On 20 November 2025, an Information and Participatory Co-Design Event was organized for the Asterousia Mountains Case Study Area at the Natural History Museum of Crete in Heraklion, Greece.
The event, led by HSPN, was designed as a capacity development activity at case study level, aiming to actively involve local and regional stakeholders in a shared reflection on the future of the Asterousia region.
The participatory co-design process combined World Café and Solutions Mapping methodologies to foster dialogue, exchange knowledge, and encourage collaboration among participants. Through a series of interactive group discussions, attendees shared views and experiences on key issues related to soil management, climate change adaptation, and the sustainable development of the Asterousia landscape.
The activity enabled participants to collaboratively identify the main challenges affecting the area, explore possible responses, and co-design proposed actions. This contributed to the development of a shared framework of priorities and a common vision for the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of the local landscape.
The event brought together 23 participants representing a broad range of stakeholder groups, including land management and restoration practitioners, policy and decision-makers, environmental and biodiversity conservation stakeholders, scientific and academic representatives, technology and solution providers, as well as members of the wider community and general public. Participation was mainly at local and regional level, ensuring strong relevance to the territorial context of the case study.
The session was supported by the contribution of representatives from HSPN and UoC/NHMC, including Alexandros Spyropoulos, Christos Xagoraris, Afroditi Kardamaki, Michail Probonas, and Kalliopi Baxevani.
To support communication and visibility, a range of promotional materials were made available during the event.
This participatory activity represented an important step in building a more inclusive and locally grounded approach to the Asterousia Mountains Case Study Area. By directly engaging stakeholders in dialogue and co-design, the event helped strengthen a shared understanding of local needs and opportunities, while laying the groundwork for future actions aimed at resilience, sustainability, and landscape restoration.
