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On December 2, 2022, in the hall of the Regional Information Center, Silistra, the first international online press conference was held to present the “BeActive” project, financed by the Erasmus+ program. On the Bulgarian side, representatives of the Bulgarian team, the media and local institutions – associated partners – participated in the event. The other coordinators also took part online: Jorge Rivera from the “Creative” Association, Spain; Felis Soares from the European Institute “For Citizens”, Portugal and Francesco Adragna from the “Bosco Angimbe” Association, Italy.
During the press conference, the Project Coordinator Dr. Diana Bebenova-Nikolova pointed out that one of the leading project topics, namely the responsible attitude towards natural resources, was inspired by the publications of the Italian neurobotanist Stefano Mancuso. In his book ‘The Incredible Journey of Plants’, the scientist draws a parallel between the world of plants and that of humans. He convinces us that plant migrations are both creative and unstoppable. In the many different ways in which plants move, we can see the incessant action and drive to spread life, which is what makes plants, as well as humans, seek to inhabit every conceivable environment on earth. Just as in our world we try to respect human rights, so we must learn to know and adhere to the Plant Rights Charter developed and promoted by Mancuso.
At the end of the press conference, the Coordinator of the project, Dr. Diana Bebenova-Nikolova, indicated that an invitation was extended to the Italian neurobotanist to become an official patron of the project.