WHAT “GREEN” AND SUSTAINABLE VISIONS DO WE HAVE IN OUR TERRITORIES?

Workshops

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

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

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.

Other countries

The activities are part of WP 5 / Event 5 – Strengthening the connections”, which is being implemented also in the other CO-GREEN Countries. By clicking on the links below, you can access the concise reports of these other experiences:

Poland
Italy
Croatia