DATE & TIME
1 October 2026, 09:00 – 10:30
ROOM
Nightingale B
TRACKS
TRACK 1: Living Labs for Grand Societal Challenges
TRACK 2: Living Labs for Policies, Governance, Collaboration and Innovation ecosystems
TRACK 5: Living Labs Operation, Methods, Tools, and Impact
Description
Living Labs dedicated to restoration – dedicated to different and interconnected ecosystems as agriculture, soil, forest, water, biodiversity – operate in highly dynamic, real-world environments where uncertainty is the norm. Climate variability, soil dynamics, policy shifts, farmer adoption, and market pressures all shape outcomes. In such contexts, initiatives rarely “fail” outright; instead, they stall, drift, or encounter breakdowns. This session reframes these moments not as failures, but as repair opportunities. Through a structured, interactive “repair shop” format, participants will collaboratively diagnose and respond to real challenges brought forward by pre-selected Living Labs. The session aims to normalize experimentation setbacks and generate actionable strategies for adaptation, recovery, and resilience in ecosystem restoration processes.
Cases will be contributed by Living Labs involved in projects such as SOILL, ROTATES, WINN-Organic, and FARCLIMATE, ensuring the discussion is grounded in diverse, real-world restoration contexts.
Agenda
| Time* | Item |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:05 |
Introduction & Framing Welcome, objectives and introduction to the Repair Shop methodology. |
| 09:05 – 09:10 | Instructions for the repair stations |
| 09:10 – 10:10 |
Repair Stations – Group Work Participants work in groups on real Living Lab cases to diagnose challenges and co-design repair strategies. Two rounds will be completed. |
| 10:10 – 10:25 |
Plenary Repair Debate Speakers present key findings and discuss proposed interventions with Living Lab representatives. |
| 10:25 – 10:30 |
Closing & Synthesis Summary of key learnings, recurring patterns and take-home messages. |
Facilitators
Giulia Campodonico
Head of Projects, ENoLL & Coordinator of the SOILL-Startup Project
Giulia Campodonico
Head of Projects, ENoLL & Coordinator of the SOILL-Startup ProjectGiulia Campodonico has over 15 years of work experience in EU policies and projects in the Research and Innovation field. Her passion for technology, co-creation, and innovation led her to join ENoLL in 2022 as Head of Projects. In this role, Giulia focuses on coordinating the association work on proposal preparation and project management, while also supporting ENoLL’s services to members and advocacy efforts. In this context, Giulia is the coordinator of the SOILL Framework Partnership and the SOILL-Startup project. Funded by the European Commission’s Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, these actions aim to support the network of 100 Soil Health Living Labs and Lighthouses across Europe. Before joining ENoLL, Giulia led the EU proposals team at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), where she worked on 150+ proposals and projects connecting research with real-world applications. Her background in political sciences, journalism, European studies, and project management brought her to Brussels, where she has worked for different European non-profit organizations, including EUROCITIES, as an EU project manager, focusing in particular on green and digital innovation.
Isabelle Couture
Deputy Head of Capacity Building, ENoLL
Isabelle Couture
Deputy Head of Capacity Building, ENoLLIsabelle Couture is the Deputy Head of Capacity Building and Research at ENoLL and has more than 12 years of experience working in the public, private and nonprofit sectors to develop and implement successful programs and engagement strategies. Her previous work experience covers a range of policy research projects and partnership-building activities in Canada and abroad. She previously worked at the Smart Prosperity Institute and The Natural Step Canada where she led the implementation of programming aimed at accelerating the transition to a sustainable society.
Dolinda Cavallo
Project Manager, ENoLL
Dolinda Cavallo
Project Manager, ENoLL
Dolinda Cavallo is a Project Manager at the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL). She holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Bologna – Forlì Campus, along with a bachelor’s degree in foreign languages and cultures where she studied English, Spanish, and Russian at the University of Pavia.
Her career spans various European countries where she has contributed to non-profit organizations as both a Project Manager and Coordinator of EU-funded projects covering diverse areas such as agriculture, soil, environment, migration, and social inclusion.
Currently, Dolinda is actively engaged in ENoLL’s portfolio of Agri and Soil-related projects and co-chairs the working group on Agriculture, Agrifood, and Rural issues.
Laurent Legendre
Professor, Avignon University
Laurent Legendre
Professor, Avignon University
Prof. Laurent Legendre is a full professor at Avignon University, where he leads a research master’s programme on the agricultural production of fruit and vegetables. He obtained his PhD from Purdue University in the United States and has held academic positions in France and Australia.
His expertise focuses on plant–microorganism interactions, plant physiology, pathogens, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, and water-limited environments. His research uses integrated biological approaches, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics.
Over the past 20 years, Prof. Legendre’s work has focused primarily on tropical root and tuber crops, including sweet potato, taro, yams, and cassava. Within the ROTATES project, he leads the French Pilot Living Lab in Avignon.
Ioannis Varvaris
Deputy Research Coordinator, ERATOSTHENES CoE
Ioannis Varvaris
Deputy Research Coordinator, ERATOSTHENES CoE
Ioannis Varvaris is Deputy Research Coordinator of the ERATOSTHENES CoE and a Researcher in its Department of Environment. He holds degrees in Mineral Resources Engineering (Technical University of Crete) and Civil Engineering (Cyprus University of Technology), a Master's in Hydrogeology and Environmental Geoscience from Georg-August University, and a PhD from Aarhus University. He has held research positions in Denmark and the United States.
His expertise focuses on hydrogeological modelling, water flow and solute transport in agricultural soils, and the movement of water and energy across the groundwater–unsaturated zone–vegetation continuum. His research integrates visible-near-infrared spectroscopy, pedotransfer functions, physically based modelling, and Earth Observation services to support targeted environmental impact studies.
Over recent years, Ioannis's work has centred on soil health and the monitoring and restoration of soil ecosystems across the Mediterranean, and strengthening the EU-AU partnership. Within the NEMESIS project, he serves as Scientific Coordinator, leading a network of Soil Health Living Labs established to combat desertification.
Mehdi Khouadja
Head of Research & Chief Impact Officer, My AloeOléa
Mehdi Khouadja
Head of Research & Chief Impact Officer, My AloeOléa
Mehdi brings more than 25 years of high-level experience in the financial industry, with deep expertise in EMEA sourcing, origination, and leveraged finance. Currently based between London and Tunisia, he has led complex trading desks, covering leveraged loans, high‑yield and mid‑cap bonds, as well as structured debt instruments at top investment firms.
His unique skillset ensures My AloeOléa isn’t just mission-driven, but financially robust and growth-ready. Mehdi bridges ecological vision and commercial viability, shaping our strategy to scale sustainably while delivering European-grade quality and traceability.