Climate KIC at European Week of Regions and Cities
Climate KIC will be part of this year’s European Week of Regions and Cities on 13–14 October 2025, a flagship event shaping the future of Europe’s territories.
Our presence spans three high-impact sessions, each designed to amplify systemic thinking, inclusive innovation, and territorial resilience – focusing on accessible climate risk communication, data-driven rural proofing, and entrepreneurship and circularity as drivers of regional competitiveness.
Enabled by Design: Building Risk Communication for People with Disabilities
14 October 2025 11:30-13:00 (CEST)
Theme: Cities building tomorrow
Description:
Effective risk communication is essential for resilience. However, digital systems often fail to reach people with disabilities due to accessibility gaps, undermining safety and the EU’s commitments under the Accessibility Act and the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This mini-climathon will challenge participants to redesign climate risk communication tools with accessibility at their core, generating practical, inclusive design concepts. Drawing from disciplines such as public policy, design, technology, social sciences, and communications. Teams will collaborate to create actionable prototypes and policy-aligned solutions with support from the VALORADA project.
Speakers:
- United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction: Rosalind Cook
- International Disability Alliance: Gordon Rattray
Rural Proofing: Making Policies Work for Rural Areas through Data
14 October 2025 16:00-17:30 (CEST)
Theme: The right to stay: Unlocking the potential of every territory
Description:
This session offers a dynamic platform for interactive discussion on how rural proofing can be effectively integrated into policy- and decision-making. The goal is to contribute to unlocking the potential of all territories and supporting people’s rights to live and thrive in rural areas, in line with the EC’s vision on Agriculture and Food. First, the panel discussion will focus on how different governance levels can apply rural proofing and support each other in doing this. Session participants will then join discussion tables to peer-review a range of initiatives from the GRANULAR, RUSTIK and VALORADA projects, where rural proofing has been applied in practice to address territorial challenges.
Speakers and moderator:
- Moderator: Jack van der Hoek (Mayor of Schouwen-Duiveland, deputy member of the European, Committee of the Regions and member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities)
- European level speaker: Alexia Rouby (DG AGRI European Commission)
- National level speaker: Betty-Ann Bryce (Senior policy analyst at the OECD)
- Regional level speaker: Christos Moutsios (Executive Secretary of the Region of Central Greece)
Boosting regional competitiveness through entrepreneurship, innovation and circularity
14 October 2025 17:00-18:00 (CEST)
Theme: The Right to Stay: unlocking the potential of every territory
Description:
How can Europe’s rural communities and regions become more competitive? This session explores multi-level systemic approaches to regional transformation, including place-based design practices, featuring impulse talks from the Systems Transformation Hub, the Joint Research Centre’s Startup Village Forum initiative and the TA2030 Circular Rural Regions pilot action. It will be followed by an interactive discussion, inviting the audience to share experiences and insights on rural policy, entrepreneurship and circular economy practices, showcasing how systems thinking and local innovation can align to boost resilience and competitiveness on the ground.
Speakers and moderator:
- Moderator: Climate KIC International Foundation: Federico Esu – Representing FoodCoP | Startup Villages EU project
- European Commission – DG JRC: Simone Sasso – Responsible for European Startup Village Forum
- Chiemgau GmbH: Rosanna Haider – Project lead TA2030 Pilot Action Circular Rural Regions
- World Resources Institute: Stientje Van Veldhoven – Representing System Transformation Hub
Peer-to-peer learning on replicating and upscaling nature-based solutions for climate adaptation
14 October 2025 17:00 – 18:00 CET
This session brings together insights from eight European research projects — including NBRACER, of which Climate KIC is a key partner — to explore how nature-based solutions can be expanded and adapted across Europe to strengthen climate resilience. The session will focus on shared lessons across different institutional settings, and will look at how these solutions can be integrated into broader systems that include financial, governance, and technical strategies. We’ll also discuss the conditions that help (or hinder) successful implementation.
Speakers
- Stefan GREIVING, TU Dortmund University
- Janne Parviainen, Stockholm Environment Institute
- Natascha Ng, Researcher, Stockholm Environment Institute (moderator)