TRANSFER Danube Kick-Off Conference in Bucharest, Romania

During the period of 16^th and 18^th of September 2025, a Kick-Off Conference within the frame of the TRANSFER Danube project (InTegRAted moNitoring System For agro-climatic risks within DanubE Region), co-funded by the Interreg Danube Region Programme, took place in Bucharest, Romania.

The event started with a welcome speech from the General Director and the Head of the Agrometeorological Department of the Lead Partner organization, the National Meteorological Administration. That was followed by a TRANSFER Danube general presentation, where partners discussed the timeline, main objectives, and expected outputs and deliverables of the project. A 2023-2027 Strategic Plan from the perspective of environmental and climate challenges was presented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Romania), as well as the Best Practice Catalogue for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management in Agriculture. Each project partner then presented their institution, their experience in the field, the main activities of their organization, and how the team can contribute to the implementation of TRANSFER Danube's tasks.

The second working day was dedicated to the management and administrative works and representatives of the Interreg Danube Region Programme provided insights on project management, as well as key aspects on administrative and financial issues. A review of the activities related to Specific Objective 1, responsibilities of partners, and the next steps were made. An overview of the progress on Specific Objective 2, tasks for partners, and follow-up actions was also showcased.

On the last third day of the event, the focus was on summarizing activities under Specific Objective 3, and the upcoming tasks were discussed. The event concluded with a review of the communication and dissemination activities, and a debate was organized on the monitoring, evaluation, and upcoming events of the TRANSFER Danube project.

More about TRANSFER Danube:

The project aims to analyze the new patterns of climatic extreme events (drought, floods, heat waves, e.g.) and design the necessary tools for agriculture in the Danube region in order to be able to properly adapt and respond to such challenges. 

This will be done by developing and implementing a Danube transnational e-platform that will integrate climatic and water resources, as well as agriculture database, maps, knowledge, tools, modelling, good practices for water management, for reducing drought in order to be prepared and adapt to climate change in the vulnerable areas for crops (winter wheat and maize) in the Danube Region.