​It is our pleasure to share with you the first newsletter of our project “BERLIN – Cost-effective rehabilitation of public buildings into smart and resilient nano-grids using storage” and to inform you about the progress of its activities.

Two years after the founding of the Association for the Protection of Jabal Moussa (APJM), Jabal Moussa and surrounding villages were designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2009 under the Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme.

The MAB Programme inspired APJM to move from the classical approach to conservation, excluding people from the protected area, to a human-centered approach, inclusive of local communities.

The BERLIN project aims at the implementation of cross border pilots that will support innovative and cost-effective energy rehabilitation in public buildings based on the nanogrid concept. Thus, BERLIN project focuses on the increase of photovoltaics (PV) penetration, which coupled with energy storage and demand-side management (DSM) will increase the energy efficiency (EE) of the buildings.

Opinion article written by the coordinator of the TEC-MED project, Ana María Porcel, and published in the Spanish regional newspaper "El Correo de Andalucia" on March 21^th. 

Due to the COVID19 pandemic, COMMON project is reducing its activity, postponing all events and adopting teleworking as a general measure.  

As declared by Union for the Mediterranean, "the unprecedented situation created by the rapid spread of COVID-19 disease around the world, reminds us that global threats know no borders. Despite this, the collective response of our citizens has shown we possess tools of great power, more important than ever: resilience and solidarity".

This article forms part of a series of publications under MEDUSA project to promote less-known natural and cultural touristic assets in our partner territories Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Puglia (Italy) and Catalonia (Spain). Enjoy reading and hope to welcome you soon at one of the wonderful places you will get to know here.