Funded under the European Horizon 2020 program, the I-CHANGE project addresses the challenge of involving and promoting active participation of citizens on issues of climate change, sustainable development and environmental protection.
Climate change is one of the most serious threats we face, negatively affecting several dimensions of our existence, from health to disaster risks. One of the cornerstones of European initiatives to mitigate its impact, such as the European Green Deal, is the realization that citizen involvement is a key element in achieving real change toward environmental sustainability. The three-and-a-half-year (November 2021 /April 2025) I-CHANGE project is in this vein and aims, through a multidisciplinary and participatory approach, to strengthen citizen participation and awareness on these issues. To do so, it intends to carry out different activities, starting from environmental data collection through citizen science activities (e.g., with special apps), to educational and informational paths that allow understanding the impact of daily behaviors on the environment, to conducting living labs in some cities of the project partner countries (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bologna, Dublin, Genoa, Jerusalem, Ouagadougou). Data, tools and apps developed over the course of the project will converge in the I-CHANGE Envirnmental Impact Hub (EIH), which will return information to citizens; in addition, the EIH aims to inter-operate with major European data sharing and computational infrastructure initiatives, such asCopernicus, World Meteorological Organization and the Strategy for Data .
As part of I-CHANGE, CIMA Foundation is project coordinator and responsible for the citizen science initiatives that will be carried out in Genoa, in collaboration with ARPAL, the Liguria Region and the Metropolitan City of Genoa. Activities include the implementation of specific web portals and smartphone applications to enable the collection of meteorological data and the dissemination of surveys; the provision of personalized and localized information to citizens on possible environmental hazards and rules on how to deal with them through warning systems; and the creation of climate change adaptation plans to improve risk perception and the ability of institutions to transfer information in a clear, effective and credible way.
Educational kit “Zero Emission City”
One of the activities that the CIMA Research Foundation has developed is an educational kit for “Zero Emission City” schools in which teachers and students will be able to learn about the carbon footprint and the best behaviors to adopt to reduce carbon dioxide production, learning through a game.
The goal is to try to ‘save’ as many pounds of carbon dioxide as possible by carrying out actions in a city that would like to become carbon-neutral. Any action performed leads to the production of carbon dioxide, but with several steps, it is possible to ensure that the repetition of these actions can lead to less pollution production.
The more teams that enter a specific box, the closer the action gets to the goal of zero emissions. Enlivening the game are a few boxes on the board, Islands of Heat and Intense Breezes, which represent some dynamics not provided by the classic board turn.
Whoever manages to offset more carbon dioxide than the other teams wins.
If you want to try playing, click here to download Zero Emission City and start the game!
