Vázquez Hueso, CEO at EMALGESA and deputy mayor at Ayuntamiento de Algeciras; Luis Lehmann, international expert on circular economy; Juan Carlos Gázquez, Director at Cajamar Innova – Incubadora de Empresas de Alta Tecnología en Agua en Fundación  Cajamar, and Adrián Nadal, CEO at Bioferric Ink, among many other participants.

Next LATAM-EU Generation was first launched after the success of the Congreso Iberoamericano de Empresas Familiares y Pymes, run by Red Business Market, and which was held on January 2021. It hosted 558 businesses, more than 60 domestic and international speakers and nearly 9,000 attendees (companies). This event showed that transatlantic collaboration is needed in order to face shared challenges in both continents, such as digitalization, sustainability and circularity after Covid-19.

Josu Gómez Barrutia, CEO at Red Business Market, claims that “there is no doubt whatsoever these events, which serve as a meeting point for developing strategic connections in entrepreneurship and business development and cooperation between the EU and Latin America are crucial in such a time of deep changes, challenges and transformations in economies, societies and geopolitics.

Haven’t registered yet? You can do it for free here.

PREVIOUS SESSIONS

The first LATAM-EU session was held on March 8 on the occasion of International Women’s Day. It was run by several female speakers, such as Patricia Llombart, EU Ambassador in Colombia, Liskel Álvarez, External Actions Senior Officer at Cabildo de Tenerife, and Adriana Vargas, head of Trading Links of the Colombian Mission in the EU. The goal of this event was to discuss the role of women in business cooperation between Latam and the EU, with a special focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.

The second session, which was held on April 6 (on the occasion of World Health Day), was named “Challenges and Opportunities for Tourism through Cooperation between Latam and the EU during Covid-19”. Its main topics were challenges that the tourism sector has to face and how to. This session was attended by Manuel Vegas, president of Asociación Española de Directores de Hotel (AEDH); Antonio López de Ávila, Co-founder and CEO of Toursim Data Driven Solutions (TDDS), and Irene Sánchez, Business Creation Manager at EIT Health Spain.

The third session, which was held on May 11 on Global Recycling Day, was named “Challenges of Circular Economy in LATAM-EU Cooperation as a Production and Consumption Model for Sustainability”. Speakers included Isabel Silva Souza, Ambassador of the European Commission’s Climate Pact; Álvaro Hernández, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Inboplast; Sharam Yalda, partner of CirCoAX and founder of HumanNation; Alonso Salguero, CEO at GTA Ingeniería y Medioambiente, and Giuseppe Liberati, Executive Director at Bridging Value.

Next LATAM-EU Generation is made up of nine online events which will take place every second Tuesday of each month. Each event is held on the occasion of an International Day in line with UN SDGs. To top it all off, if the health situation allows it, an on-site event will be held in Medellin (Colombia) to celebrate the final of LATAM Startup Europe Awards.

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation which helps institutions and organisations getting funds for innovative projects. Its objective is to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address social challenges, e.g. employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, circular economy, etc. Finnova is in charge of organizing the Startup Europe Awards, a joint initiative by Finnova and the European Commission to reward the best European start-ups.

For more info, click on https://web.finnovaregio.org/

About Startup Europe Awards

Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards are an innovative mechanism aimed at identifying disruptive startups promoting private-public partnership. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to circular economy, sustainable tourism and fighting against climate change.

For more info, click on https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/

About Red Business Market 

Business Market is a forum connecting investors, businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups from Ciudad Real aiming to create a network of business, financing and support for economic and business projects in that area. All this funding can be coupled with venture capital, business angels, personal investments and corporate or financial funds for innovative and disruptive initiatives with an added value which need funding to start operating.

