SHINE 2Europe participated in the 7th General Assembly of the GUARDIANS project, held in Turin, Italy, between 19 and 20 of May, where partners gathered to review progress and align the next steps as the project enters its final year.
SHINE was represented by Ângela Freitas who presented the overall progress achieved and next steps. As leader of WP2. Farmer Engagement and Acceptance of Technology Enabled by Social Innovation, SHINE has been working since the beginning of the project on farmer and stakeholder engagement, technology acceptance and the assessment of adoption and uptake of digital tools. This work supports the project’s ambition to place farmers at the centre of the innovation process and ensure that digital solutions respond to real needs, motivations and barriers.
The meeting focused on the transition from pilot activities towards roll-out, replication and impact assessment, supporting the adoption of GUARDIANS digital solutions in new real-world conditions. This stage is essential to ensure that the tools developed in the project are adaptable, scalable and useful for small and medium-sized farmers.
SHINE also contributed to discussions on the One-Stop-Shop model, a key component explored in GUARDIANS to support uptake, replication and scalability. The work done until now will help prepare future workshops with potential replicators, involving agri-food hubs and DIHs in partner countries.
The General Assembly also provided valuable opportunities for exchange and networking among partners, strengthening collaboration for the final phase of the project. This included a visit to a Digital Urban Vineyard at the campus of Politecnico di Torino promoted by Citiculture, contributing to reflect on how digital innovation, agriculture, urban environments and culture can connect to support sustainability and engagement.
