On October 29th and 30th, 2024, Penafiel will host the inaugural Innovation Days series, promoted by CoLAB ForestWISE, bringing together experts and stakeholders under the scope of the FIRE-RES project.
This international event, organized with the support of the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA) and the Associação Florestal do Vale de Sousa (AFVS), focuses on sharing innovative solutions for wildfire management and fostering synergies between participants from various sectors.
October 29th: Field Visit
The event started with a field visit to Castelo de Paiva, Raiva parish – Fôjo location, showcasing best practices in territories affected by wildfires. These solutions, implemented within the Floresta Sonae Living Lab, presented by Sonae Arauco. This has followed by an intervention from 2BForest, highlighting its three-year experience with ecosystem service certification in the region. The day concludes with a formal Porto de Honra at the Castelo de Paiva Town Hall.
This visit provided a dynamic experience of locally implemented solutions, offering insights into effective strategies for mitigating wildfires.
October 30th: Matchmaking Event
The second day, supported by the Municipality of Penafiel, will take place at the Pavilhão de Feiras e Exposições de Penafiel and featured a diversed program, including keynote presentations, innovative solution pitches, and networking opportunities at interactive workstations.
The four key themes – technological innovations, ecological solutions, social approaches, and financial strategies for resilience – explored by renowned experts and winners of the Open Innovation Challenge Campaign (OIC), whose proposals were recognized for contributing to wildfire resilience. This process is led by CoLAB ForestWISE, in collaboration with INESC TEC and the European Forest Institute (EFI).
CoLAB ForestWISE and ISA, leaders of the Portuguese Living Lab, have implemented multiple activities in close collaboration with local communities, landowners, and decision-makers, who actively participate in the Community of Wildfire Innovation (CWI). The CWI engaged participants throughout the event at dedicated workstations, showcasing activities in forest management, wildfire prevention, and ecosystem conservation.
In the afternoon, the roundtable titled “Boosting Financial Resilient Innovation” featured an international perspective, standing out as a platform for experts in entrepreneurship, economics, and forestry to debate new financial instruments to strengthen community and territorial resilience to wildfires.
This international series kicks off in Portugal and will move to Bulgaria and Spain in the coming year.
Access the presentations given at the Matchmaking Event here: