In a recent newsletter, MedCities, announced that they are joining for a second year in the citizen science activities in connection to ANERIS and MINKA.  

Last year the Mediterranean  network organised citizen science events in Ancona, Italy, aligned with the mission of the MINKA platform and ANERIS project. This year one of their chosen locations is the city of San Benedetto del Tronto. At the end of June, MedCities will organise a guided walk with citizens in which observations will be uploaded to the MINKA platform. In addition, an event with scuba divers will allow the observation of marine species.

The city of Mersin, Turkey, another member city of MedCities, is participating as well in this year’s round of marine science events. Last year in Mersin a conference linked to the third Ocean Cities Network Conferences, as well as a citizen science events were held. Now the city is organising a second citizen science event at the end of May. Similar to the happening in Italy, this year’s edition will not only focus on the species on the shore, but will also involve scuba divers who will take observations of underwater species.

MedCities is a legal association, promoting urban sustainable development in the region, established in 1991 in Barcelona. Initially 16 cities formed a network with the purpose to support environmental protection from a local perspective. In 2015 the network gained independence and has grown to a group of 81 local authorities from all shores of the Mediterranean.