The EVA+ project held its first Co-creation Workshop in the Northern Region of Portugal on February 12, bringing together local stakeholders to develop collaborative solutions in green entrepreneurship and territorial innovation, with a special focus on the forestry and agroforestry sectors.
The event took place at the Center for Waste Valorization, at the University of Minho, Azurém Campus, in Guimarães, marking the start of the project’s participatory activities in Portugal.
The workshop included representatives from various entities in the Northern Region, including Aguiarfloresta, Lousada City Council, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), Pena Park Aventura, Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR NORTE), Natural Business Intelligence (NBI), and Laboratório da Paisagem. The session promoted exchange of experiences and alignment of perspectives across different areas of intervention.
The methodology was based on co-creation, allowing participants to identify challenges, explore opportunities, generate ideas, and design proposals to support the next phases of the project, including the implementation of Living Labs and the Transnational School for Green Business Creation and Rural Entrepreneurs.
These workshops are part of GT1 – Creation of a Transnational Network of Living Labs for Green Entrepreneurship, with the following objectives:
- Develop a diagnosis on sustainable entrepreneurship in SUDOE rural territories;
- Strengthen collaboration between local and transnational stakeholders;
- Create cooperation mechanisms to support local and regional policies.
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According to Rita Moreira, project coordinator at CEER Foundation: “The EVA+ co-creation workshops reflect the conviction that the best solutions arise from dialogue and collaboration among different actors, knowledge, and experiences, allowing for responses better adapted to the real challenges of rural territories.”
This first workshop will be replicated in February and March in the remaining project territories in Spain and France, reinforcing the transnational and collaborative dimension of EVA+.