From May 6th to 8th, Georg Wiesinger, Somaye Latifi and Katrin Hofer took part at the second in-person progress meeting of the HORIZON+ SERIGO project in Maribor, Slovenia. This meeting gathering brought together over 30 academic and pilot partners, the latter attending a face-to-face meeting for the first time. The aim of the meeting was to get to better know all project partners, to foster closer collaboration and mutual understanding between theory and practice. Over the course of three intensive and inspiring days, participants shared the progress of SERIGO, exchanged ideas, and worked to align their efforts for the next phases of the project.
Day 1: Project Progress and Planning Ahead
The meeting opened with presentations from each Workpackage (WP), providing a clear and comprehensive overview of the SERIGO’s current status, key milestones achieved to date, and the plans for the upcoming phases. The BAB-Team presented the ICF and reviewing process of WP1.
Day 2: Workshop and Field Visit in Poljčane
The second day of the meeting was held in the municipality of Poljčane, where the project partner PRIZMA is supporting their pilot partners organization Živo Gnezdo focused on enhancing the social inclusion of vulnerable groups, in particular young people, unemployed, and older adults. Day 2 consisted of two sessions. The morning session focused on a hands-on workshop led by WP4 on pilot initiatives and the co-creation process, which generated valuable dialogue between the project's academic and practitioner partners.
In the afternoon, the initiative Živo Gnezdo invited the partners on a treasure hunt through their pilot region of Poljčane. The treasure hunt combines a scavenger hunt with showing the hidden treasures of the region and immaterial cultural heritage such as traditional lime distillery from local limestones. The day ended with a warm and memorable dinner generously hosted by local women farmers.
Day 3: CoP Webinar and Impact Measurement Workshop
The final day featured a hybrid Community of Practice (CoP) webinar titled "Measuring impact in rural social innovation: strategies and tools", moderated and organized by AEIDL. Seven speakers from different countries shared their experiences and methodologies for evaluating social impact, both online and in-person. The session prompted insightful discussions on best practices and challenges in this domain. In the afternoon, an interactive training workshop took place, focusing on impact measurement within SERIGO specifically in the implementation of the 5 pilots.
Participating in the SERIGO meeting was an opportunity to take a significant step forward in networking and strengthening the collaboration. The BAB team left Maribor with new insights, concrete examples from the field and strengthened partnerships.
For more information and the latest developments, please visit the official website of the project at https://www.serigo-project.eu/
