Greening The Islands International Conference Returns To Gozo For Its 10th Anniversary
The Greening the Islands International Conference 2025 is returning to Malta for a milestone celebration — marking ten years since the initiative first began on our shores. The global event, which runs from 28 to 31 October 2025 at The Reef Hotel & Spa in Gozo, will bring together some of the world’s leading voices in sustainability, innovation, and island development.
Held under the theme “Expanding Holistic Island-led Solutions to Drive Global Sustainability and Climate Action,” this special edition of the conference celebrates a decade of pioneering collaboration that has turned islands into living laboratories for renewable energy, climate resilience, and circular economy practices.
From island authorities and researchers to innovators and global organisations, participants will explore how small islands can lead big change — tackling challenges like energy security, sustainable tourism, waste reduction, and biodiversity protection.
The event will feature interactive workshops, scientific sessions, and roundtable discussions on key themes such as renewable energy systems, circular economy, the blue economy, and sustainable mobility. Major partners include the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA), the Global Renewables Alliance, and the University of Malta’s Islands & Small States Institute.
In a conversation ahead of the event, Gianni Chianetta, Chair of the Greening the Islands Foundation, said this year marks “both a celebration and a new beginning.”
“Over ten years, Greening the Islands has grown from a small idea into a global platform connecting governments, innovators, and communities,” Chianetta said.
“Islands are microcosms of the world — they can pioneer scalable solutions for global sustainability.”
Returning to Malta holds deep symbolic value. The very first GTI conference took place here in 2015, and now, a decade later, it returns to Gozo — a Mediterranean island actively pursuing renewable and circular economy projects that embody the GTI vision.
Alongside the main conference, the 3rd GTI Observatory Summit will bring together global island leaders to strengthen cooperation and present a unified position paper ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
Meanwhile, the GTI Awards 2025 will honour standout sustainability projects in clean energy, climate resilience, and community engagement — recognising innovation that drives real-world impact across island nations.
The Gozo edition will also highlight EU-funded projects such as MAESHA, ReBoat, EcoMedIslands, and Dialogue4Tourism, all aimed at building more resilient, circular, and sustainable island communities across Europe and beyond.
“Our message to the world is simple,” Chianetta added. “If it works on islands, it can work everywhere.”