Sustainable Horizon Alliance will contribute to an inclusive society, supporting researchers/academics deeply thinking, respecting nature, practical problem-solving professionals, adapting to new challenges. We are six young HEIs, open to innovation, located in small cities within EU periphery, from South Extreme (Faro-Pt, Huelva-Es), Central (Zlìn-Cz, Ludwigshafen-De), Eastern (Timisoara-Ro) to North (Lahti-Fi) carried out activities of co-production with relevant economic regional impact. The complementary strength in sustainability scientific fields aiming at inclusive institutional transformation and providing a platform as preferential partners collaborating with surrounding ecosystems. The goals are to support the Alliance created in 2019 and in especially the Widening Countries HEIs (UAlg, BUAS UTB) to, within the network and with the best practices, define road maps to effectively implement inclusive approaches to open science policies, gender balance plans, careers management, researcher’s societal links. Our sustainability research approach will be anchors on traditional sciences (environmental, socioeconomics) but with strong interdisciplinarity innovation based on Artificial Intelligence, allowing Entrepreneurship and Employability to impact regional ecosystems. The Alliance will rely on a creative governance model with a balanced top-down and bottom-up approach with the academic/researcher clusters (Science & Technology, Health, Socio-Economics), the leadership (Rectors& Directors), to an effective institutional change that will achieve balance between careers and life, to foster a variety of joint research projects based on excellence and trustful collaboration to allow International competitiveness. Using our HEIs geographic proximity, historic, cultural and linguistic links, we aim to project the Alliance outside Europe (eg. Africa & South America) offering Distance learning PhD supporting locally at global level sustainability and a Healthy Planet.

According to the World Economic Forum and the European Union’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are major threats facing humanity in the next decade. Massive consumption of chemical pesticides in agriculture is a significant contributing factor. Viticulture ranks high among the crops that depend on a massive consumption of chemical pesticides, consuming approximately sixty percent of the fungicides applied in the EU, making it a priority target for reducing the use of chemical plant protection products. At the same time, grapevine is economically and culturally important in the EU, with wine and wine-based products being among the top 3 EU agri-food sectors. Recent advances and new perspectives in grapevine breeding have opened the possibility for GrapeBreed4IPM to address the reduction of fungicides and preserve biodiversity. Lessons learned from past experience in viticulture have shown that success in improving sustainability relies on global involvement of all actors. Therefore, we brought together the top European research groups in grapevine breeding and involved different stakeholders along the grapevine industry value chain in a multi-actor and co-design approach to produce the best insights for maximum impact. The project will develop grapevine varieties with resistance to relevant diseases, adapted to local environmental and pedoclimatic conditions, and with the goal of reducing reliance on chemical pesticides. In addition, the project will provide farmers, winegrowers and advisers with best practices and guidelines for integrated pest management, adapted to disease-resistant varieties, as ingredients for their largest possible adoption and leading to a long-awaited more environmentally friendly and sustainable viticulture in Europe. The project’s outcomes will support evolution of the grapevine market to meet regulatory requirements and consumer expectations, a market that is expected to reach nearly EUR 204 billion by 2025.