Social and ecological change through urban interventions

<< Background >>We applied for the SECUI project (Social and Ecological Change through Urban Interventions) to address the urgent need for inclusive and sustainable public spaces that promote adult education and community participation. Across Europe, many urban areas contain underused or abandoned land that could be transformed into key spaces for learning and social interaction, particularly for the most disadvantaged groups. The project also responded to the lack of transnational exchange on participatory urban transformation as a tool for equity, inclusion, and lifelong learning. It was essential to support municipalities, educational staff, and community stakeholders in rethinking the urban landscape from both a pedagogical and environmental perspective.<< Objectives >>To raise awareness among local authorities and civil society about the potential of inclusive and sustainable urban spaces as platforms for adult learning. Through the presentation of success stories and practical frameworks, SECUI sought to inspire municipalities and community actors to transform underused public spaces into environments that foster lifelong learning, civic participation, and social cohesion, particularly for groups at risk of exclusion.To establish a transnational learning network composed of educators, public institutions, cultural associations, and urban professionals committed to rethinking the role of public space in adult education. This network promoted knowledge exchange, mutual inspiration, and the emergence of new collaborations beyond the project’s duration, thereby strengthening the European dimension of community learning.To enhance the competences of adult education staff by providing tools, methodologies, and real-life experiences focused on active pedagogies, ecological transformation, and inclusive urban design, all of which are key to addressing the challenges of the 21st century.<< Implementation >>Kick-off (Spain): We aligned vision, roles, methodology, and coordination and communication mechanisms.Seminar I – Valencia (Spain): The City Council presented SECUI and its experience as European Green Capital 2024, highlighting strategies and initiatives that earned this recognition. Dialogue was fostered between educators, authorities, and municipal departments, generating connections and expanding the network.Seminar II – Reggio Emilia (Italy): The City Council presented SECUI, its experience in urban transformation with nature, its trajectory as a Child-Friendly City, and strategies for engaging citizens in urban design. The agenda facilitated networking and the expansion of the professional network.Training (Italy): Focused on engaging vulnerable groups, with an introduction to permaculture and case study analysis.Workshop (Spain): We strengthened competences in inclusion and nature-based pedagogy through field visits and contributions from the coordinator of Espai Verd Viu and other Amiga projects.Final meeting: Conclusions, lessons learned, and preparation of this final report, along with the next steps towards SECUI-2.Full agendas for each activity are provided in the annexes.<< Results >>Capacity building across the five partner organisations, which enhanced their competencies in participatory planning, inclusive adult education, and European project management.Consolidation of a transnational network of professionals and institutions from Spain and Italy committed to urban transformation as a driver of lifelong learning. This network remains active and serves as the foundation for the future SECUI2 project.Production of training resources and documentation, some of which were shared internally and others made openly available via EPALE and the websites of the partner organisations to ensure long-term accessibility.A solid dissemination strategy, including digital materials, regional media coverage, visual resources for events, over 30 curated Instagram posts, a publicly available podcast, and a roundtable presentation of the project. These actions helped raise awareness among local authorities and civil society.Commitment to sustainability, through the integration of CO₂ offsetting strategies and ecological criteria throughout the project, offering a replicable model of environmental responsibility in adult education.