Event 5

Dates:

Workshops:

• [Poland]: 14.09.2023 (Górno), 03.10.2023 (Wiązowna), 23.10.2023 (Elbląg), 20.10.2023 (Starachowice)
• [Italy]: 16.06.2023 and 05.10.2023 (Cosenza Panebianco)
• [Croatia]: 27.09.2023 (Omišalj, Krk), 29.09.2023 and 02.10.2023 (Opatija)
• [Greece]: 14.11.2023 (Karditsa)

Group Scenario Interviews:

• [Poland]: 31.10.2023 (Toruń), 31.10.2023 (Warsaw)
• [Italy]: 02.11.2023 (Magione), 01.09.2023 (Cosenza Panebianco)
• [Croatia]: 20.10.2023 (Rijeka), 19.10.2023 (Cres)
• [Greece]: 13.11.2023 (Karditsa)

Local workshops:

• [Poland]: 16.10.2023 (Warsaw- Wola Cultural Centre), 23.10.2023 (Warsaw, The Office of the President of the Republic of Poland)
• [Italy]: 15.09.2023 (Cosenza Panebianco), 09.07.2023 (Cavalese), 10.06 and 20.08.2023 (Magione)
• [Croatia]: 03.06.2023 (Lisina), 05.10 and 17.10.2023 (Opatija), 18.10.2023 (Ika)
• [Greece]: 14.11.2023 (Karditsa)

Goals:

• Strengthen local communities to envision their green future, considering environmental, social, economic and employment issues.

Participants and events:

• 324 participants from all 4 partner countries: Poland: 116, Italy: 75, Croatia: 64, Greece 69
• 10 workshops (focus groups), 7 scenario interviews and 11 local workshops.

Workshops

Poland

Górno

The team participating in the meeting discussed the results of the community diagnosis. During the workshop, attention was drawn to the specific characteristics of the municipality. The importance of such phenomena was emphasised: increased migration from the city, the treatment of Górno as a residential area for Kielce, the history and traditions of the region. This led to the issue with land governance, environment pollution and lack of social cohesion between so-called new and old inhabitants. The most important active citizens were identified, including: senior citizens’ clubs, the municipal youth council, individual leaders and activists. The second part of the meeting was devoted to a discussion of the project’s activities. The team focused on trying to link activities to the idea of sustainable development and the real needs of the local community. A preliminary plan of activities was prepared, including the division of roles and responsibilities. Ideas for involving the local community in the theme of green development of the municipality were modified. The team will focus its future actions on preparing a community event combining the themes of environmental protection and development in the municipality of Górno. The prepared activities will focus on the community capacity building and involvement of local inhabitants.

Elbląg

The meeting started with an introduction to the concept of sustainable development. The speaker presented the main features of this concept and examples of local projects developed in accordance with it. We then held a discussion on the possibilities of implementing the ideas presented earlier in Elbląg. We tried to make the most of the knowledge and experience of the activists and other participants of the meeting. Taking advantage of the fact that during the last meetings the group had developed a fairly advanced outline of the activity (the arrangement of the square), we moved on to clarifying it. We focused on refining the project’s objectives for maximum inclusion of all participants and the entire local community. A proposal was made to organise an accompanying event to the activity in cooperation with a local organisation. We then developed and discussed 1) an initial project plan; 2) the roles and responsibilities of each participant; 3) an outline concept for the promotion of the event; 4) opportunities for expert support in the implementation of the project (i.e. spatial planning).

Wiązowna

The meeting started with a presentation on climate change and a presentation of good practices on ecology and green transformation at local level. Then the participants of the meeting – young people from the youth voluntary association and senior citizens worked on ideas for solutions that could be implemented in the municipality of Wiązowna. Above all, they focused on planning a series of workshops on environmental issues, such as natural cosmetics and hygiene products, the use of herbs in home remedies and prevention, recycling and reusing and repairing everyday household equipment to prevent littering. The young people proposed recording the workshops and disseminating them on the Internet on the CUS and municipal websites.

