The issue of the resilience of the coastal cultural landscape of the Psiloritis Geopark was highlighted in four events between June 12-19 and July 20, 2026 through the presentation of the Horizon Europe research project, “RescueME”.
More specifically, on June 12, during the 6th Conference of the UNESCO Global Geoparks of Greece & Cyprus in Anogeia, the project’s last two workshops on the co-creation of local measures and resilience solutions were presented.
In the first of these, the "workshop of collaborative solutions for resilient communities" of December 4, 2025 in Aggeliana, a set of resilience measures that respond to the environmental, agricultural and socio-economic dynamics of the region was created together with local partners, in order to address immediate vulnerabilities or threats. The measures were further analyzed in a SWOT analysis by the project partners.
The conference also featured a presentation on the methodology of the most recent workshop, which took the form of a “Serious Game” and was held on 25 February 2026 in Anogia. This workshop was a simulation exercise aimed at developing, gathering and discussing measures to improve the resilience of the coastal cultural landscape of Psiloritis Geopark. Following three rounds of presentations on the current situation, short- and long-term prospects up to 2040, and climate projections up to 2100, 20 resilience measures were identified, categorised and analysed. This workshop contributed to the final development of the project’s resilience strategies.
The project was then presented at two events in the Guimarães region (European Green Capital for 2026) in Portugal. The Final “RescueME” Event took place on 16 June at the Laboratório da Paisagem, where all the partners presented the developments to date and the lessons learnt throughout the project.
The Psiloritis Geopark, with its diverse economy, rich agricultural production and significant tourist appeal, set as a priority the strengthening of the resilience of cultural heritage and raising awareness amongst local stakeholders, with a view to making the project’s results “RescueME” applicable to local conditions. Through the process of co-creating local measures for the project, local links and partnerships were forged between citizens, businesses, public bodies and communities, and it has been possible to strengthen the sense of belonging to the wider Geopark area, with a view to enhancing the resilience of the Geopark area.
Afterwards, at the Multiusos de Guimarães multi-purpose venue, the climate challenges facing the “RescueME” regions were presented at the 13th European Forum on Urban Resilience (EURESFO), organised annually by the international non-governmental organisation ICLEI. The Forum took place on 17–19 June 2026 and focused on exploring integrated approaches to climate resilience that go beyond just a simple adaptation to climate change.
Finally, the project’s long-term agenda for Transformative Resilience and the results from the project regions were presented online on 20 July to the project’s Community of Practice and local partners. The long-term agenda represents a shared vision and a strategic and operational framework for supporting, scaling up and institutionalising pathways to transformative resilience. It also constitutes a roadmap of actions to be undertaken following the completion of the project.
Furthermore, the “RescueME” pilot areas shared with participants the findings from each case study regarding what worked throughout the project, what proved challenging, what they gained from co-creating resilience strategies, and what the outcomes were for each area’s long-term agenda. In the Psiloritis Geopark area, emphasis was placed on the need for greater citizen involvement in decision-making processes, on proposals for disaster risk reduction, cultural heritage management and improving policy flexibility.
For further information (deliverables, publications and technological tools), please visit the research programme’s official website at https://resilientculturallandscapes.eu/ .