For more info, click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-vd9gSy19s

Categorias
Juventude Notícias pt

Waste management project LIFE Ecodigestion 2.0 was main topic on circular economy and green energies webinar during “EUGreenWeek”

This LIFE Project seeks to boost the production of biogas and to increase energetic self-sufficiency in wastewater-treatment plants

The new 2021-2027 LIFE programme was presented to participants. It will have a financial envelope of €5.4 billion

 The goal of this event was to share experiences and form alliances pursuing a more sustainable and affordable waste management digestion

Brussels, 04.05.2021- On June 4, water service provider Global Omnium and Finnova Foundation held an online event called “Challenge of circular economy in WWTP for green energy production” within the European Green Week 2021 #EUGreenWeek This event, which is part of the broader LIFE Ecodigestion 2.0 project, addresses two out of seventeen UN SDGs, i.e. SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy). Over 100 participants from Latin America, Spain and other European countries attended the event.

The European Green Week 2021 #EUGreenWeek, which was organised by the European Commission Directorate General for Environment, will take place from 31 May to 4 June, 2021, and will focus on the theme “Zero Pollution”. This annual event will be coupled with online events in all EU member states and will address EU environment policies.

This webinar provided the latest news on the promotion of the circular economy in wastewater treatment processes by sharing best practices and examples of waste reuse such as the ongoing LIFE projects Ecodigestion 2.0, Nieblas and Landfill Biofuel.

This workshop was attended by several international and national experts who shed some light on how to turn waste management into a more sustainable and efficient practice. Finnova CEO Juanma Revuelta chaired the event. Finnova had also previously taken part in the Water Start Up Europe Awards together with the Valencian government as part of its commitment towards reaching water circularity. Revuelta encouraged speakers, companies and governments to seek LIFE funding. LIFE is the only EU financial instrument dedicated to the environment. The upcoming call for pilot projects will start on mid-June and will have a financial envelope of up to €5.4 billion.

Revuelta also presented the LIFE Ecodigestion 2.0 project. This initiative includes an automated control system to manage organic waste in anaerobic digesters in WWTPs in order to maximize the production of biogas on demand as a renewable source of energy. For example, this system allows transforming organic waste from the HORECA sector (such as leftovers) into biogas in each water treatment plant, which then can be used to fuel vehicles.

LIFE Ecodigestion 2.0 (€970,000) undertakes to turn biogas into a reliable source of energy to supply green power to industries and companies in order to ensure that the EU’s goal to reach at least 27% of renewable energy in 2030 is met. This methodology is of especial interest for Europe, as there are 18.000 water treatment plants accounting for 0.8% of energy consumption.

Based on these facts and figures, LIFE Ecodigestion 2.0 kicked off on 1 September, 2020, and will continue up until 29 February, 2024. Its main coordinator is Global Omnium Medioambiente, and its main partners are Finnova Foundation and Portuguese consortium Águas do Centro Litoral.

The conference was inaugurated by Jaime Castillo, Institutional Relations Officer at Global Omnium. He encouraged participants and attendees to take the risk and “to get out of the comfort zone” in order to reduce waste production and transform it into energy. “The Earth is not a landfill”.

The wastewater treatment plant in Quart de Benáger, Comunidad Valenciana, took part in both LIFE Ecodigestion and LIFE Ecodigestion 2.0. Paul Granell, director at the plant, said that thanks to these projects, the plant now generates electric energy from biogas produced in the anaerobic digestion process. In turn, this promotes the use of renewable energies and reduces GHG emissions.

Joana Vieria, Wastewater Operations Coordinator at Águas do Centro Litoral, provided an example of good practice in wastewater treatment in Portugal. In Coimbrão, Leiria, her team is currently using software to implement new actions. “We are all now living a period of innovation, therefore we are exploring new projects to optimize circular water reuse”.

Adrián Noheda, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Director at Fundación Finnova, presented the European innovation Council (EIC) programme, which funds up to €15 million in investment and €2.5 million in grants to entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Noheda also fleshed out Revuelta’s initial comments on LIFE grants by adding that, for the first time, there will be two new “subprogrammes” for projects dealing with circular economy and quality of life and transition toward clean energies.

Speaking from the Canary Islands, Saúl Oliva Cabreras, environment project Coordinator at GESPLAN, presented LIFE Nieblas. The objective of this initiative is to minimise the impact of climate change in southern Europe and overseas EU territories as well as demonstrate the capacity of reforestation methodologies to curb carbon footprint. This project is testing fog collectors and new reforestation methods which capture water from fog.

