The INTERSMARTS consortium was honored for its achievements during the annual Black Sea Stakeholders Conference, held on 28 October 2025 in Constanta, Romania.
The INTERSMARTS initiative was awarded the Black Sea Project Award 2025 in the category “Promoting Investment in the Blue Economy“. In addition, the project was selected as the “Winner of Winners” through real-time voting by conference participants.
After two consecutive successful cycles, the Black Sea Project Awards – an initiative of the European Commission’s Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea, with the support of the Black Sea Assistance Mechanism – held a new edition in 2025. The awards aim to recognise innovative achievements and significant contributions across the Black Sea basin. They are awarded to projects that offer innovative, practical and effective solutions that support the priorities of the Common Maritime Agenda for a sustainable blue economy. The awards are presented in three main categories:
(1) Sustainable marine and coastal ecosystems,
(2) Competitive, innovative and sustainable blue economy for the Black Sea, and
(3) Promoting investment in the blue economy of the Black Sea.
Three projects – one in each category – were selected by the awards jury, and the overall “Winner of Winners” was determined by a vote among the participants in the annual conference.
The INTERSMARTS project was invited to participate in the Conference as an innovative initiative promoting interdisciplinary research, partnerships, co-creation of solutions and holistic knowledge generation. The main objective is to improve the sustainability and innovative capacity of tourism and related services in the Black Sea region. The project’s approach combines specialised research on specific challenges, cross-border applications and interdisciplinary interventions in support of blue growth in tourism. At the heart of the methodology is a platform for sharing ideas and managing innovation, designed to accelerate the process of collaboration and joint decision-making.
This innovative model was highly praised by experts from the Black Sea Common Agenda, as well as representatives from academia, business, public institutions and civil society, who voted INTERSMARTS the best initiative during the conference.