Chania, Greece, Thursday 25 May 2023

• The team of the CIHEAM General Secretariat - composed of the Directors of the 4 Mediterranean Agronomic Institutes, the Secretary General and his staff - gathered at CIHEAM Chania to discuss common priorities and prepare for future collaboration

• At the same time, the annual meeting of the CIHEAM Advisory Board (CAB) was held at the Institute. The members met to select the Best Thesis Prize and to appoint a new president following the end of Ms Lamiae Ghaouti's term of office. Their proposals will be submitted for approval at the next Meeting of the CIHEAM Governing Board, to be held in Tricase (Italy) on 3 and 4 July 2023

• A joint meeting was held with all the participants, during which the collaboration between the CAB and the General Secretariat team was discussed (Youth Innovation Awards, thematic working groups, support for training and research activities, etc.)

25 May 2023, Chania (Greece) - CIHEAM Secretary General, Mr Teodoro Miano, held a 2-day working meeting with the Directors of the four CIHEAM Institutes, namely Mr Maurizio Raeli (CIHEAM Bari), Mr George Baourakis (CIHEAM Chania), Mr Thierry Dupeuble (CIHEAM Montpellier), and Mr Raul Compes (CIHEAM Zaragoza), and with the staff of the General Secretariat.

During the meeting, several points were addressed, notably with a view to strengthening the CIHEAM's role in education, research, and cooperation, particularly in light of the developments in the Mediterranean region and the emerging needs of stakeholders.

On the second day of the meeting, the General Secretariat met with the members of the CIHEAM Advisory Board, who had also gathered in Chania for a working meeting during which they studied a selection of theses by CIHEAM students in the framework of the Best Thesis Prize. Coming from the 4 CIHEAM Institutes, the works are subject to 4 selection criteria: (1) the originality of the thesis (2) the scientific quality of the approach (3) the applicability of the study and (4) the exemplary character for Mediterranean cooperation. At this annual meeting, the members of the CAB also appointed the committee's new chairperson following the end of Ms Lamiae Ghaouti's term of office. Their proposals will be submitted for approval at the next CIHEAM Governing Board meeting, to be held in Tricase (Italy) on 3 and 4 July 2023.