Living: Experiments

Experiment#1: Digital Academy

TITLE

New service provided for the community to support the digitalization and the social proudness of the territory

IMPROVEMENTS

PROBLEM: The Cilento Region educational system does not include training activities for new professions, including those competences needed to foster ecological transition and building resilient food systems.
BEFORE: Youth and children were not able to use digital tools to foster the sense of agency for the territory, including support for the tourist sector to reach youth targets.
AFTER: Ability to realize amatorial video making, basic usage of minecraft, usage of 3D printers, Coder Dojo abilities.
VERIFICATION: The participants of the Digital Academy delivered their final edited videos and were all declared able to acquire new digital skills as the certification they received confirmed

DESCRIPTION

We started from the question: “How can we take advantage of the digital tools to pass through values?” to launch the first Paideia digital academy courses between July and August 2022. Pollica and all the Cilento Region are in fact hit by high levels of depopulation and education dropout.
All the courses organized, such as adventure and videomaking, coding digital art, digital storytelling, 3D modeling and eco-design lab, blockchain, and crypto, have been designed to make young people reflect on the importance of the territory in which they live and on building narratives that pass on the cultural wealth that exists, inextricably linked to that of food. The Paideia Digital Academy is designed as a long-life learning aboratory where local people, and specifically kids, youths, and teenagers can be trained on digital tools - which are crucial in the view of new professions and new jobs - to improve accessibility and feasibility of local services and therefore counteract
depopulation and villages brain drain. In addition, the Academy trains youth on a new mindset and new skills to improve a sense of belonging.
As an example, children experienced first hand the history and magic of the Velia Archaeological Park, and then recreated it on Minecraft, to expand the touristic offer of the land; they enjoyed immersive experience in the Cilento’s natural heritage, landscapes and resources, through real hiking missions, encounters, and then transformed their emotions into powerful stories to be divulged, through images, videos, new technologies, words, narratives. This means that, despite being mainly youth the main target of the courses, the beneficiaries of the result is the community as a whole.
In just 2 months (July-August 2022) 40 children were involved; in the autumn and winter time (September 2022 - January 2023) additional 6-7 attended the Paideia Digital Academy courses recurrently for several months.
In this sense, although the result can be assessed as a medium degree of innovation, the potential degree of exploitation and the overall impact on the local community is very high.
The Paideia Digital Academy was born from the collaboration between the Future Food Institute and the Municipality of Pollica led by Sindac, Stefano Pisani, who this "Pollica 2050" not only really imagines it, but makes it. An Academy made unique, thanks to the support of all those partners (Infratel Italia, Trendevice, Campustore, Dot Academy, Farzati Tech Srl, Fondazione Italia Digitale, PA Social, IgersItalia, but also Maker Camp, the Archaeological Park of Velia and Cilentamente) who share the vision and have decided to support this mission by offering scholarships to the kids, bringing high skills to the classroom and providing the most advanced technologies so that the kids can be
exposed to the "best" and the "beautiful."
Half of the participants were female and took part in technical experiences and competences such as the STEMS that are traditionally associated with male expertise.

FULL TEXT

 Digital Academy experiments results.pdf

Experiment#2: Treasure Hunt

TITLE

Co-designing better natural resources and value of the Mediterranean diet by fun

IMPROVEMENTS

PROBLEM: Low level of awareness on the natural and cultural heritage from the Mediterranean Diet as a model of sustainable development which also reflect in low levels of social engagement and limited sense of local pride.
BEFORE: Limited awareness on the importance of natural resources and local beauties, including the state of water resources, biodiversity, and the cultural aspects behind the Mediterranean diet
AFTER: Increased engagement and active participation in the protection of the Mediterranean landscape.
VERIFICATION: The regeneration of a local vineyard which was forgotten and unknown before the experiment and now has become both a tourist destination and a place for local people to visit and experience.

DESCRIPTION

We started from the question “How can we communicate the heritage and values that surround the village to the local community and tourists while empowering them to take actions?” to concretely support the realization of the winning idea from the first community hackathon designed to find solutions to local problems: a treasure hunt aimed at getting young people to reflect on the importance of water resources, biodiversity, the value of the Mediterranean diet, and the role that the elderly have in  society.Pollica, just as the Cilento Region, highly suffers from depopulation, which in turn generates risks of land abandonment, fewer investments on local services, etc.
Local children, local adults and even tourists were actively involved in the result which reached its final stage in a vineyard on top of the mountain on which Pollica stands which was abandoned until a few years ago, while now grapes are growing again and it is now up to the whole community to contribute to take care of them.
Also in this case, the local community as a whole is the final beneficiary of this result, which reiterates the crucial role of social innovation in designing and achieving long-lasting ecosystemic services. Therefore, the final aim of this result was to strengthen community gathering, to listen to their needs and necessities, to build bridges between the local community and the local public authority, because only when individuals are considered, heard, included, and involved in the dynamic of the social fabric is it possible to directly exchange knowledge and skills, to co-create together, forming real educational communities united through mutual support and trust.
For this reason, also in this result the level of innovation is medium, but the potential for exploitation can be very high.

