Abstract ID: 3.10913 | Accepted as Talk | Requested as: Talk | TBA | TBA

How can we envision the future regeneratively, valuing and promoting the well-being of both humans and non-humans? This is the main question motivating VERVE (2022-2025), an EU-funded participatory action-research project centered on a case study in a rural-mountain area of the Italian North-Eastern Alps.
This project emerged from the understanding that a “weak” approach to sustainability—one that focuses solely on minimizing impact, improving resource efficiency, and implementing compensation mechanisms, and which relies on siloed thinking—is insufficient. It also recognized the importance of co-creative approaches, particularly in rural-mountain areas. Although these areas are highly vulnerable in many respects, they can also be centers of innovative practices that benefit both social and ecological well-being.
This presentation will showcase the theoretical underpinnings, methodological approach, and empirical findings of VERVE participatory activities. Following a recent trend in sustainability science, the activities aimed to stimulate the imagination to generate a diverse range of options about the future of rural-mountain areas, prioritizing intragenerational justice and the inclusion of often-unheard voices (such as those of non-human entities). The activities were grounded in Theory U and Appreciative Inquiry, and included a variety of methods, from established future-thinking techniques (like backcasting and Three Horizons) to arts-based, storytelling, and other creative approaches.
This presentation will share insights gleaned from the research findings, focusing on diverse perceptions of regenerative futures, desirable and actionable pathways to realize them, and strategies to maximize the impact of existing socio-ecological innovations. It will also offer a critical reflection on the role of action-research, exploring its potential and limitations within rural-mountain contexts.