Starachowice

The meeting was well attended by young people from two primary schools and the town’s youth council, as well as senior citizens from the senior citizens’ club. First, a presentation on climate change and climate challenges was given and good practices for environmental projects on a local scale were presented. The participants then discussed in subgroups and generated ideas for small projects that could be implemented in their town. The ideas revolved around a social campaign with an environmental theme reaching out to young people. An element of the campaign could be a competition for an environmental fairy tale to be published and made available in local kindergartens and schools. Young people will also be involved in recording campaign events and sharing them on social media.  A civic budget for ecological projects has also been set up in the city and some solutions for schools could be financed within this budget as well, such as better segregation of rubbish, starting drinking water sources for pupils to prevent the use of disposable plastic bottles.

Italy

Two workshops in Cosenza Panebianco took place. During the first workshops in Cosenza Panebianco such topics were discussed:

• Community development
• Facilitation of participatory processes
• Adoption of meteorological methods and tools necessary to guarantee and stimulate the participation of everyone.
• How to facilitate and develop the Cosenza Panebianco community by responding to the needs that emerged within previous events.
• Punctual and precise scheduling of in-depth meetings regarding community development and particular attention and willingness to address all issues related to the ecological transition and green issues.
• Selection of themes for the creation of a digital manual of good community practices.

During the second workshop in Cosenza Panebianco, the group discussed a possible exploratory questionnaire in order to investigate the issues to be addressed during the creation of the digital manual whose implementation emerged in the previous meetings. Also digital facilitation and green issues, such as rubbish, public greenery and urban decoration were discussed. In this meeting, a first contact was proposed with the municipality of Rende and the municipality of Castrolibero, neighbouring the community.

Croatia

Krk

The workshop on Krk considered renewable energy sources and how they could be implemented in practice. The principal point made by the members of the focus group was that there is quite a difference between the state regulations and laws and how this looks “on paper”, and how these regulations and laws work in practice. As such, whilst the implementation and definition of renewable energy sources is written into the law, and regulatory bodies, and is done so in an adequate way, how these regulations and laws are translated into practice represents a considerable challenge. Participants of the workshop said that there was an absence of logic in terms of how this works, where it is extremely difficult to actually implement renewable energy sources. The regulatory infrastructure that stands beyond the law is absent and/or extremely confusing. The point participants of the workshop made here was that there is a regulatory “gap” here that needs to be worked on addressed. Participants said that sorting this out was absolutely essential in terms of what future steps they thought needed to be taken. They say that NGOs are in regular communication with the relevant Ministries in order to install/implement solar panels. It is proposed that there will be three presentations offered to the public about the importance of renewable energy.

Opatija

There were two workshops in Opatija. The main question of the first workshop that was discussed concerned how children, their parents and wider families respond to and work on environmentally sustainable projects and issues. Participants said that parents/wider families showed an interest in these areas and wanted to participate in “green activities”. They said that people had an awareness about sustainable ecological practices. They also said that these problems were not being adequately addressed. One example they gave was that of waste collection, where people pointed out that the communal services were not collecting waste that was intended for recycling separately. Participants felt that problems surrounding the adequate recycling of waste needs to be more closely addressed. They also said that they regularly invite children and their families to participate in activities to raise awareness about the correct way of waste collection/recycling. There is a plan to organise two events regarding this issue.

The second workshop concentrated on the question of urbanisation in Opatija and how this could be developed in a sustainable way. This is an issue that is important to the Red Cross offices in Opatija because many of their users have issues with this. Since many of them are elderly, they find it difficult to navigate footpaths/staircases which have been unthinkingly altered in building works. This makes it harder for the people working in the Red Cross to do their work. One of the problems that they saw in terms of how to resolve is that people take a highly localised focus. They suggested that one of the causes for this highly localised focus was that people feel disempowered when thinking about how to make changes at a broader level. An example they gave of this was the way in which the County of Primorsko Goranska supports “capital projects” and gives permission for them almost automatically. The issue that participants of the workshop took with this is that they felt that urbanisation projects and plans turned on the interest of profit making rather than other considerations, such as ecological questions the way these projects might affect the local environment. Many people in Opatija do not know that the County authorities are responsible for this, and not the Municipality of Opatija. In terms of proposed future activities, a campaign is planned that will raise awareness about the importance of this, and also to animate the local community into becoming active in public decisions and public decision-making.