On the other hand, Jaime Ezquerra, R&D project manager in FCC Medio Ambiente, presented LIFE Landfill Biofuel. This Project aims to capture and enrich landfill biogas to produce a biomethane suitable for vehicle use. Thus obtaining a renewable, abundant and self-sufficient energy source”.

International Relations Coordinator at Asociación Española de Abastecimientos de Agua y Saneamiento (AEAS), Gari Villa-Landa, pointed out several challenges that prevent water from being an active component in circular economy. “Is water in circular economy a paradigm or a paradox? It does not matter what we want it to be, as it all boils down to political will”.

Finally, Operations Director at Water Europe, Andrea Rubini, stressed the importance of coordinating all actors in the water chain in order to achieve a real circular economy in this sector. “Although water is a global challenge, it is nonetheless a local issue”.

Green transition is a key topic under Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which is funded thanks to the EU recovery funds Next Generation EU. This plan will allocate over €3.1 billion to improving and integrating renewable energies; some €1.3 billion to electric infrastructures, intelligent networks and flexibility and stocking facilities; and some €1.5 billion to renewable hydrogen and its sectorial integration.

Couldn’t attend the webinar? Don’t worry, click here to watch it.

About Fundación Finnova

European Foundation for the financing of innovation. Its objectives are to promote private-public cooperation through the technology transfer of low-cost solutions among the best technologies available to address social challenges such as employment, entrepreneurship, the United Nations SDGs and the circular economy. As a staunch defender of innovation, Finnova has been organising the Startup Europe Awards since 2016. This is an initiative launched by the European Comission’s DG Connect.

Finnova’s HQs are located both in Belgium and across Spain – in the Valencian Community, the Basque Country, Andalusia, Madrid and the Canary Islands. It also has branches in Chile and Panama.

www.finnova.eu

About LIFE

LIFE programme is the EU fund dedicated to environmental objectives for the 2014-2020 period. Its main objective is to act as a catalyst for changes in the development and application of policies through solutions and improvements to reach the climate and environment goals. It also promotes innovative technologies in the climate change and environment fields.

The two main sub-programmes are LIFE Climate Action and LIFE Environment.

 https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/life

About Global Omnium

The company that gave rise to Global Omnium, Aguas de Valencia, was founded in 1890. Global Omnium specializes in water treatment. It provides its services to 5.5 million people in more than 300 Spanish cities, but it also operates in three other continents. Global Omnium is based on a social commitment, and it is made up of centenary companies that have been contributing to the growth of the cities and municipalities in which they work for more than a century. https://www.globalomnium.com/Grupo/Inicio/

Categorias
Eventos Notícias pt

FYCMA and Finnova launch the webinar “Greencities 4 Fighting Against Climate Change” to address the green transformation of cities by improving municipal public services

The online event will take place on Thursday 13th May from 16h00 to 17h30 (CEST).

The event will promote the generation of business, opportunities and alliances for a greener approach to the cities of the future.

This webinar is the prelude to the Greencities Forum, which will be held in Malaga on 29th and 30th September 2021.

Brussels, 05.05.2021 – On Thursday 13th May 2021, the Trade Fair and Convention Centre of Malaga (FYCMA), with the support of Finnova Foundation, organises in the framework of the European Green Week 2021 #EUGreenWeek the webinar “Greencities 4 Fighting Against Climate Change” on the occasion of the International Day of Light, thus aligning itself with one of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically with SDG 11: sustainable cities and communities.

The main objectives of this meeting are to present the latest developments in the development of smart, sustainable and efficient territories, to provide a space to generate business, to establish alliances promoting innovative ecosystems for the promotion of new industries and to boost disruptive changes in areas such as circular economy electronic administration , tourism and smart transport, among other measures to prevent or treat the consequences of environmental pollution in cities.

Migration from rural areas to urban centres in recent decades has led to 55% of the world’s population being located in cities, a trend that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. This percentage, combined with global population growth, could add some 2.5 billion people to urban areas in just 30 years.

The high concentration of population in cities has led to a greater impact of climate change in cities, which are responsible for 70% of global CO2 emissions (around 25 gigatonnes). Cities are therefore the main threat to the climate, but they can also be an important part of the solution to the problem through their citizens and city councils, who have to take the lead in urban climate change mitigation and adaptation actions.

