Project CHAlleNGE – here’s how the second year went

by Eszter Matolcsi | Jan 27, 2025 | from our networks, Projects

2024 was the second year of the CHAlleNGE – Call to Action of New Ecological Generations for Agroecological Change project. The solid planning that took place in the previous year laid the foundation for the success of this year’s many activities. Let’s see which ones!

In the 7 regions involved in the project (Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio, Puglia, and Sicily) environmental educators and teachers previously trained on agroecology accompanied pupils in a Research-Action workshop, through classroom activities and a farm outing. Eighty junior and senior secondary schools participated, with a total number of more than 1,700 students involved, leading to the goal of broad dissemination of agroecology concepts among 10- to 18-year-olds. Some workshops are still ongoing and will be completed by the 2024-25 school year. Linked to the Research-Action has started the Social Challenge to share with the public the dissemination materials produced by the children during the workshops.

Girls and boys a few years older were also involved in the project: more than 700 students from the University of Cagliari’s Bachelor of Science in Communication attended a webinar on the 2030 Agenda and later made podcasts dedicated to sustainability.

Just as much attention was paid to adults in the project: it is never too late to educate about agroecology! Throughout 2024, the CHAlleNGE Itinerant Festival took place, with stops in different regions. It kicked off with a stop abroad, in Burkina Faso, where an interesting documentary was filmed on the six pillars of agroecology according to Azione Terrae: Land, Seeds, Women, Youth, Markets, Services. The same documentary was screened to the public in subsequent stops on the Italian territory.

To give more visibility to the CHAlleNGE project, the Italian stages were hosted by already established events in the various regions. In May, the 72 Hours of Biodiversity in Scandicci (FI) hosted the first Italian stage, and then followed in June with Naturalmente Locale in Cagliari, in August with the Green Night in Castiglione d’Otranto (LE), in October with the Sagra di Baggio (MI), and in November with the Mercatino di spazio 4.0 in Piacenza. Unlike the guest stages at initiatives with a long tradition behind them, an ex-novo event, Green Vibes, was created in Alatri (FR) to popularize agroecology in the province of Frosinone.

Other opportunities to field actions aimed at disseminating project issues were the Participatory Design Tables. Various actors such as farmers, consumers, institutions, and schools undertook a 5-6 meeting process to analyze local needs and resources, with the aim of arriving at the creation of a local project to be subsequently fielded. The Design Tables were accompanied by specially trained facilitators on the Local Agroecological Dynamization method. The results obtained were very diverse, each adapted to local conditions. A community oven in Siena, an event dedicated to agroecology in Frosinone, strengthening a farmers’ market in Milan, community composting in the province of Treviso, a treasure hunt to discover good agroecological practices in the province of Piacenza, a course on fire management in Palermo, and storytelling street food in the province of Lecce.

To further expand the dissemination of the project, the following was launched the Agroecological Transition Best Practice Mapping activity. Twenty-eight applications came in, of which 3 Italian and 4 foreign were selected. Among the Italian practices awarded is that of a WWOOF Italy host, Elisabetta Monti of Fattoria La Fonte in the province of Trentino.

The project will conclude by June 2025 with a final event in Milan. For more information and to keep informed about project activities you can follow CHAlleNGE at https://azioneterrae.com/progetto-challenge and on social media https://www.facebook.com/azioneterrae and https://www.instagram.com/azione_terrae.

The CHAlleNGE project is co-financed by theItalian Agency for Development Cooperation. WWOOF Italy is among the project partners along with Deafal, ACRA, Reattiva, Mani Tese, Open Impact, Terra Nuova, and Altraeconomia.