FULL TEXT

 Treasure Hunt experiments results.pdf

Experiment#3: Circe 

TITLE

Ci.r.c.e.: Cilento Resilient Conscious Empowerment

IMPROVEMENTS

PROBLEM: Female entrepreneurship in the Cilento region is fragmented.
BEFORE: Before the experiment, there have never been any events or meetings organized internally by the Cilento society to strengthen the existing bond between local women entrepreneurs, exchange best practices or ensure mutual aid.
AFTER: Pollica became a real space for sharing entrepreneurial experiences, challenges and opportunities and co-design collective efforts for local actions.
VERIFICATION: On the 8th December the Paideia Campus Living Lab welcomed a precious moment of conviviality to share stories of agricultural regeneration and innovation starting from the voices of the local female protagonists of the Mediterranean Community. This moment represented the beginning of a series of meetings organized independently by Cilento women entrepreneurs to strengthen their network.

DESCRIPTION

How to support women empowerment and entrepreneurship and create synergies locally?
This has been the question that led the realization of Ci.r.c.e.: Cilento Resilient Conscious Empowerment, a moment of conviviality to share stories of agricultural regeneration and innovation starting from the voices of the local female protagonists of the Mediterranean Community. The experiment started by involving the Cilento's protagonists who took part at the EWA- 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 program - asix-month project funded by EIT Food and supported by the Future Food Institute to empower, train, and connect female-led businesses and entrepreneurship in the agri-food system: Sarah Khoudja, Linda Montagna, Irene Cavalleri and Elisa Altomonte, the national winner.
We started with sharing their stories but thanks to the daily collaboration with the Municipality of Pollica, the Castello Principi Capano also gathered the voices of local community, to create the first space for sharing experiences, co-design local actions and overcome the current fragmentation affecting the female entrepreneurial landscape in the Cilento.
Although this experiment cannot be defined with high degree of technological innovation, the impact that it can generate and is already generating within the local community is very high, in terms of supporting the Cilento female force, creating synergies amongst local women’s regenerative entreprises and building the enabling environment to foster inclusive prosperity in support of the Mediterranean area.

FULL TEXT

Circe.pdf

Experiment#4: Trame Mediterranee - Blue Edition 

TITLE

New service provided for the community to support the digitalization and the social proudness of the territory

IMPROVEMENTS

PROBLEM: The state and health of the Mediterranean Sea has been drastically deteriorating.
BEFORE: Before our experiment, children and youth were not aware in detail of the complexity of the issues affecting the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the causes that generated them.
AFTER: Face-to-face encounters with Mediterranean experts and field experience, including through boat trips with the Mediterranean fishermen, enabled Mediterranean blue edition participants to understand the plurality of challenges that are affecting the Mediterranean Sea and how these factors are undermining the survival of small, sustainable local fisheries. This generated not only greater awareness but also awakened a sense of duty and action to defend the Mediterranean's natural and intangible heritage.
VERIFICATION: At the end of the experiment, each participant received a certificate attesting their training as Climate Shapers. The educational experiment also required youth to actively contribute to the preservation of the Mediterranean sea, and they all actively engaged their social community network to share what they discovered during the experience.

PROBLEM: The state and state of the Mediterranean Sea has been drastically deteriorating.
BEFORE: The small Mediterranean fishermen, affected by policies unable to protect their business and survival, felt abandoned, fueling a sense of helplessness and frustration.
AFTER: At the end of the experiment, the Mediterranean fishermen had the opportunity to share their challenges with the young people participating in the Trame Mediterranee blue edition training program, who also acted as spokespersons for their needs to local authorities.
VERIFICATION: The development of a manifesto for the creation of the first experimental marine area represents the tangible result that the demands of Mediterranean fishermen have reached the municipal administrations of the Cilento coast. In fact, 14 Cilento municipalities have come together and jointly signed this manifesto to defend small-scale Mediterranean fishermen, together with local environmental associations and with the support of the Campania region.

DESCRIPTION

The innovation action is the result of a one-week programme (Trame Mediterranee Blue Edition) held in July, which stemmed from the meeting between the Pollica LL and Cilento fishermen during the EU Agrifood Week held in May, which was created with the
aim of raising awareness of the immense value of the intangible heritage of the Mediterranean Diet.
The promising practice originates from the current issues affecting the Mediterranean seafood sector, heart of Mediterranean culture, cuisine, knowledge and tradition, which also is the core of a tangible and intangible Mediterranean heritage. Today this heritage
is in fact deeply threatened by policies incapable of enhancing Mediterranean marine diversity, by fishing quotas that prevent small fishermen from working, by the spread of intensive, illegal fishing practices, and by the cost and time of a bureaucracy that threatens to kill the oldest knowledge and sustainable techniques.
From this starting point the youth part of the Trame Mediterranee Blue edition program got in direct touch with local fishermen, marine researchers, academics, local entrepreneurs, and startuppers to directly support the drafting of a proposal for a law to establish and manage an Experimental Marine Area that is able to valorize the work of Mediterranean fishermen, defend local traditions, support regenerative fishing practices, preserve the unique Mediterranean biodiversity, and better foster dialogue between political dimensions.
The high degree of innovation comes from here: drafting a text where the interests of nature are perfectly balanced with individuals and communities, but also where all the municipalities of the Cilento seacoast region felt represented, despite their specificalities. This attempt - which was able to gather together 14 municipalities - has been prototyped for the first time this summer, in operational environment.

