Hearth Summit Aegean: Five Sustainability Solutions for the Aegean and its Islands

Hearth Summit Aegean 2026 concluded in Santorini, connecting solutions already being implemented with concrete proposals for resilience, local economies, and quality of life across the Aegean.

With 160 participants from 15 countries and 20 islands across the Aegean and beyond, Hearth Summit Aegean 2026 brought together representatives of local government, producers, entrepreneurs, researchers, artists, and civil society in Santorini from 23 to 25 October. The central question was simple yet urgent: How can an island thrive without exhausting its water, land, people, and identity?

The conversation went beyond identifying the challenges. Through four field journeys, workshops, panel discussions on tourism, the regenerative economy and other key topics, as well as more than 20 presentations of island initiatives, the Summit highlighted solutions that are already being implemented or can be tested on a small scale and adapted to the needs of each place.

Bringing together people from around the world, with the Aegean at its heart, the Summit revealed both the shared challenges facing our islands and the solutions that can help shape their future.

Five solutions that stood out

The right water for every use. Restoring traditional cisterns, collecting rainwater, decentralised greywater reuse and using treated wastewater from hospitality facilities for agricultural purposes can reduce pressure on drinking water supplies and support local production.

Preventing waste before it reaches the sea. Mapping the materials entering an island, reducing single-use products, promoting reuse and developing local processing solutions can help tackle the problem at its source.

Tourism that gives more value back to the place. Direct commercial connections between hotels, farmers, winemakers and craftspeople can ensure that a greater share of tourism spending stays within the local economy. Another important question raised during the Summit was how to move towards measuring success not only through visitor arrivals, but also through residents’ quality of life.

Greater local autonomy in food and energy. Seed banks and drought-resistant varieties, the restoration of agricultural terraces and training in traditional dry-stone wall construction, year-round production and energy communities, such as the example from Chalki, demonstrate how local knowledge can meet modern tools, increase self-sufficiency and reduce island dependencies.

Residents’ ongoing participation in decision-making. Living Labs, local assemblies, collaboration between municipalities, businesses, start-ups and citizens, as well as established networks for exchange between islands, can transform individual initiatives into shared knowledge infrastructure. Solutions are more likely to last when they are designed together with the people who will put them into practice.

Three days from place to action, connection and people

The first day connected a sense of place with the need for local action, from the Fisher Guardian Workshop in Vlychada to the official opening at MATI Art Observatory. On the second day, participants explored alternative scenarios for the future of the Aegean before setting off on four field journeys focusing on waste, water and soil, biodiversity, and the relationship between vineyards and landscape. The third day brought island initiatives into focus, alongside discussions on a “post-tourism” Aegean and proposals connecting resilience with the local economy.

The Summit unfolded across different locations in Santorini, combining dialogue with field visits, hands-on workshops, art, music and shared meals. The island was not simply a backdrop, but a living learning environment: a place where water scarcity, tourism pressure and vulnerable ecosystems coexist with knowledge, creativity and a long history of adaptation.

“Hearth Summit Aegean was never designed to end with the final discussion. We wanted to bring together island knowledge, science, entrepreneurship, art and public policy, so that this gathering could lead to collaborations that can be tested in practice. The next step is to ensure that the ideas generated in Santorini continue to develop and travel across the entire Aegean,” said Sofi Lamprou, Co-founder of Impact Hub Athens.

Hearth Summit Aegean 2026 was organised by Impact Hub Athens, with MATI as co-creator and in collaboration with The Wellbeing Project, under the auspices of the Municipality of Thira.

The event was supported by Empiria Group as Exclusive Hospitality Sponsor, the G. & A. Mamidakis Foundation as Arts Sponsor and Lidl Hellas as Food Experience Supporter.

Water & Wine Supporters were Boutari, IOLI, Artemis Karamolegos Winery, Hatzidakis Winery Santorini, Mikra Thira, Gavalas Winery and ARKTOS Elevation Vineyards, while Blue Star Ferries was the Travel Supporter.

Content Partners included the European projects VERNE, PHAROS, SUBLIME SDGs, Grapes of Change, REMEDIES and Isla Bonita, as well as ETERON and Zymosi.

Local Partners were Ftelos Brewery Santorini, Symposion Cultural Center, the M. Lignos Folklore Museum and the “D. Nomikos” Tomato Industrial Museum.