Greece

Karditsa

The workshop focused on the green sustainable visions for the area of Karditsa. With 15 participants in the workshop, key discussions revolved around crucial aspects. Firstly, participants were tasked with defining green issues relevant to our local communities, each explaining its significance. Following this, all attendees were invited to propose educational ideas, content, resources, and methods to illuminate local communities about these identified green issues. Moreover, the workshop participants tried to understand and validate the needs and capabilities of local communities for a green transition, with participants providing examples and suggesting various exploration methods such as focus groups, surveys, workshops, and games. Lastly, the focus extended to strategies for encouraging public participation, with participants contributing principles and techniques for citizen mobilization, crucial elements to be integrated into the overall training plan.

Group Scenario Interviews

Poland

Interview with two experts from Sustainable Development Laboratory, a non-governmental organisation from Torun (Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship, Poland) supporting local governments and societies in developing local policies and making decisions based on participatory processes. The discussion was based on a scenario consulted with project participants. The experts talked about 1) effective methods of researching the needs and capacities of local communities in the field of green transformation; 2) ways of identifying inclusive and attractive ideas for project activities; 3) effective methods of conducting environmental education, especially in small, disfavoured communities; 4) techniques for mobilising and activating communities in the context of project objectives.

For the third expert from CoopTech, it was crucial to find solutions for green transformation in local communities that are bottom-up in nature, so that residents identify with it. Residents must speak their language. If we create the right conditions, good, tailor-made ideas will emerge. Technology and the solutions it provides can help here. However, it is important to remember that the key to success is community, community thinking, and this is something that takes years to develop. That is why in some places it succeeds and, in some places, it takes time. It depends on the degree of development of the community.

Italy

In the conducted interviews with the presidents of local associations, we delved into discussions about effective strategies for fostering community development processes. The focus was on incorporating green and eco-sustainable tools into these processes. A key finding was the imperative to position the community and its residents as the primary protagonists, engaging them actively rather than merely involving them.

The identified tools for achieving this active participation include well-established techniques such as the host and the world café with fishbowl, which have already proven successful in the project’s initial stages. These methods aim to empower the community and facilitate meaningful contributions from its members.

Furthermore, in addressing environmental concerns, it was suggested to minimise the use of paper and plastic during events. Instead, the emphasis should be on adopting more eco-sustainable practices and utilizing digital equipment. Additionally, optimising energy consumption by scheduling events during times of lower energy demand was recommended.

The interviews underscored the importance of community empowerment, emphasising a collaborative approach that integrates eco-friendly practices to ensure a sustainable and environmentally conscious development process.

 Croatia

In the first interview we discussed the role of the city’s green policies on the local population. The interlocuter said that green policies are in their infancy, and appear to be done mainly to acquire political points (i.e. just before an election or similar). There are, they say, individuals working in the city apparatus who are very enthusiastic and want to make a change, but it is difficult for them because they are a small number. As a result, they are not able to influence city policy in the way they would like. One point that they made was that often things that the city does, which look like they are actively promoting the Green Vision, are quite superficial. For instance, in terms of waste management and recycling, whilst the city has funds from EU sources (to raise current standards to EU standards), the actual activities that are carried out are neither motivating or far-reaching in their effect. This is an issue because it serves to further de-motivate, what is an already very demotivated local population. An example they gave here was of the stories that are shared amongst people in the city about how the lorries that come to pick up waste from the recycling points around the city, put all the waste (which has been sorted/separated) into the same container. As they said, many people see this as a good reason to not recycle. They suggested in the end that a good solution would be for local citizens to become more involved in decision making about the city’s green policies. But this has to be done in a way that the local population feel they are really making a difference, where it is not just “lip-service” being paid to the Green vision.

