On 29 April 2025 the ACCTING project held its Final Conference in Brussels, bringing together researchers, policymakers, civil society leaders and community voices for a day of rich discussions and shared learning. With just one month to go before the project’s conclusion, the event marked a key moment to reflect on ACCTING’s contribution to building a fair and inclusive European Green Deal.

A huge thank you to all speakers, pilot project representatives, poster presenters, and every attendee who contributed to the day’s meaningful conversations.

The recordings of the event are now available, watch them below!

Opening statements

Keynote speech: Tunç Soyer

Session 1: Research
Learning from the grassroots: Engaging with marginalised groups to co-create a just transition 

Session 2: Innovation
From innovation to impact: Leveraging commons for a just transition

Session 3: Action
Advancing behavioural change through partnerships and collaboration

Final conclusions: Sofia Strid

What’s next

Stay tuned as we continue sharing insights and outputs from the project. Make sure to register for our upcoming webinars!

Online Webinar

Women, Villages, Forests:
Local Struggle and Solidarity Experiences from Greece and Türkiye

Watch the recording!

This event, held in Turkish and Greek languages, shares the struggles and solidarity experiences led by women and local communities in rural areas and forest villages in Türkiye and Greece against the risks of forest fires. The event begins with the presentation of the policy recommendations titled “Valuing Indigenous and Local Knowledge in Disaster Management and Nature Protection” prepared within the scope of the ACCTING project. This is followed by the presentation of the toolkit “Reducing Forest Fire Risk for Local Communities,” developed by DOCK – Social Solidarity in the Economic Sector, an organization based in Greece, as part of a project supported by the ACCTING project. After the presentations, a panel discussion and short Q&A are held with the participation of all participants.

Participants

Ilias Anagnostopoulos, Manganiako Village Head, organic farmer – Greece 

Danae Athanassopoulou, President of the Cultural Association of Ancient Messene – Greece 

Sevil Duman, Izmir, Urla Birgi Village Head – Türkiye  

Panagiotis Giannakopoulos, Nostos and Villages in Action – Community Based Institute Founding member – Greece 

Şerife Güzel, Izmir Municipality Fire Department Forest Villages and Rural Areas Fire Intervention Unit Head – Türkiye  

Nejla Işık, Muğla Ikizköy Village Head, farmer – Türkiye  

Dimitra Papaioannidou, Ecomuseum Zagori – Greece  

Pervin Savran, Head of the Sarıkeçililer Life and Solidarity Association, shepherd – Türkiye  

Elena Tzamouranou, DOCK and Villages in Action – Community Based Institute Founding Member – Greece 

Moderator

Esin Düzel, Researcher, Sabancı University, EarthSky Solidarity Association Member  
 

Concluding Notes 

Ayşe Gül Altınay, Researcher, EarthSky Solidarity Association Chair 

Online Webinar

More Inclusive Sustainability Policies

22 May, 11.00 – 12.00 CET

ACCTING’s research on climate-related topics – ranging from sustainable food and biodiversity to sustainable mobility and energy communities – identified in its Research Agendas a number of key knowledge gaps and research questions which will be promoted to researchers and research funding organisations.

This webinar is part of a series of three webinars that will highlight the project’s future research agendas. Click here to discover the other two webinars!

This webinar will discuss how future research can actively shape sustainability policies and support Green Deal objectives. More concretely, the focus lies on knowledge gaps related to sustainability policies and institutional frameworks, i.e., unanswered questions with regard to the (co-)design of policies, the decision-making processes in policymaking, and ensuring the inclusiveness of policy frameworks. To frame this discussion, the webinar focuses on the following area:

Inclusive and sustainable mobility, focusing on topics in need of further research like the institutional, cultural and political factors that shape the uptake of intersectional approaches in mobility policies and make local authorities either adopt or avoid co-design approaches while designing policies.

An external speaker (see below) will offer their reaction to this research agenda, and share their expert insights. The session is particularly relevant for researchers, civil society actors, and research funding organisations interested in shaping inclusive environmental policies.

Speakers from the ACCTING project

• Dag Balkmar is Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies at Örebro University, Sweden. His current research focuses on transport poverty, mobility justice and sustainable mobility from a gender+/ intersectional perspective.
• Francesca Pugliese is a researcher at Knowledge & Innovation in Rome, currently working on the Horizon 2020 ACCTING project. She has worked on various European-funded projects exploring social inequalities through a gender+ lens.

