Co-creating inclusive climate adaptation solutions: an interactive workshop on citizen engagement
27 June 11:15 - 13:00
Location: Sala Lucrecia Bori
The transformation of local realities towards climate resilience is a challenge that needs all hands on deck. Those communities that are most affected by increasing heat, flooding or other extreme weather events must have a seat on the table to make sure that their needs, knowledge and skills are considered and meaningfully integrated in the design and implementation of adaptation solutions. There is thus an increasing interest in processes of citizen engagement and co-creation for inclusive and just climate adaptation that fit the needs of local communities.
This interactive workshop will provide a space for exchange on challenges, tools and good practices promoting citizen engagement in the co-creation of adaptation solutions at the local level. Participants will be invited to engage in 5 different real-world case studies (based in Malmö, Dresden, Rome, Messinia and Utrecht), building on the insights of the projects Adaptation AGORA, UrbanReLeaf and ACCTING. Each case study will see the participation of and will be facilitated by a local expert from the case study. Participants will have the chance to delve into the diversity of tools, strategies and methodologies fostering inclusive participation and community engagement, addressing the specific needs and constraints of each case. A particular focus will be dedicated to challenges and solutions for the effective inclusion of vulnerable groups in the design and implementation of adaptation interventions.
This workshop is part of the Multilevel governance, cooperation and just transition: resilience leaves no one behind stream.
Speakers
Managing Director, Yellow Window (Belgium)
Alain Denis, Managing Director, Yellow Window
Alain Denis is partner and Managing Director at Yellow Window, a research and design consultancy based in Belgium. He is mainly involved in service and policy design and specialized in user and stakeholder involvement through participatory techniques. The focus of his recent involvement in research projects is on translating research results into operational solutions. This includes solutions to reduce inequalities that increased due to the Covid-19 policies (RESISTIRE), or developing evidence-based solutions to ensure Green Deal policies do not increase inequalities (ACCTING). He has been co-author of a toolkit on service design and a book on policy design.
Postdoctoral researcher at Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Spain)
Eulalia Baulenas, Postdoctoral researcher, Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Eulàlia is a postdoctoral researcher in the Knowledge transfer team of the Earth System Services Group of the Earth Science Department at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS). She is working along the research lines of participatory methodologies and knowledge coproduction for climate services, as well as citizen engagement for loca climate change adaptation. Her background is of a political scientist with a PhD in Environmental Policy by the University Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany, conducted at the Chair of Forest and Environmental Policy. Previously, she gained experience in the field of consultancy working on comparative studies for the European Commission after finalizing a master’s degree on research methods for the social sciences.
Currently, she is working on the EU-funded projects AGORA, IMPETUS4CHANGE and NextGEMS.
Researcher, Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Sam Pickard, Researcher, Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Sam has been a researcher/practitioner in the Earth Systems Services (ESS) Knowledge Integration Team (KIT) at BSC since 2022, and has a decade of climate-related research and advocacy experience in the international development sector. Most of his work lies at the interface of real-world decision-making and climate science, and aims to convene and collaborate with diverse practitioners, advocates, and researchers working on climate-informed interventions. In KIT, we help generate actionable climate information and try to better understand how science can be translated into useful and useable knowledge, the roles and power held by different climate services actors, and how these dynamics impact the identification of vulnerability and the realisation of climate justice. Current projects include urban climate vulnerability & adaptation (Impetus4Change), and citizen engagement and co-production for climate solutions (AGORA).
Local Experts
Urban Nature Policy Advisor, UTRECHT Municipality (The Netherlands)
Albin Hunia, Urban Nature Policy Advisor, UTRECHT Municipality
Albin Hunia is City Ecologist and Policy Advisor Urban Nature to the Municipality of Utrecht, The Netherlands. With a background in ecology (MSc), he started out in rural development, re-naturalisation- and Natura2000 planning projects. In the last 15 years the emphasis was on European cooperation projects, as an expert, as well as (Interreg) national contact point and committee member. Now Albin supports the ambitious greening goals of the City of Utrecht in the municipal team of ecologists, and within the EU city networks and transnational cooperation projects.
Director at the Climate Office, City of Rome (Italy)
Edoardo Zanchini, Director, Climate Office, City of Rome
Edoardo Zanchini is the director of the city of Rome's climate office. He has been national Vice President of the Italian environmental NGO Legambiente from 2011 to 2022. Architect, holds a master degree in Architecture, a PhD in urban planning at “La Sapienza” University of Rome, and he taught urban planning and urban ecology in Rome, Ferrara and Pescara University. He has been a member of the board of the environmental networks Transport and Environment, RGI (Renewables grid initiative), Worldwide Carbon Price, and of FREE (Association of Italian companies and organizations of renewables and energy efficiency, Rome), Cresme (Research center on economy of the building sector, Rome), and is member of several scientific committees.