In the second interview we discussed the question of how sustainable and locally grown food could be brought into Rijeka, to be consumed at institutions, such as the University, schools and hospitals. The interviewee said that whilst there was a will and interest for locally grown food to be served in these institutions, actually working out how to implement this in practice is a major issue. One of the reasons they said this was the case was that decision making in these institutions takes a very long time and involves many different figures in them. This is a problem because although they are very centralised, in that they are one institution, the departments within these institutions are quite fragmented, which greatly affects decision making processes. The interviewee spoke about their collaboration with the Town Council of Cres in their capacity of Executive Director of the Centre for Advanced Studies – South East Europe, and said that this collaboration offers a potential model for good practice. They said that whilst the town of Cres is smaller, which enables decision making to be easier, the relation is a collaborative one, where the local community is closely involved. In this sense, and with regards to local food production/consumption, this means that ideas and visions can be implemented much more effectively. The interviewee said that whilst here they were talking about food, in their work they saw the same issues repeating themselves very frequently in many similar areas related to the implementation of green policies. They suggested that a potential way forward was to focus on issues that aimed to take small steps, rather than trying to resolve the entire “system” all at once. As well, they saw that using models and examples of good practice, both from within Croatia and beyond, was a potentially good approach to take.

Greece

In the perspective of the first interviewee, envisioning a green future for the community involves fostering an educated society where citizens actively engage in decision-making. This vision extends beyond her local community to society as a whole. The shift towards sustainability, particularly in areas like agriculture in her region, can be achieved through small changes in daily practices. These changes promote eco-friendly behaviours, offer sustainable solutions, and contribute to building a more resilient society in the face of environmental challenges. Initiating energy autonomy in small communities using renewable sources, adopting biofuels from crop residues, implementing agroforestry in large monocultures, and applying nature-based solutions for river delineation in plains would progressively enhance residents’ way and quality of life. The underlying principle remains the overall benefits these changes bring to everyone through transparent and democratic processes. The primary challenge, in her view, lies in organizing the community effectively under a shared goal. This collective effort is crucial for achieving the vision. It’s essential for people to understand their involvement and the potential gains from the entire process. Considering the past floods in September 2020 and 2023, which significantly affected her area, the reconstruction should leverage EU and state funding opportunities to enhance resilience and protect against similar disasters. This approach strengthens the relationship between those directly and indirectly involved, civil society, and authorities, all working towards a common vision.

The second respondent envisions a community where members consciously adopt attitudes and behaviours that contribute to a sustainable and environmentally friendly environment in every aspect of their lives. This involves a heightened awareness of their role within the local and broader environment, fostering empathy in relationships with fellow community members, and understanding the challenges that need collective solutions. He foresees an ongoing process of educating community members on social and environmental issues. The existing situation presents challenges, primarily in understanding the complex social and environmental realities comprehensively. Recognizing the starting point and understanding individual, team, or organizational capabilities pose challenges. Improving the skills of individuals and organizations is also an ongoing challenge. However, there are opportunities within citizen movements and their developed dynamics. These movements create conditions for raising awareness, providing information, and involving more people in environmental and social issues. Digital networking technology facilitates large networks to disseminate ideas and concerns. Furthermore, the current status of community members participating in decision-making centers provides an opportunity for small steps towards a greener future. The EU guidelines and the broader discourse on environmental protection and sustainability can positively influence progress in the desired direction.

Local Workshops

Poland

Two meetings took place: in The Office of the President of The Republic of Poland and in the Wola Cultural Centre.

The Office of The President of the republic of Poland

The workshop took place at the meeting of the National Development Board. The meeting was dedicated to the CO-Green project, which is being implemented in Poland by 4 Centres for Social Services (Górno, Elbląg, Starachowice, Wiązowna). The project team presented the project and its so far result. Also the representatives of Starachowice and Wiązowna presented their experience in working on green issues in local communities. The discussion took place on the possibilities to scale the Co-Green methodology in other Centres for Social Services in Poland. The participants agreed that green issues should be on the agenda of the Centres, starting from real life actions, even small ones, which will translate big challenges into small scale. At the next national meeting of the Centres for Social Services there will be a session devoted to the Co-Green project in terms of methodology dissemination.