External speaker

Hélène Bouscasse is a research fellow at INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment), where she specialises in spatial and transport economics. Her work focuses on individual behavioural modelling related to residential location, mobility, and health, drawing on interdisciplinary collaborations across social sciences, life sciences, and climate research.

Online Webinar

Research Supporting Social Impact – Sustainability through Innovation 

Watch the recording!

ACCTING’s research on climate-related topics – ranging from sustainable food and biodiversity to sustainable mobility and energy communities – identified in its Research Agendas a number of key knowledge gaps and research questions. This webinar is part of a series of three webinars highlighting the project’s future research agendas. Click here to discover the other two webinars!

This webinar explores how research can support innovation and social impact for environmental sustainability. It highlights pertinent knowledge gaps and research questions in this regard, with particular focus Inclusive and sustainable food systems, focusing on topics in need of further research like the role of bottom-up initiatives in facilitating sustainable food systems, i.e., how they can effect behavioural change with regard to consuming sustainable food and what factors enable/constrain their efforts.

An external speaker (see below) will offer their reaction to the research agenda on inclusive and sustainable food systems, and share their expert insights. The session is particularly relevant for researchers, civil society actors, and research funding organisations interested in shaping inclusive environmental policies. 

External speaker

Dimitra Papaioannidou

Dimitra Papaioannidou is an MSc environmental scientist, a graduate of the University of the Aegean, with postgraduate studies in “Environment and Development” at NTUA. Her work focuses on environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and regenerative development. She has been active in environmental organizations, engaging in environmental education, communication and awareness-raising. She has also explored regenerative lifestyles through permaculture projects addressing biodiversity loss and land use change. Currently, she is Project Manager at Ecomuseum Zagori, where she promotes ecotourism and sustainability through educational programs, cultural trails, field research and community-based heritage conservation, supporting innovative approaches to social and environmental impact. 

Online Webinar

Advancing Social Science Research

for a Just Green Transition

Watch the replay!

ACCTING’s research on climate-related topics – ranging from sustainable food and biodiversity to sustainable mobility and energy communities – identified in its Research Agendas a number of key knowledge gaps and research questions. This webinar is part of a series of three webinars highlighting the project’s future research agendas. Click here to discover the other two webinars!

ACCTING emphasises the need for future research on social inequalities, inclusion and intersectionality, as well as how these relate to environmental sustainability. This webinar highlights pertinent knowledge gaps and research questions in this regard, focusing in particular on two areas:

• Inclusive energy communities, focusing on topics in need of further research like specific barriers to participation and factors that drive behavioural change.

• Sustainable food systems, focusing on topics in need of further research like the factors enabling inclusivity in sustainable food movements.

Two external speakers offer their reaction to these research agendas and share their expert insights. The session is particularly relevant for researchers, civil society actors, and research funding organisations interested in shaping inclusive environmental policies.

Speakers

Rosie Day, Researcher at the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham

Cecília Delgado, Researcher, Co-founder and President of Alimentar Cidades Sustentáveis

Online Webinar

Transformative Resistance: Engaging marginalised groups for a just green transition

Watch the recording now!

How can resistance become a catalyst for inclusive climate action?  

This ACCTING webinar explores how marginalised groups can act as key agents of transformation, driving equitable climate transitions through everyday practices of resilience, resistance and innovation. Moving beyond top-down policy approaches, we examine how acts of resistance, whether quiet or collective, hold critical insights for just and sustainable change. 

Drawing from ACCTING research and real-world examples from Turkey, Hungary and Italy, the session highlights how grassroots mobilisation and community-led action challenge structural inequalities, redefine power relations and offer valuable lessons for inclusive policymaking.

Read the factsheet on Transformative Resistance

What to expect

• A conversation on the concept of resistance as a force for environmental justice and systemic change
• Examples of how marginalised communities have resisted exclusion and led transformation efforts
• Insights into how policymakers can recognise and work with these forms of resistance to develop more inclusive, equitable strategies for the green transition

This session is particularly relevant for:
Policymakers, civil society organisations, grassroots movements, environmental justice advocates and researchers working on inclusive climate strategies.

Speakers

• Dr Ana Maria Vargas Falla
• Dr Hikmet Batuhan Günşen 

Online Webinar

Wellbeing as a driver for sustainable behavioural change

Watch the replay now!

