DATE & TIME
2 October 2025, 11:00 – 12:15
TRACKS
TRACK 1: Living Labs for Grand Societal Challenges
TRACK 3: LLS for Inclusive Soci(et)al Engagement
ROOM
TARGET AUDIENCE
TYPE OF SESSION
Description
The New European Bauhaus (NEB) envisions a sustainable, inclusive, and beautiful future by bridging art, culture, science, and technology. This session explores how arts and creativity drive regenerative change through the Living Lab approach. By centering NEB values, it showcases how Living Labs across Europe engage artists and cultural actors to co-create ecological, social, and spatial solutions. Artistic interventions here are transformative—not just decorative—fostering dialogue, revealing hidden narratives, and humanizing complex transitions. Participants will hear from artists and Living Labs through curated case studies, illustrating how arts contribute to ecological restoration, social inclusion, and systemic change. The session includes inspiring presentations, interactive discussions, and an open roundtable, offering practical insights into fostering effective collaborations between artists, communities, and innovation actors. It will also explore how to embed artistic practices in co-creation, support cross-sectoral partnerships, and scale creative methods to tackle challenges like climate resilience, circularity, and community empowerment.
Agenda
Timeslot | Item | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 – 11:05 | Welcome & Introduction |
|
| 11:05 – 11:35 | Case studies presentations |
|
| 11:35 – 11:50 | Roundtable Discussion |
|
| 11:50 – 12:10 | Q&A |
|
| 12:10 – 12:15 | Closing & Key Takeaways |
|
Speakers
Michelle Gonzalez Torres
Junior Project Manager - ENoLL
Michelle Gonzalez Torres
Junior Project Manager - ENoLLMichelle Gonzalez Torres is a Junior Project Manager at the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), with experience in European project management and communications. She holds master’s degree in International Relations in the Digital Era from LUMSA University. Her master’s thesis, “Strategic Business Models for Living Labs: Designing Sustainable Innovation Ecosystems,” explores business model innovation and sustainability in Living Lab environments. At ENoLL, Michelle contributes to EU-funded projects, leads communication activities, and acts as the SPOC for the Culture & Creativity Working Group, as well as Co-SPOC for the Digital Urban Systems & Solutions for Transition – Urban Innovation (DUSST-UI) Working Group. Her professional interests lie at the intersection of green and digital transformation, open innovation, and sustainable urban development. She is dedicated to advancing her expertise in Living Labs, project management, and co-creation methodologies that foster inclusive and regenerative innovation ecosystems.
Jokin Garatea
International Business Director of International projects - GAIA
Jokin Garatea
International Business Director of International projects - GAIAInternational Business Director of International projects at GAIA. He is an expert on dissemination and exploitation plans. Has participated in more than 80 EU projects. Member of different European networks (ENoLL, Greenovate Europe, EIIT culture KIC), promoter and evaluator of Living Labs, coordinator of the Basque District of Culture and Creativity Vice-president of Ocean Living Lab for promotion and technological innovation of water-related culture and sport activities in a preserved environment of Urdaibai.
Martha King
Creative Co-Director at Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) Bristol’s Living Lab
Martha King
Creative Co-Director at Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) Bristol’s Living LabMartha King is the Creative Co-Director at Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) Bristol’s Living Lab in Knowle West, UK. KWMC is an arts and community tech organisation with a mission to ‘make fair and thriving neighborhoods together, with arts tech and care’. She is also co-founder and director of Control Shift, an international arts and tech festival, based in Bristol. She has developed and delivered numerous participatory and critically engaged arts and tech projects and ran community tech co-creation programmes exploring topics such as data ethics, AI and commons-based approaches to citizen sensing. Martha has a background in theatre and performance making which means collaborative and embodied practices are central to her work. She has a UCL accredited service design qualification and is a currently on the Clore Leading Systemic Change Programme. She is co-author on HCI published paper ‘A City in Common: A Framework to Foster Technology Innovation from the Bottom up’ and co-author of the chapter ‘We Can Make: Co-Creating Knowledge and Products with Local Communities’ in ‘Co-Creation in Theory and Practice Exploring Creativity in the Global North and South’.
Laurent Dupont
Senior researcher at Université de Lorraine
Laurent Dupont
Senior researcher at Université de LorraineLaurent Dupont, Eng. PhD., is senior researcher at Université de Lorraine, ERPI (Research Team on Innovative Processes, France), lecturer at ENSGSI andvisiting lecturer at TELECOM Nancy. He is the scientific coordinator of Lorraine Smart Cities Living Lab and co-founder & scientific manager of the Lorraine Fab Living Lab, the research and training platform for prospective assessment of innovative usages and innovation acceptability. He oversees a Master 2 in territorial innovation. Laurent is involved in several Europeanprojects as WP leader or expert on: user-driven / collaborative innovation, Living Lab, innovation space, sustainable smart city. He is an active member ofscientific societies (IEEE-TEMS ICE conference, RNI, ENoLL).
Dr Donagh Horgan
Lab Lead, Urban Leisure and Tourism Lab Rotterdam
Dr Donagh Horgan
Lab Lead, Urban Leisure and Tourism Lab RotterdamDonagh Horgan is an academic and practitioner in the area of regenerative placemaking and socio-spatial transformation, and lab lead at the Urban Leisure and Tourism Lab Rotterdam. His work looks at societal transitions through a holistic lens of sustainable tourism. Trained as an architect and social designer, Donagh also consults internationally on social innovation on the built environment with cities and local government for UNDP, URBACT, universities and local governments. Specialising in participatory design and co-creation, he actively collaborates on a number of European-funded research projects on topics such as inclusive cities, climate democracy and heritage valorisation.