Wola Cultural Center (Warsaw)

It was a meeting of a national network of cultural centers that specialise in introducing participatory forms of management and building relationships with the local community. The seminar was related to expanding the scope of activity of cultural centers to include the issues of climate change and ecology. The approach developed in the CO-Green project was presented. It was discussed how to use cultural tools (e.g. community art) to stimulate reflection in this area and how to engage residents, especially young people, in this type of activities. The seminar also included two-hour workshops on the artistic arrangement of social debate. Participants agreed that the CO-Green approach fits well into the Community Community Center model.

 Italy

Cosenza Panebianco

The group of those present decided to explore two of the 6 themes that emerged during the Open Space Technology: the construction of a digital manual shared in virtual mode within the community and the redevelopment of Largo Luigi De Matera square as a social meeting space. Importance of the presence of a space within the neighbourhood to which one can feel one belongs and through which one can be responsible for taking care of it to facilitate well-being in the neighbourhood. Using digital tools in order to reach the majority of the community.

Cavalese

The workshop has a form of a social lunch at the Cavalese pagoda, plastic free and with the use of rentable tableware from the association – Ecosisters. The participants discussed on the training event, at Gazolini (Valle di Fiemme). The lunch, through the help of thematic books, led to shared reflection on the themes of the environment and the home.

The second meeting was organised in the form of a walk in the company of forestry doctor Ilaria Zorzi, who explained the properties of the local flora and the problem of the bark beetle parasite, which is changing the shape of the forest. At the end, there was a collective sharing to reconstruct the territorial and climatic changes observed over the last few years.

Magione

Declined on the shores of our Lake Trasimeno, the Clean Beaches and Seabeds campaign wants pay attention to the issue of pollution of our waterways due above all to bad management of waste on land and its dispersion on the shores of the lake. The activity takes place nearby of the summer so as to be able to send a message of greater care and protection of water basins above all in view of the opening of the summer and tourist season. Legambiente Umbria, through its citizen science campaigns, aims to achieve different objectives. If on the one hand the main theme is the fight against climate change, the safeguarding and protecting the territory, on the other the association thanks to the work of its clubs and local volunteers intends to raise awareness and actively involve citizens. Thanks to the project and the co-green approach, our campaigns become the driving force of one participation that wants to go even further by networking all the stakeholders in the area to start a community path that is on the one hand resilient and on the other responsive to needs of the territory and the people who live there. Among the longest-running Legambiente campaigns, Clean up the world combines the simplicity of an action such as that of the collection of abandoned waste to the power of the message it brings with it: “if the ants come to an agreement, they can move an elephant.” Also this year, our campaign goes beyond the simple cleaning of the territory with the slogan „for a world of peace” and dedicating some specific moments with the participants to understand the importance of combating AI climate change as a tool for fighting inequalities and conflicts. Thanks to environmental education activities and the co-planning of educational paths together with schools, Legambiente promotes sustainable lifestyles in schools with indoor EA activities and outdoors that put the new generations in close contact with the territory they live in, promoting their respect, protection and valorisation. There are many topics addressed: from environmental illegality to the circular economy, from the discovery of river and lake ecosystems to discovery of wildlife, from critical consumption to fashion through the protection of the soil, of biodiversity and ecosystems. The non-formal approach of the activities, combined with field trips and learning by doing, allow young participants to combine theoretical skills with practical experiences and to develop concrete solutions to the critical issues encountered starting from one mapping of strengths and weaknesses of their territory of which they are protagonists.

