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how to implement

Living Labs

 

Living Labs

EU-GREW Living Labs are the most outward-facing activities of the project. They are public, participatory events that connect schools with their wider community and bring the European Green Deal into real-life local contexts. A Living Lab is not a traditional lesson or seminar. It is an open, collaborative experience, where students, teachers, citizens, and local stakeholders come together to explore climate challenges and co-create solutions.

The Living Labs aim to:

  • extend climate education beyond the classroom,
  • engage local communities in sustainability discussions, and
  • transform learning into shared action and co-creation.

Across Europe, EU-GREW Living Labs demonstrate how education can act as a catalyst for climate awareness, innovation, and civic engagement at local and regional level.

Who is involved?

Each Living Lab brings together actors from the Quadruple Helix:

  • Education: students, teachers, schools, universities
  • Civil society: parents, citizens, NGOs
  • Public authorities: municipalities, regional bodies
  • Local organisations: associations, cultural or environmental groups

EU-GREW Ambassadors act as local coordinators, orchestrating collaboration between these groups.

What does a Living Lab look like in practice?

Living Labs are flexible by design and adapted to local realities. They can take many forms, such as:

  • a workshop or session within a larger conference or festival,
  • a school-based event open to parents and the community,
  • a public debate, exhibition, or science fair,
  • an outdoor activity linked to biodiversity or climate observation,
  • a thematic event aligned with global environmental days.

What matters most is participation, interaction, and co-creation, not the size or complexity of the event.

How are Living Labs organised?

Living Labs follow a simple, four-phase approach!

Phase 1: Strategic Alliances & Timing

Don't work alone. Amplify your impact by partnering with established networks.

  • Identify Strategic Partners: Your regional Directorate of Education can give you ideas and information about scheduled events throughout the school/academic year and possible partnering organizations and educational networks. In case that you need assistance on finding appropriate events/partners, please contact us!
  • Action: Propose co-organizing a specific EU GreW workshop or session within their existing national events or conferences. This ensures a guaranteed audience, high relevance, and solves the venue issue.
  • Select a High-Impact Date: Align your Living Lab with a global or regional moment to maximize visibility. Suggested dates for the first half of 2026 include:
    • Earth Hour: March 2026
    • World Water Day: March 22, 2026
    • Earth Day: April 22, 2026
    • Biodiversity Day: May 22, 2026
    • Erasmus Days in your country/region.
Phase 2: Define Your Format & Methdology

A Living Lab is flexible. Choose the format that best fits your local context and your partner's schedule.

Your event may have one of the following formats:

  • Conference Workshop: A dedicated EU GreW session inside a larger university or educational conference.
  • Public Action: A public debate, science fair, or exhibition in a community center.
  • Thematic Event: An activity explicitly linked to one of the Environmental Days listed in Phase 1.
  • Digital/Hybrid Campaign: A media campaign or digital showcase featuring student work.

Key Methodologies

To run a successful Living Lab, we encourage you to move beyond traditional teaching and use Open Innovation methodologies:

  • Design Thinking: Follow the 5 steps (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test) to solve a specific local problem (e.g., "How can we reduce plastic in our school canteen?").
  • Citizen Science: Engage participants in measuring local air quality, water quality, or biodiversity.
  • Collaborative Debates: Host structured discussions on specific Green Deal policies.

Hands-on Action: Organize tree planting, community gardening, or recycling workshops.

Phase 3: Logistics & Venues

Plan smart to ensure sustainability.

  • Find Venues: Since the goal is sustainability and community engagement, we strongly advise against renting expensive commercial venues. Instead, utilize spaces that are available to you for free or through your partners:
    • Your School/University: Use assembly halls, classrooms, or outdoor yards.
    • Community Partners: Municipal libraries, town halls, or community centers often provide free space for educational events if booked in advance.
    • Outdoors: Parks, squares, or nature reserves are perfect for "Green Actions" and cost nothing.
  • Piggybacking: As mentioned in Phase 1, the most efficient way to organize a Living Lab is to integrate it into an event that is already scheduled by some of your partner organizations. This saves you the effort of finding a venue and managing registrations.
Phase 4: Promotion & Implementation

Make it visible and make it happen.

  1. After deciding your event format and venue, complete the LIVING LAB REGISTRATION FORM (Annex 3), attach a tentative Agenda for your event, and send it to us in order to get approval for the event from the Living Labs Board and get it published on the website of EU-GREW. Note that approval is not meant to be restrictive. You may still adjust details (e.g., agenda, exact time, speakers) after approval.
  1. Open Call: Upon approval, use the "EU-GREW OPEN CALL TEMPLATE" (Annex 2) to officially announce the event (to other organizations, social media, local press/sites, etc).
  2. Invite Stakeholders: Ensure you have the "Quadruple Helix" (i.e. four key sectors) present: Students/Teachers, Local Government, Families/Citizens, and Local Business/NGOs.
  3. Run the Lab: Execute the event using the participatory methodologies of your choice (e.g. Research, Design Thinking, Debate).

Documentation: You must collect Signed Attendance Lists (a template is provided in the Annexes) and take Photos/Videos.

Living Labs Contact Persons

The following persons of the EU-GREW Project Living Labs Board are assigned as contacts for each country:

Contact PersonSupported Countries
Popi Anagnostopoulou

Cyprus, France, Germany, Jordan, Kosovo, Malta, Morocco, Nederlands, Poland, Romania.

Theodora Blakou

Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Italy, Belgium, North Macedonia, Portugal, Serbia, Spain.

Costas Stathopoulos

Azerbaijan, Croatia, Moldova, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Turkey.
Contact PersonSupported Countries
Popi Anagnostopoulou
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Cyprus, France, Germany, Jordan, Kosovo, Malta, Morocco, Nederlands,Poland, Romania.
Theodora Blakou
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Italy, Belgium, North Macedonia, Portugal, Serbia, Spain.
Costas Stathopoulos
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Azerbaijan, Croatia, Moldova, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Turkey.

Registration & Reporting

To ensure proper coordination and documentation, the Living Labs process involves three main steps: Event Registration,  Invitation, and Reporting.

Step 1: Registration (Before the event) You must register your planned event so it can be published on the Living Labs Calendar .

  • Annex 3 - Living Labs Registration Form: Submit this concise form to the Living Labs Board, via email as soon as your event details are confirmed.

Step 2: Invite your audience (at least 2-3 weeks before the event):

  • Annex 2 - Open Call Templates: Ready-to-use text for emails and social media to invite your participants (Annex 2 is available in the Organizer’s Guide sent to the EU-GreW Ambassadors).

Step 3: Reporting (After the event) To validate your activity, use the following templates:

  • Annex 1 - Living Labs Report Template: Describes the methodology used, key topics discussed, and solutions generated.
  • Annex 4 - Participant List Template: Mandatory evidence of attendance. (Note: For students/minors, follow your school's GDPR procedures; for adults, signatures are required).

annex 1

annex 3

annex 4

Through these Living Labs, the EU GreW project aims to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical, real-world activities, significantly expanding the scope and impact of teacher training in addressing critical global issues.

EU Grew Living Labs