With these challenges on the table, this webinar will count with the participation of different experts, among them Julio Andrade, Director of the National Centre for the Training of Leading Authorities – CIFAL Malaga UNITAR; Katerina Fortun, Political Analyst – Adaptation to Climate Change at the European Commission; Regina Monsalve, President of the College of Agricultural Technical Engineers and Graduates of Valencia and Castellón – COITAVC; and Eugenio Martí, CEO of Graphene Solutions.

This webinar aims to claim a management model based on green local development supported by sustainable and inclusive aspects and will exchange views on the redesign of the municipalities of the future from the improvement of local public services, therefore, the areas of discussion will range from governance to citizen participation through energy, mobility, building and technological solutions to implement these changes.

“Greencities 4 Fighting Against Climate Change” serves as an online precedent for the urban intelligence and sustainability forum Greencities, an event that will take place at the Trade Fair and Convention Centre of Malaga on 29th and 30th September 2021 with all the necessary anti-COVID security measures.

Haven’t you registered yet? You can do it here.

About Finnova Foundation

European Foundation for the financing of innovation. It is a European foundation based in Brussels whose objectives are to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address social challenges such as employment, training, entrepreneurship, the United Nations SDGs, the circular economy, etc. Finnova organises the Startup Europe Awards, an initiative of the European Commission and the Finnova Foundation, to recognise the best European startups in the social field.

For more information: www.finnova.eu

About FYCMA

FYCMA (Trade Fair and Convention Centre of Malaga) has established itself as one of the most active trade fair organisers in Southern Europe, specialising in the conceptualisation and development of professional events linked to the field of innovation, digital transformation and knowledge generation. These forums, highly specialised and with an international vocation, share the common goal of attracting talent and investment, while seeking convergence between the capabilities of the Spanish productive and research fabric and providing physical and virtual spaces for generating business, launching disruptive projects, new opportunities and establishing alliances. The venue contributes with them to the positioning of Malaga and Andalusia among the key prescribers of advanced sectors, as well as strengthening the Spain brand in an increasingly digital and connected world.

For more information: www.fycma.com

About Greencities y S-MOVING

Greencities, Intelligence and Urban Sustainability and S-MOVING, Movilidad Inteligente y Sostenible, Intelligent and Sustainable Mobility, will hold their next editions on 29th and 30th September in person at FYCMA (Trade Fair and Congress Centre of Malaga) converging in a single business and knowledge space, and also providing a comprehensive view of the challenges of the territories and their management through a global concept of sustainability. Thus, positioned as the main national platform on tools, solutions and ideas for the development of smart, sustainable and connected territories, they will address in depth topics such as technology and connectivity as tools against depopulation -smart rural-, the opportunities of smart tourist destinations, collective transport as the axis for sustainable mobility, 5G and connected and autonomous mobility, or the potential of green hydrogen, among others.

For more information: www.greencitiesmalaga.com y www.smovingforum.com

About Startup Europe Awards

It is a methodology of the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, implemented by the Finnova Foundation since 2016. The SEUAs are an open innovation tool for identifying disruptive startups that promotes public-private collaboration and raises awareness of the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driver of employment. In addition to generating alliances that help to meet the SDGs of the United Nations and the actions of the European Green Deal, thus contributing to the circular economy, the fight against climate change and sustainable tourism.

For more information: www.startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/

About Startup Europe Accelerathon

Startup Europe Accelerathon aims to identify innovative ideas that can be funded by the European Union, such as the LIFE programme, Green Deal, Horizon 2020 or NextGenerationEU. Startup Europe Accelerathon follows the indications of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, contributing from each challenge to the proposed SDGs; in the framework of the Startup Europe Awards methodology of the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, which was born from the DG Research and Development in 2020 with the pan-European campaign Hackthevirus. It has been successfully carried out with governments such as that of the Valencian Community with the challenge of industrial polluting waters or the Andalusian Regional Government with the challenge of the fight against climate change, forest management and innovation in the prevention, fight against fires and regeneration of burnt areas.

For more information: www.accelerathon.eu

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