Interreg VI-B NEXT Black Sea Basin QUEST – 2nd Project Meeting, Training of Trainers (ToT) and Hybrid Experience Sharing Event

From 6 to 8 April 2026, the 2nd Project Meeting, the Training of Trainers (ToT), and the Hybrid Experience Sharing Event of the Interreg VI-B NEXT Black Sea Basin project QUEST were successfully held in Thessaloniki. The activities took place at the Mediterranean Palace Hotel, bringing together project partners from the participating countries.

The three-day event opened with welcome remarks from the project partner representatives. Speeches were delivered by Ms Vasso Papadopoulou, General Director of ANATOLIKI S.A., Mr Erkut Çelebi, Chairman of the Board of the Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), Prof. Dr Hamdullah Çuvalcı, Rector of Karadeniz Technical University (KTU), and Ms Elena Simeonova, Head of Project Management Department at the Union of Bulgarian Black Sea Local Authorities (UBBSLA).

During the consortium meeting, the progress of the project implementation was presented, and the next steps were discussed, with a focus on management and coordination of upcoming activities.

In parallel, the Training of Trainers (ToT) was conducted over the three days, with all partners participating both as trainers and trainees. The aim was to present the developed training modules and materials and to prepare partners for the upcoming training activities within the project. The training focused on strengthening capacities for more effective access to funding opportunities, with particular emphasis on EU funded programmes.

The Hybrid Experience Sharing Event aimed to enhance participants’ skills through the presentation of best practices related to accessing funding and project proposal development. Relevant case studies were presented, while participation was highly active, both in person and online. In addition to project partners, members of the quadruple helix also participated, namely representatives from the public sector, academia, the business sector, and civil society, established within the framework of the project.

Best practices and experiences were shared by the following organisations:

Samsun Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Türkiye)
Eastern Black Sea Development Agency (Türkiye)
Municipality of Beloslav (Bulgaria)
iSea (Greece)

The QUEST project continues to strengthen transnational cooperation and knowledge exchange across the Black Sea region, contributing to capacity building and improved access to funding opportunities.

About the project

QUEST is funded under the Interreg VI-B NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme, with a total budget of €507,780 and a duration of 18 months. The partnership includes: