On September 10th and 11th, 2024, partners gathered in Athens for a two-day Living Labs workshop, part of the Horizon Europe CARMINE project. Organized by ATHENA Research Center (WP1), the workshop welcomed representatives from seven Case Study Areas (CSAs) involved in the project. The ATHENA RC team, led by Professor Phoebe Koundouri, Principal Investigator and Scientific Leader, along with Dr. Ebun Akinsete, Alice Guittard, Dr. Lida Dimitriadou, and Voula Samara, hosted the event.
The workshop kicked off with a presentation on stakeholder engagement methodology by Dr. Ebun Akinsete. She introduced the Systems Innovation Approach (SIA), grounded in Systems Thinking, and discussed its application within the Living Labs (LLs). Dr. Akinsete elaborated on key elements of the process, including Stakeholder (SH) Identification, SH Mapping, and Shortlisting. She also outlined the three workshops that will guide the implementation of Living Labs in CARMINE:
Workshop 1: CC Challenge and Systems Mapping
Workshop 2: Sector-based CC Goals (Envisioning)
Workshop 3: Outline A&M Pathways
Each CSA then presented its local context, covering its primary challenges, stakeholder engagement efforts, prior work on Climate Challenge (CC), and Adaptation & Mitigation (A&M) solutions. Timelines for the implementation of their Living Labs were also discussed.
Alice Guittard led a session on Workshop 1 guidelines, followed by a mock workshop where all participants assumed the roles of facilitators or stakeholder personas, enabling them to practice the process.
On the second day, Manuel Urrutia presented the Geo-design Workshop (T1.4), which will be integrated into the three Living Lab workshops. Additionally, Dr. Ebun Akinsete introduced the Stakeholder Community Hub—a web platform designed to facilitate communication not only between CSAs but also among stakeholders. A timeline for the first workshop was provided, with all partners expected to complete it by mid-December 2024.
The event concluded with a hybrid project meeting chaired by Dr. Sorin Cheval, the project coordinator. Professor Phoebe Koundouri also addressed the consortium in hybrid mode, providing an overview of AE4RIA team and Athena RC, and highlighting the unit’s involvement in the CARMINE project.
This two-day workshop provided critical training and set the stage for the next phases of the CARMINE project.