ECA´s president Antonio Novo receives Special Award for Cluster Mobilisation

The European Commission awards Antonio Novo for the mobilisation of cluster organisations and network across Europe to fight the effects of the COVID-19 crisis.

At the European Cluster Conference 2020, the European Commission rewarded Antonio Novo, president of the European Clusters Alliance, for his work in creating and leading the European Alliance Against Coronavirus and the mobilisation of hundreds of clusters, networks, associations, institutions, universities, companies and others to exchange on the COVID situation and propose solutions. The award was presented by the European Commission under the Directorate-General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, known as DG GROW, at the conference attended by well-known political figures such as European Commissioner Thierry Breton and German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Antonio Novo and the European Clusters Alliance have organised more than 160 meetings of the European Alliance Against Coronavirus (EAAC) with more than 1,000 experts to support entities across Europe to fight its effects on our industry. EAAC is an open exchange group which consists of clusters, associations, institutions, universities, companies, social economy stakeholders and other entities, and counts with close links to the European Commission. Among other activities, EAAC identified disrupted value and supply chains in Europe´s industry and made suggestions for its economic recovery. During 2020, the group discussed and shared information on a wide range of issues related to Covid-19, for example the creation of prototypes of respirators and 3D printing, the approval of personal protection equipment, public procurement, economic and social impacts of the crisis, social economy, or ICT solutions.

In his acceptance speech, Antonio Novo highlighted that this award symbolised the collaborative effort of many people. “It is shared with many, many of you, who have greatly contributed to creating the realities this award recognizes.”