The meeting started with the opening speech of Prof. Dr. Levent Bat, General Coordinator of MACRO CLEAN, on the general aims and objectives of the project and continued with the presentations of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Merab Diasamidze from Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, Prof. Dr. Milena Stoyanova from Shumen Konstantin Preslavsky University and Dr. Ahmet Cihat Kahraman from Marmara Municipalities Union.
Prof. Bat stated that the MACRO CLEAN Project, which focuses on preventing and reducing the impact of human activities on eutrophication and macroalgae blooms in the Black Sea Basin, also aims to conduct research and implement pilot applications for the economic use of macroalgae. He also stated that they see this project as an opportunity to develop a comprehensive research methodology for the study of macroalgae and to strengthen their laboratory infrastructure.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Diasamidze and Prof. Dr. Stoyanova, who took the floor during the meeting, stated that they quickly established project teams at their respective universities and started the process of procurement of the necessary technical equipment for the research infrastructure.
Speaking on behalf of Marmara Municipalities Union, the only non-university partner of Project, Dr. Ahmet Cihat Kahraman emphasized the value of the fact that a significant part of the Marmara Region is located in the Black Sea Basin and that macroalgae, which are important for environmental management, will be examined in such an in-depth project. He also summarized the work done for the Methodologies and Technologies Report to be prepared by MMU within the scope of the project.
The opening meeting continued with a presentation by Dr. Elif Arıcı, SNU's Project Communication Manager, on the communication priorities and visibility scope of the program. The inaugural meeting, which also included the election of the executive committee of MACRO CLEAN Project, ended with a press conference by Prof. Dr. Levent Bat, General Coordinator of Project.