Promoting climate change adaptation processes through transdisciplinary tools and approaches to engage society: this is the main goal of the AGORA (A Gathering place to cO-design and co-cReate Adaptation) project, funded under the H2020 program.
How does the project work?
Lasting three years (January 2023 to December 2026), AGORA (A Gathering place to cO-design and co-cReate Adaptation) is a project that aims to support the European Union’s Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change by contributing to the construction of a roadmap for climate change adaptation based on a transdisciplinary approach, promoting citizen and stakeholder participation and engagement in the co-design and co-creation of innovative solutions, in synergy with experts from different sectors, while promoting climate justice and gender equality, as well as increasing adaptive capacity and citizen empowerment to actively support decision-making processes.
Coordinated by the CMCC Foundation, the project aims to strengthen dialogue, collaboration and also the process of co-production of knowledge between citizens and the scientific community by creating an online space, called Digital Agora, that provides access to resources and tools for capacity building and assessment, enabling peer-to-peer networking, knowledge sharing, discussion and co-production of knowledge. The Digital Agora will be fed with content developed through engagement with stakeholders, citizens, and policymakers on topics related to the development of adaptation solutions, the role of governance, capacity building, and the role of misinformation: it will also contain two “Digital Academies” to support citizens and stakeholders in accessing open-source climate data and addressing climate change misinformation. AGORA also intends to interact directly with other international projects so as to create an active network of collaboration and engagement.
What are the expected results?
- Portfolio of initiatives, projects, platforms and solutions for local communities and stakeholder engagement to foster climate change adaptation
- Landscape of communities and regions joining the Mission or to be involved in the transformative journey towards climate resilience
- Cross-sectoral frameworks for co-evaluating existing and innovative best practices for climate adaptation engaging key
- Co-design and co-create innovative best practices for engaging key stakeholders
- AGORA ICT Tool (“Digital Agora”, including “Digital Academy to gather and analyse relevant data and monitor climate risks” and “Digital Academy against Climate Change Disinformation”)
- Mobile app to counteract disinformation on climate
- Climate Adaptation Citizen engagement digital handbook
What does CIMA Research Foundation do?
As part of the project, CIMA Research Foundation is involved in the dissemination of the results and objectives of AGORA, creating synergies with other EU projects dedicated to similar issues. In addition, CIMA will contribute to the review and updating of citizen engagement initiatives and the methodologies employed, elements that will underpin the implementation of Digital Agora. We are also directly involved in the implementation of the latter and one of the two Digital Academies planned within it – specifically, the one dedicated to climate data and risk monitoring. We will provide expertise and data from our studies on local vulnerability to climate change to organize four workshops designed to identify and reflect on limits to adaptive capacity in four pilot areas, aligning adaptation needs and priorities with the needs of local communities. Finally, we will collaborate on the participatory development of “soft ” (i.e., non-structural) adaptation measures through focus groups and workshops.