Croatia

Lisina

Those attending the workshop discussed the challenges they felt were present in developing sustainable ecological practices. They said that these challenges were the disinterest of decision-makers in green policies, their short-term focus and interests, and the absence of proper environmental studies being carried out. The participants determined priority areas to be improving the dialogue with decision-makers, forming a citizens’ assembly, public empowerment and localization, the organisation of activities regarding trees, children, and vulnerable groups of citizens since these are topics that the wider public are sensitive to. The meeting concluded with a discussion about the potential of the Green Network, where participants discussed what resources they felt were already available and what further work needs to be done. They said that there are people and organizations with different interests in the entire territory of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, which offers the foundation for a strong social network. Not only does the network have experts in it, but it is able to quickly respond to environmental threats and also work on and prepare long-term projects and activities. The network can also put pressure on decision-making authorities with regards to “green issues”, which it can do by engaging in continuous activities that raise citizens’ awareness.

Opatija

The main discussion during the first workshop was the relation between hiking paths, tourism and fostering an awareness in the local population about the importance of preserving the local environment. The main point that came from the workshop was the need to coordinate the different interested parties. Different agencies and groups should work in a coordinated way, in order to ensure the sustainable development of the region. By doing this, then all the interests (of humans/animals and plant life) can be accounted for. Whilst the members of the hiking association will continue their work to create hiking paths in the local area, particularly on the hills surrounding the mountain of Učka.

The attendees of the second workshop were all over the age of 60, so they have a specific perspective. In this local workshop, the main topic that was covered concerned the relation between local citizens and the Municipality of Opatija and how they saw a difference between past and present times. The question of how things might be improved in the future with regards to green issues was also addressed. Attendees spoke about how they considered the Municipality of Opatija to care less and take less interest in the state of the town than when compared to previous times. They said that they felt communication between local citizens and the town was very poor and needed to be improved. Due to their age, they would prefer these channels of communication to be via the post or on posters, and not via social media or the internet. They said that they felt there were not enough workshops/presentations and similar events “in person”, and that too much information was shared online. It is only with good channels of communication between the Municipality council and local citizens that “green issues” can be adequately addressed. Those attending the workshop also said that people were mainly motivated by profit in the present day and this was a problem with regards to thinking about solutions for green issues. They suggested that a path forwards in terms of the future was to raise citizen awareness and interest. They saw key areas to be urbanisation, upkeep of the town and waste management.

Ika

The main topic of the workshop was about what sustainable tourism actually is, and how it might be developed/encouraged in the County of Primorsko Goranska. One of the central points that was made during the workshop was that whilst in principle people were interested in developing sustainable tourism, very often their interests in profit-making were stronger. The example was given of how when someone sees the profitability of selling a property or land, they will sell this without any concern about the effect this might have on the environment. As well, and due to the need to develop accommodation for tourists, such as the construction of apartments, people in these local areas are interested in seeing how they can maximise their profits/income from making such investments. Since these are being developed out of more or less a pure interest for profit and economic gain, not much attention is paid to how they could be developed sustainably. As a result, the workshop attendees said that there was quite a difference between the narrative about sustainable tourism, and how this was actually being carried out in practice. They suggested that it was a topic that was for future research.

A further point that came out during the workshop was how people working at the faculty noted quite a stark intergenerational difference in terms of interests in sustainable tourism. Those attending the workshop said that whilst the younger generations/younger people were very interested in the Green Transition, they are mainly interested in working in those areas where they see personal benefit/gain (e.g. financial rewards). The conclusion was offered that it needs to be explored how and why there is this intergenerational difference.

Greece

The workshop featured a presentation highlighting the Co-Green project, emphasising the necessity of green activators, and stressing the importance of increased public participation in local communities for a successful green transition. During the workshop the main issues identified by the key stakeholders at the focus group were presented and a questionnaire focused on issues of Green Transition for Karditsa were distributed to all participants of the workshop. A total of 42 participants completed the questionnaire, expressing their community priorities in crucial issues of their community such as preventing non-green management outcomes (e.g., flood protection), promoting sustainable mobility, exploring alternative forms of energy, enhancing urban planning, Selecting the most efficient way for citizen engagement from various methods like public gatherings, interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, and local referendums. The participants expressed their opinion on the most efficient ways to encourage public participation  such as active and passive media, leveraging planned events for information campaigns, involving civil society, and their preference on best ways to promote volunteering activities such as tree planting and park cleaning.