The 2nd Meeting of the Local Partners of the DESICE Project
The DESICE project aims to improve the implementation of regional and local policies in the field of the circular economy, with a particular focus on enhancing the capacity of product designers. The project is a collaboration between 8 partners from 7 EU countries.
The meeting of the Local Partners was held online following an invitation from the Deputy Mayor for Cleanliness, Recycling & Climate Protection of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, Mr. Georgios Dimarelos. Opening remarks were delivered by Deputy Mayor Mr. Georgios Dimarelos and the Director of Programming & European Programme Management of ANATOLIKI S.A., Ms. Vaso Papadopoulou.
In the first part of the meeting, a brief presentation was given on the utilization of the Operational Programme as a policy instrument. Additionally, an overview of Good Practices in the field of Education, as showcased in the 2nd Meeting of the partnership in Bled, Slovenia, was presented. These practices were thoroughly analyzed for the participants by Dr. Christos Vlachokostas, Associate Professor and Vice President of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), who presented the “Sustainability Engineering Laboratory” of AUTH, and by Ms. Popi Oikonomou, representing the Hellenic Design Center, who elaborated on the “Education and Certification Programme for Design Thinking Practitioners.”
In the second part of the meeting, executives from ANATOLIKI S.A. discussed the findings of the research conducted among the Local Partners of the project, as well as a detailed outline of the upcoming project activities. Particular emphasis was placed on the next six months, which will focus on Research & Innovation actions in the thematic area.
Finally, a discussion among stakeholders followed, where Innovative Practices in product development and research were presented.
The meeting served as another fruitful step towards strengthening the capacities of local partners in shaping a knowledge and experience toolkit, enabling both interaction and the formulation of appropriate policies to achieve sustainable goals at the local level.