Climate Adaptation Strategist, City of Malmö (Sweden)
Ludwig Sonesson, Climate Adaptation Strategist, City of Malmo
Ludwig Sonesson works as a Climate Adaptation Strategist for the City of Malmö focused on urban greening, nature-based solutions, heat risks and just adaptation. With a background in both adaptation and in futures studies, his mission is to anticipate the risks of the future and use nature to ensure that the most vulnerable are protected.
Project Research Officer, City of Malmö (Sweden)
Emanuel Toft, Project Research Officer, City of Malmo
Emanuel is an urban planner situated at the environment department in the city of Malmö, Sweden. He works with the subject of climate adaptation, making sure that no issues get left unattended in between the responsibilities of different departments. He’s allso worked on national lobbying for a higher degree of understanding of the local level in national policy. Emanuel with collegues develop Malmö’s local targets for adaptation where a special emphasis has been put on heat and rising sea levels the last couple years.
Health and Climate Officer, Public Health Department of the City of Dresden
Marit Gronwald, Health and Climate Officer, Public Health Department of the City of Dresden
Marit Gronwald is a health scientist (Master of Public Health) working for the Department of Public Health of the City of Dresden. She is responsible for the development of the Heat Health Action Plan and supervises projects in the field of climate adaptation and health. There is close cooperation with various disciplines in the fields of environment, urban development/planning, health and social affairs, culture and citizen participation.
The implementation of accessible and sustainable heat adaptation measures in the neighbourhood for the residents and the exchange with the stakeholders is a central concern of her work. Marit Gronwald was involved in the HeatResilientCity project (http://www.heatresilientcity.de/en/) and is the main author of the Heat-Manual. This is a book of recommendations for employees in the health, care, social, education and housing sectors (available in German only).
Co-founder of Dock - Social Solidarity Economy Zone, representing Messinia Region
Elena Tzamouranou, Co-founder of Dock - Social Solidarity Economy Zone, representing Messinia Region
Elena Tzamouranou specializes in Local Community Development, focusing on empowering communities in transforming their vulnerabilities into resilience. Her work emphasizes community-managed actions, incorporating participatory planning, action research, discourse ethics, and cross-sector collaborations. She is passionate about social justice, believing that even the smallest communities can become actors of change in a dynamic world.
Elena holds a Dipl. Ing. in Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics and an MA in Responsible Management. She co-founded Dock in 2017, a non-profit organization supporting Social Solidarity Economy entities in Greece. Additionally, she is a member of the DAISSy Research Group at Hellenic Open University.
Co-founder of social cooperative Nostos, Manganiako, Messinia Region
Panagiotis Giannakopoulos, Co-founder of social cooperative Nostos, Manganiako, Messinia Region
Panagiotis Giannakopoulos is a community expert participating in the ACCTING pilot project, as he lives and works in the region. During the last years, he has been intensively involved in showcasing the history and beauty of Manganiako, a semi-mountainous village in Messinia. His efforts focus on sustainable development and promoting the village's natural and cultural heritage.
Panagiotis works as an art conservator at the archaeological site of Ancient Messini and is a founding member of the social cooperative Nostos, established in 2020 and headquartered in Manganiako, Messinia Region.
Moderators
Junior Expert, Resilience and Climate Adaptation, ICLEI Europe
Erica Manuelli, Junior Expert, Resilience and Climate Adaptation, ICLEI Europe
Erica is a Junior Officer at ICLEI Europe. As part of the Resilience and Climate Adaptation team, she is currently involved in diverse European projects, supporting regions in their climate resilience-building process (Regions4Climate, Pathways2Resilience) and focusing on citizen engagement for adaptation solutions (AGORA). She holds a Bachelor in International Studies (University of Milan, Italy) and a MSc in Environmental Governance (University of Freiburg, Germany). Her mother tongue is Italian and she speaks fluent English and French, as well as good German and beginner Spanish.
Expert Justice Equity and Democracy, ICLEI Europe (Germany)
Benedetta Buccolini, Expert Justice Equity and Democracy, ICLEI Europe
Benedetta Buccolini is a Justice, Equity and Democracy Expert at ICLEI Europe. Her work focuses on an intersectional approach to inclusion, empowerment and engagement in sustainable development processes and actions. She is working on projects related to justice in energy transition, housing inequalities,cutlural heritage and urban greening plans. She is leading ICLEI Europe work on the Adaptation AGORA project, exploring citizens´role, barriers and opportunities in climate adaptation actions.
Expert Justice, Equity and Democracy, ICLEI Europe (Germany)
Jannis Niethammer, Expert Justice, Equity and Democracy, ICLEI Europe
Jannis Niethammer is an Expert in Justice, Equity and Democracy at ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability European Secretariat. His core professional objective is to integrate social justice concerns into sustainability transition processes across sectors and scales, with a focus on urban governance. In his role, he contributes to a range of EU funded projects, including Adaptation AGORA which focuses on citizen engagement for climate resilience and ACCTING which promotes behavioral change for a just and inclusive Green Deal. Jannis is an interdisciplinary social and sustainability scientist by training and holds a MSc degree in Environmental Governance from the University of Freiburg.