The five regional BLOOM bioeconomy hubs have been busy with their outreach activities in the last months, raising awareness of bioeconomy research and innovation in Europe. Now we are all collectively facing a challenging situation, and Covid-19 is rapidly shifting our priorities, changing our daily lives and determining what is possible at the moment, and what is not. This crisis is also affecting the Bloom project: we have cancelled many of our events and planned activities. Nevertheless, we are also adapting to the new circumstances, and offering some of our formats in an online version.
The BLOOM bioeconomy hubs will run a joint international webinar series in the coming months. Topics will range from wood and forest, bioplastics, agriculture and food, to strategies for implementation on a policy level (page 14).
For teachers, we offer free learning material on our website, such as our BLOOM School Box, a collection of teaching resources that STEM educators can use to introduce the concept of bioeconomy in their teaching. Tell us how you are implementing the resources of the School Box and participate in the BLOOM Stories Competition, running until April 30 (page 14)!
It is impossible to foresee the magnitude of the impact of the current crisis on our economies. We hope that once this crisis is over, we will collectively be able to rebuild our economies in a more sustainable, biobased, circular and resilient way.
We hope you will enjoy reading our newsletter and wish you all the best in this challenging time!