How can wellbeing inspire individuals and communities to adopt sustainable lifestyles? Drawing from ACCTING research, this webinar covers how initiatives like urban gardening, active transportation and access to sustainable food foster both environmental responsibility and social equity. We hear from Mamagea, an environmental organisation based in Thessaloniki, Greece, dedicated to building greener, more participatory cities. Through their Food4Schools project, they work to bring healthy and sustainable food into schools, encouraging young people and communities to shape their food environments. Case studies from community-led projects in Prague and London are shared, highlighting how wellbeing-centered approaches can lead to long-lasting behavioural change.

Read the factsheet Wellbeing as a trigger for behavioural change

Contents

• A discussion on how placing wellbeing at the centre of local initiatives can support environmental and social goals from healthier diets to more connected neighbourhoods. 

• Insights from Mamagea, an environmental organisation in Thessaloniki, on how their Food4Schools initiative promotes sustainable food environments through participatory processes in local schools. 

• Highlights from ACCTING’s research and factsheets, including inspiring case studies from Prague and London that demonstrate how wellbeing-led approaches can foster long-term behavioural shifts. 

This session is particularly relevant for civil society actors, educators, environmental advocates, urban policy stakeholders and anyone interested in the intersection between wellbeing, sustainability and social equity. 

Speakers

• Elina Moraitopoulou, Scientific Coordinator, Mamagea

Elina is an interdisciplinary researcher and educator dedicated to socio-ecologically just futures of and through education. With a background in biology, she holds an MSc in Education and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology. Her work bridges participatory research and critical pedagogies, aiming to foster social and environmental transformation. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester and serves as the Scientific Coordinator for Mamagea Environmental Organization in Thessaloniki, Greece. You can reach out to her on LinkedIn.

• Prof. Dilay Celebi Gonidis, Senior researcher at the South East European Research Centre (SEERC) and ACCTING researcher  

Online Webinar

Collaborative governance for just urban transitions:

How to build public-civil society partnerships?

Watch the replay now!

A Conversation on collaboration between local governments and bottom-up initiatives, with Sophia Silverton and Nikos Zaharis.

Around Europe, community-led initiatives are driving inclusive and sustainable change in line with local priorities. Yet community-led initiatives, like their local government counterparts, often lack the capacities to tackle complex sustainability problems alone.

In this webinar we explore how strategic partnerships between public institutions and civil society organizations (CSOs) can bridge these gaps. Drawing on insights from the ACCTING project, we discuss how to create collaborative, equitable, and sustainable governance models that support climate action and social justice at the local level.

The webinar features insights by Nikos Zaharis (SEERC) from the ACCTING consortium, and Sophia Silverton (ICLEI), talking about her experiences on the topic through the Urban Community and COM4LGD projects.

Addressing Knowledge Gaps for a More Inclusive Green Deal is a series of three webinars that will highlight ACCTING’s agendas for future research. The project’s research on climate-related topics – ranging from sustainable food and biodiversity to sustainable mobility and energy communities – identified in its Research Agendas a number of key knowledge gaps and research questions which will be promoted to researchers and research funding organisations. In this way, the project can inspire the direction of future research and contribute to the realisation of more inclusive Green Deal policies. 

Advancing Social Science Research for a Just Green Transition

Research Supporting Social Impact – Sustainability through Innovation

 

More Inclusive Sustainability Policies

22 May, 11:00 – 12:30 CET

Online Webinar

Towards safer mobility:

addressing violence in public transportation

Watch the replay now!

How can public transportation become safer and more inclusive for everyone, particularly for women and marginalised communities? What are the most effective strategies to address gender-based violence in mobility systems?

Safe public transport is key to an inclusive green transition. Yet, violence remains widespread, disproportionately affecting women, vulnerable groups, and transport staff.

In this webinar we discuss concrete measures to enhance public transport safety for both workers and passengers, with insights and recommendations stemming from the new ACCTING Factsheet “Towards Safer Mobility: A holistic approach to tackling violence in public transportation”.

What to expect

• A discussion on how violence in public transport disproportionately affects women, transport workers and marginalised communities and why addressing these challenges is crucial. 

• Insights into the UniSAFE 7P Model, focusing on prevention, protection and partnerships to tackle gender-based violence in mobility systems. 

• Better Stories from across Europe showcasing successful initiatives that have improved public transport safety for workers and passengers alike.

This session is particularly relevant for policymakers, transport operators, urban planners, NGOs working on mobility and safety and anyone interested in the topic.  

Speakers

Sara Ortiz Escalante (Col·lectiu Punt 6)

Jan Politiek (Security Expert – UITP EU Departement)