FULL TEXT

Trame Mare experiments results.pdf

Experiment#5: REGENERACTION - Integral Ecology Unconference

TITLE

Promote and support a holistic and integrated approach to sustainable development in line with the "Mediterranean Diet" way of life

IMPROVEMENTS

PROBLEM: low quality of life in an era when hectic lifestyles and environmental changes pose significant challenges to people's health and well-being.

BEFORE: low awareness of innovative solutions and ideas for integrating the "Mediterranean Diet" ecosystem and a sustainable lifestyle in the modern era, leveraging AI and technology, preserving cultural traditions and promoting conviviality

AFTER: Brought to light a number of concepts and practical solutions to improve quality of life and promote longevity. Through collaborative learning, apps for measuring longevity progress, social initiatives to enhance elderly human capital in rural areas.

VERIFICATION: produced significant results in the form of innovative ideas and concrete projects addressing the issue of quality of life and healthy longevity. The solutions that emerged during the event were evaluated as compelling and implementable.

DESCRIPTION

RegenerAction produced significant results in the form of innovative ideas and concrete projects addressing the issue of quality of life and healthy longevity. The solutions that emerged during the event were evaluated as compelling and implementable. The problem addressed was how to promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle in an age of hectic pace, environmental changes, and health challenges. The event sought to solve this problem by integrating the "Mediterranean Diet" ecosystem with the use of AI and technology, preserving cultural traditions and promoting conviviality. Participants in RegenerAction came from different parts of the world and represented a variety of stakeholders, including innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, academics, representatives of government institutions, youth, elders, and leading figures in the food and ecology sectors. the event involved a wide range of stakeholders, including youth, women, and elders, to a number of about 140 participants The beneficiaries of the results are people interested in improving their quality of life and promoting healthy longevity. The proposed solutions create value for them by providing tools for collaborative learning, measuring longevity progress, enhancing elderly human capital in rural areas, and promoting mindful eating. The solutions have a high degree of innovation as they seek to integrate cultural traditions with modern technologies and holistic approaches to longevity. The potential for exploitation is considerable, as many of the ideas can be developed into concrete projects and applied in various contexts. The impact of the solutions can be significant, as they aim to promote a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle, preserving cultural traditions and promoting conviviality. As for gendered innovation and responsible innovation practices, the event involved participants from different age groups and backgrounds, including young people, women and senior citizens.

FULL TEXT

WP5 - LL RegenerAction experiments results .docx.pdf

Experiment#6: Pollicalandia - summer camp

TITLE

New service provided for the community to support the digitalization and the social proudness of the territory.

IMPROVEMENTS

PROBLEM: The problem addressed by Pollicalandia is to provide children with a meaningful and educational opportunity during the summertime. This includes promoting local culture, raising awareness of ecology and sustainability, and providing a safe and fun environment for children during summer vacation.

BEFORE: children often find themselves without structured activities or meaningful learning opportunities. They may not be exposed to local culture or ecological issues and may lack opportunities to socialise with other children in a learning environment.

AFTER: Children can participate in a variety of activities that promote local culture, ecology, sustainability, health and wellness. They have the opportunity to explore, learn, and have fun in a controlled and instructive environment during summertime VERIFICATION: The participants were enthusiastic for participating in the activities and there has been positive feedback from parents

DESCRIPTION

The result of Pollicalandia is a compelling solution for addressing the need for educational and engaging summer programs for children. It provides a well-structured and diverse set of activities that can be executed effectively to offer children a meaningful and fun summer experience. The problem addressed by Pollicalandia is the lack of meaningful and educational activities for children during the summer break. Many children may have had limited access to structured programs that promote local culture, ecology, sustainability, and overall well-being. The context that triggered the introduction of Pollicalandia is the desire to offer children in the area an enriching and enjoyable summer program that addresses these gaps. Pollicalandia was born from the collaboration between the Future Food Institute, Cilentamente and the Municipality of Pollica The beneficiaries of Pollicalandia are primarily children and their families. Children benefit from a summer program that offers them educational, cultural, and recreational activities. Families benefit from having a safe and constructive environment for their children during the summer break, allowing them to balance work and family life. The solution creates value by enhancing children's knowledge and skills, fostering a sense of community, and promoting local culture and sustainability. The summer camp lasted 1 month (early July - early August 2023) according to the needs expressed by the families and there was a constant presence of 11 kids, (6 male &  5 female) and occasionally some other child participated for just one/two days.

FULL TEXT

WP5 - LL Pollicalandia.docx.pdf