An international conference in Istanbul on Friday, 16 October, will look at how cities around the Black Sea can adapt to climate change, the project management team at Sozopol council said. The council is a partner in the project behind the forum. People can also join online via Zoom.

The host is the Faculty of Forestry at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa. The theme is "Climate change adaptation measures for sustainable green cities in the Black Sea basin". The working language is English.

The conference is part of activity 1.6, "Including green measures in the long-term planning of local and regional policymakers". It belongs to the project "Green Urban Resilience – Green solutions for climate change adaptation for smart and sustainable cities in the Black Sea basin" (BSB00006), which runs under the Interreg VI-B NEXT Black Sea Basin programme with European Union support.

Project partners from four countries – Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia and Greece – will meet in Istanbul. Local authorities, universities, non-governmental organisations, experts and people from other projects will also take part. The team invites all local authorities, public institutions and organisations with an interest in the topic, as well as experts and representatives of civil society groups.

The aim is for participants to share knowledge and experience. They will talk about how cities can cope better with heat, how to get more green space and how to use solutions based on nature. They will also look for ways to help institutions work better together.

Partners will present what the project has achieved so far, the approaches they have developed and the experience of solutions that already work in cities. The agenda also includes good examples of climate adaptation in cities, the experience of local authorities and civil society groups, and other EU-backed projects.

The organisers want research, local practice and project experience to be assessed together. They expect what the project has learned to reach more people, and institutions in the Black Sea region to work more closely to prepare cities for climate change. They will also discuss solutions that can be used on both a smaller and a larger scale.

The meeting ID is 861 3362 6925 and the passcode is 337198.