Earlier this month, FARCLIMATE proudly took part in the Open Living Lab Days 2025 (OLLD25) in Andorra, the world’s largest annual gathering of Living Lab practitioners. From September 29 to October 3, our consortium joined researchers, policymakers, and innovators to share knowledge and co-create solutions for climate adaptation under this year’s theme: “Living Labs for Regenerative Futures.”
The event became a true milestone for FARCLIMATE, highlighting our collaborative approach to climate resilience and strengthening our ties with sister projects such as PRO-CLIMATE. By joining hundreds of international participants, we showcased how Living Labs can bridge science, communities, and policy to create practical and inclusive climate solutions.
An Interactive Workshop: From PRO to FAR
One of the highlights of Open Living Lab Days 2025 was the workshop “From PRO to FAR: Bridging futures of climate resilience through Living Labs” ,co-hosted by FARCLIMATE and PRO-CLIMATE.
The session guided participants in exploring how to establish and scale climate-resilient Living Labs. Drawing on real-life experiences from across Europe, attendees explored strategies to engage communities more effectively, design and test collaborative methodologies, and build sustainable and inclusive Living Lab ecosystems.
This workshop went beyond presentations. It became a space for interaction and reflection, where participants were encouraged to bring forward their own case studies and challenges. By connecting these diverse perspectives, the session demonstrated the unique capacity of Living Labs to function as hubs of innovation.
As many participants reflected afterwards, the workshop was more than a meeting. It was a powerful demonstration of what co-creation looks like when knowledge, innovation, and community come together to tackle climate adaptation.
Training Sessions for Case Studies
In addition to the workshop, FARCLIMATE facilitated training sessions for the 16 Living Lab case studies developed within the project. These case studies span across Europe and address the challenges of climate change in fisheries, agriculture, and forestry.
Over the course of a full day, partners and case study representatives worked through hands-on exercises, including stakeholder value mapping, SMART goals, and SWOT analysis. These activities, led by Laurea University of Applied Sciences, ENoLL, and the University of Vigo, provided structured tools to transform research into practical strategies for climate adaptation.
The sessions created a space for partners to present results, discuss challenges, and design roadmaps for the next phase of their Living Labs. The interactive format encouraged open dialogue, and participants highlighted the importance of peer-to-peer learning. As one participant shared, it was a valuable opportunity to exchange knowledge, test methodologies, and co-create approaches tailored to the realities of local communities.
By linking academic knowledge with grassroots innovation, the training sessions embodied FARCLIMATE’s mission to empower communities as central actors in the transition to climate resilience.
Strengthening Collaboration Across Europe
Throughout the week, FARCLIMATE partners — including Contactica, Universidade de Vigo, and FUNDAMAR — actively contributed to discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities. Contactica played a special role as leaders of Work Package 8, coordinating communication efforts and designing participant gift kits that reinforced the project’s visibility.
The participation of case study representatives, such as those from the Montagna Potentina Living Lab in Italy or the Nurmi Living Lab in Finland, enriched the exchanges by bringing local perspectives into the European dialogue. Their contributions illustrated how local realities can inform broader strategies for climate adaptation when properly integrated into a collaborative framework.
These exchanges also emphasized the importance of clustering activities with sister projects like PRO-CLIMATE. Joint efforts during Open Living Lab Days 2025 showed how synergies between EU-funded initiatives can multiply impact, ensuring that methodologies are shared, replicated, and scaled across different regions and sectors.
Looking Ahead
Our participation at Open Living Lab Days 2025 demonstrated the power of Living Labs to connect people, science, and policy. FARCLIMATE not only shared progress from its 16 case studies but also positioned itself as a driver of collaborative innovation in climate adaptation.
The event marked an important step in our journey to build a European network of climate-resilient communities. We return from Andorra with renewed energy, strengthened partnerships, and actionable strategies to scale Living Labs across fisheries, agriculture, and forestry.
At FARCLIMATE, we remain committed to transforming knowledge into practice and to co-creating resilient futures with communities across Europe. With each event, workshop, and training session, we take one step closer to building the sustainable, inclusive, and climate-ready Europe we envision.