Event 3

We are currently in the “Induction” phase, in which the project partners and the engaged participants in the local communities are expected to lay the common foundations in terms of the knowledge base and the collaborative conditions. Then we will move to the education pathway, co-creating the knowledge and co-developing the skills about how to work in communities on green issues.

Outcomes of the discussion carried out in the national breakout sessions

POLAND

Focus groups pointed some basic features of the four communities engaged in CO-Green activities:

• Social Service Centres are the backbone of activities in Polish communities (locally embedded social policy institutions). For all their diversity, engaged communities rely on effective local government, a network of non-governmental partners and informal activists. They assess resources by focusing on the immediate environment, green infrastructure and environmental quality of life.
• The biggest challenges are related to the involvement of residents in local environmental activities. It is also important for institutions to move beyond silos and link their activities to the new goals of green local development. A model for citizen participation in green community development processes is needed.
• Actions taken so far in terms of green issues in communities can be divided into two types. On the one hand, there are large and expensive institutional projects focused, for example, on the construction of cycle path infrastructure or the electrification of vehicles used by public institutions. On the other hand, there are small-scale activities, with a low degree of formalisation, undertaken by residents, such as neighbourhood clean-ups. There is a lack of indirect activities, combining the activity of residents with the activities of local government institutions.

Actions taken so far within Co-Green are focusing on constituting the group of 12-15 activists who will be the core group in implementing small grants assigned for them to conduct actions. The potential candidates are being mobilised right now. The most interested group are youth who are very eager to take actions in terms of green issues. In many cases they have some experience in this field.

The second group are older persons, who also want to conduct actions but have more doubts about their empowerment in terms of green issues which they mostly relate to big policy issues.

The next steps in the project are to establish stable groups of activists and conduct inspirational workshops based on good practices to inspire communities with ideas they can implement within their small grant/project.

The four communities are making steps forward with the mapping process of local stakeholders in terms of green issues.

ITALY

The three communities of Cosenza Panebianco, Magione, and Cavalese are described as meeting once a month to share practices and engage in mutual learning. The Comunità di Panebianco is currently gathering a group of approximately 70 people who meet online but have difficulties meeting face-to-face in the summer period. The community is still in need of stimulation to meet, but stakeholders report satisfaction with the participatory methodologies. The green measures have traditionally been top-down, and citizens have complained about the lack of real attention to the needs of people. However, bottom-up and participatory processes are appreciated, and schools and the local authority recognize the value of past initiatives. Citizens do not trust these kinds of initiatives yet, and there is a need to raise awareness about green issues. Some activities are planned in September, including adopting two pillars of the bridge to realise murals as a token of the community about green, social walks, and observing waste management and making proposals for improvement. The community has a Facebook page, and there are some „segnali deboli” (weak signals) that make us hope about the possibility to continue the participatory processes.

The Magione community had initial difficulty presenting the project, but people are increasingly interested in green issues. The community is organising outdoor activities, such as cycling pathways and waste monitoring of the lake shores. They also hold events where people can tell stories about themselves and social “aperitivi”.

The Cavalese community is organising a social walk in the forest and inviting experts to have a debate on real evidence and data. The idea is not only to engage in green activities but also to give communities the power to determine local policy priorities through participatory methodologies. Overall, these communities are engaging in participatory processes to address green issues and improve their neighbourhoods.

GREECE

The community of Karditsa faces challenges in controlling the process of addressing environmental issues. One of the challenges is the lack of information about environmental issues, which is a problem that needs to be addressed. It is crucial to disseminate information not only through social media but also through word of mouth. The community stresses the need to address real needs and motivate youth to engage in green initiatives. Disseminating information and engaging youth are crucial to promoting green initiatives. Local governments need to have some permanent structures that include participation from active citizens’ initiatives.

The community believes that small ideas can have a great impact, and they plan to collect these ideas and start planning actions for the next stage, such as recycling, photo competitions, and involving the local forest school. However, the timing is a bit challenging as local elections are approaching in October, and local authorities may not be ready to work with the citizens.

CROATIA

The PZG in Croatia has had regular meetings with the green network, local interested participants, NGOs, local governments, civil protection, etc. These meetings were held to discuss how to form the network and the best way to do this.

They have also created a WhatsApp group that has been very useful in overcoming fragmentation and ensuring that information gets through to everyone.

As a network, they are more informed and aware, and they can react to issues related to the coastline and involving children. However, they face challenges related to how to involve children in their initiatives.

PROPOSAL

We propose to create a shared workspace where local initiatives and small actions can be shared on a regular basis, inspiring one another and mobilising local communities. To facilitate this, we will use a whiteboard, presumably using Padlet, which is a digital bulletin board tool that allows users to post text, images, videos, files, links, and more. Padlet is easy to use and works on computers, laptops, iPads, and smartphones.

We can create a Padlet project for each initiative or action, and invite members to contribute to the project area throughout the process. We can structure each learning activity, assignment, or event into a template that members can easily add their content to, and organise each board in a horizontal layout where members can add their files like presentations, drawings. This will facilitate group projects, individual projects, and reviews.

We can also use other collaborative whiteboard software platforms like Miro, Google Jamboard, etc. By creating a shared workspace, we can foster knowledge sharing via technology, and create a collaborative learning experience that brings people together.