243 thought leaders from the creative, retail, agriculture, energy, construction, tourism industries, startups and social enterprises, investors, communications & media, research and academia, policy makers and citizens came together with a line up of 81 outstanding speakers from Europe, the USA and Greece, who similarly covered an immense diversity of sectors and ages, to discuss about the ways to make life in the cities and the villages in Greece better.
From debating around wellbeing and impact economy to deep diving in pivoting topics, such as access to housing, sustainable tourism, water circularity for irrigation, biodiversity restoration in the urban context, community energy, decentralization incentives and more, we explored aspects of the contemporary cities and villages of wellbeing in the climate crisis era, along with the role of industries and societal stakeholders in this transition.
Explore What Happened
CONCRETE NEXT STEPS
We invite all those interested in advancing climate action and wellbeing in Greece to join us in the following initiatives:
Creation of the WeAll Hub:
A think tank focused on economic innovation, the Wellbeing Economy, and its translation into everyday actions, policies, practices, and products in Greek cities and villages.
Enhancing citizens participation
Create conditions and frameworks for citizen participation in the ideation and execution phases of sustainable initiatives.Encourage involvement at every stage—proposal writing, action planning, implementation, and evaluation—to ensure active engagement and community adoption of proposed solutions. Join us in Athens and Kozani in 2025 to co-create circularity interventions focused on water and waste, as well as urban acupuncture projects to revitalize, repurpose and reown public spaces. More collaborative activities with cities dedicated to advancing citizen wellbeing will follow.
Marine Ecosystem Restoration
Join us in restoring marine ecosystems by reducing plastic, adapting nature-based solutions, invasive species control, and pollution reduction. We support fisher-guardians and citizen entrepreneurs and promote ocean literacy through the Blue School Network, contributing to the EU’s sustainable blue economy goals (Pharos, Remedies).
Creating an Ecosystem for Equal Access to Energy
We aim to build an inclusive ecosystem that ensures equal access to affordable, clean, and reliable energy. By supporting decentralized energy systems and community-owned renewable projects, we will address energy inequality, promote energy literacy, and empower marginalized communities. Through collaboration across sectors, we will drive a fair and sustainable energy transition for all.
Pathway for B Corp Certification in Greece
The process to certify the first companies operating in Greece as B Corps. With the support of renowned and prime players in the B corp and purpose economy globally, we are bringing together a consortium of peers to transition together towards a more regenerative model.
Enhancing Carbon Farming Initiatives
This project promotes reforestation for CO2 uptake, soil restoration, freshwater production, and biodiversity conservation. It incorporates the WEFE Nexus Methodology to design systemic solutions that balance water, energy, food, and environmental needs, supporting both sustainable tourism and Carbon Farming practices. We invite organisations from across sectors to collaborate, capture learnings, disseminate and expand regeneration practices to diversify income sources and strengthen agricultural resilience across Greece.
Fostering a Sustainable Tourism Ecosystem
We are driving innovation and developing long-term partnerships within the tourism sector by uniting stakeholders from hospitality, energy, transportation, and more. This program will be shaped by market insights, stakeholder input, and entrepreneurial activities, with a focus on creating an environmentally and socially sustainable tourism model.
Formation of the Regional Impact Trade Alliance (RITA)
Exploration of the first Regional Impact Trade Alliance, within the concept of RITA, in order to create
geographical regions that are characterized by stakeholder agreements & partnerships around common impact goals (principles, metrics, complementary actions, canalization of resources), that become an integral part of their identity for local, national and international commercial agreements. We will be opening discussions in Peloponnese & South Aegean to start with, but we are open to explore more schemes.
Fostering Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Greece
Impact Hub Athens, with a dedicated focus on Rural Innovation since 2022, aims to support family-owned businesses and emerging entrepreneurs in adopting sustainable and regeneration practices, fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems for sustainability and well-being in Greece’s peripheral regions. With initiatives such as the Messinian Business Routes, Arcadia’s Design Camp, Plastic Upcycling Lab and Agrotourism in Santorini and other actions across 7 Greek regions, we are co-creating solutions, run skill-building programs, curate connections in Greece and abroad, bridging resource gaps to minimize rural- urban disparities and empower local entrepreneurs. We invite public and private partners to collaborate with us in order to maintain qualitative life in the regions outside the big urban centers—join us and local stakeholders in the smaller cities and villages across the country, while we continue empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs, fostering conversations, programmes and partnerships in order to make decentralization a viable choice and deliver regional growth and positive environmental impact across Greece.
Development of a Collaborative Social and Sustainability Innovation Fund
This fund will support new social and environmental initiatives by pulling resources and expertise from various funding schemes. It aims to identify, fund, and scale impactful projects that tackle urgent social and environmental challenges.