26/11/2025
♻️ ♻️ The final conference of the Interreg NEXT project FoodWISE – “Prevention of food waste at source. The role of public authorities. Strategic approach for sustainable food waste management” was held on 18 November in Varna, Bulgaria, organized by the lead partner, BIONET Association. The event gathered over 60 representatives from project partner organizations, municipalities, public authorities, NGOs, academia, and business sectors from Bulgaria, Georgia, Türkiye, and Greece — creating a vibrant platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and future collaboration.
The conference highlighted the project’s major results, demonstrating how FoodWISE has advanced local and regional action on food waste prevention and sustainable consumption. Key outcomes include:
📌 FoodWISE Educational Toolkit: A comprehensive guide for awareness campaigns, training modules, educational resources, and practical tools to support municipalities, schools, and community organizations.
📌 Community Engagement & Awareness Campaigns: Innovative initiatives such as the Re-Plate Festival, Food Waste Patrol, and the I Value Food student video contest successfully mobilized youth, citizens, and tourists to rethink food habits and reduce waste at source.
📌 Capacity Building for Municipalities and Stakeholders: A series of trainings, workshops, and peer-learning activities enhanced the ability of local public authorities to plan, coordinate, and manage food waste reduction strategies.
📌 Policy Impact: Presentation of compelling testimonials from municipalities and a detailed discussion on the positive impact of implemented actions by project partners, outlining clear, actionable future steps for sustainable resource management in the Black Sea region.
👉👉 During sessions invited speakers and panelists emphasized the crucial role of public authorities in designing, implementing, and monitoring effective food waste prevention strategies. Best practices from municipalities, NGOs, and community initiatives showed how local actions can drive national and regional transformation when aligned with the principles of the circular economy, resource efficiency, and social responsibility.
♻️ 👉 One of the most significant outcomes of the conference was the official launch of the Black Sea Basin Food Waste Prevention Network — a voluntary, cross-border collaboration platform for municipalities, institutions, tourism bodies, and public & private stakeholders from Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, and Türkiye.
Its mission is to transform a fragmented, country-specific approach into a cohesive, united front, ensuring that sustainability, the circular economy, and social responsibility form the very foundation of the region's future food system. It will aim to implement collaborative or country specific actions, aiming – reducing food waste, Exchanging best practices in the circular economy, using resource efficiency through cross-border cooperation.
Members of the network are committed to direct, impactful cooperation through the following objectives:
✅ Develop and share policies, tools and good practices that reduce food waste and promote sustainable consumption.
✅ Coordinate and implement joint awareness actions (e.g., FOOD WASTE PATROL, ‘I VALUE FOOD’, REPLATE festivals) and campaigns with municipalities, civil society and entrepreneurs.
✅ Provide capacity-building opportunities for local/regional administrations and stakeholders through trainings, workshops and peer learning.
✅ Collect, share and analyze non-personal data and indicators to monitor progress, respecting applicable legal requirements.
✅ Promote visibility of Network activities and the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Program support.
♻️ ♻️ The Network is now active and welcomes more stakeholders across the Black Sea Basin — public institutions, civil society, schools, tourism and hospitality actors, and local communities — to join in shaping a more sustainable, responsible, and resource-efficient future.
♻️ ♻️ Foodwise is Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin CBC and is co-financed by the EU. Responsibility for the content of this material lies with the project team. The content of this material does not necessarily represent the official position of the European Union.
