On Wednesday 2 July 2025, the final event of the BeBlue – Beyond Bluegrass project, co-financed by the Interreg VI-A Italy–Slovenia Programme, was held in the prestigious Aula Magna Silvio Trentin of Ca’ Dolfin – Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
An exceptional setting to celebrate the results of a cross-border journey that, in two years of intense activity, has brought aquaponics – an integrated system for the production of fish and vegetables – to the centre of reflection on sustainability, innovation and agri-food resilience.
The event, accompanied by simultaneous bilingual Italian-Slovenian translation, brought together industry experts, institutional representatives, businesses, students and citizens from both countries. After the institutional greetings, the partnership presented the main outputs:
- two pilot plants operating in Venice and Ljubljana;
- the “Digital Twin”, a digital model for real-time monitoring and management;
- online tools to evaluate the economic and environmental sustainability of the plants.
The subsequent round table, with the participation of Italian and Slovenian experts, explored the potential of aquaponics for quality production, the challenges of acceptance by large-scale retail trade and consumers, and the prospects in niche segments.
Making the link between research and territory even more tangible was the final buffet in the Ca’ Dolfin garden, which offered dishes based on salicornia and other halophytes: true “target products” of the project, tested in aquaponic systems and now also protagonists at the table.
BeBlue represented much more than a technical-scientific project: it was an open laboratory, capable of connecting technological innovation, urban regeneration, environmental education and local production chains. The future of agriculture also passes through here, and the path undertaken by BeBlue will continue beyond the boundaries of the project, among new investors, agri-food companies and communities attentive to change.
