CYBERPARKS: understandings and insights of Lisbon events

The Workshop “Co-Creating of Inclusive and Mediated Public Spaces” was meant as a frame for Continuing Professional Development. As a matter of fact, the Workshop, which took place between 13th and 16th February 20017 in Lisbon, Portugal, has been the occasion for trainees to discuss a number of key issues inherent the COST Action CyberParks in a close interaction with a selected pool of experts and scholars from different backgrounds. Special attention has been given to the complexity of decisions making process in city councils, with regards of public spaces and the strategic use of ICT. Thanks to that experience, participants have become acquainted with innovative governance processes and on the role of shared consensus and participation in decision-making for co-creating inclusive and mediated public spaces.
In this context, thanks to the STSM “CYBERPARKS: understanding the insights of Lisbon events” I could join a strong motivated group of 20 participants - among them urban planners, landscape designers, ICT and media experts, PhD students, researchers and volunteers. During 4 days, trainees were involved in discussing how ICT affect and have changed the use of public spaces. Participants from 9 European countries had the possibilities to share different approaches and to contribute to define key principles for co-creating inclusive and mediated public spaces. In particular, after each communication on specific topics given by the trainers, participants were invited to work out their own reflections and to “extract” arguments to build the principles for inclusive and mediated spaces, considering the interactions between people, places and technology. Moreover, in small groups, the trainees explored planning and design aspects of open spaces co-creation and embedding such places with ICT and their devices.
The main aim of my STSM proposal was to provide support the Workshop “Co-Creating of Inclusive and Mediated Public Spaces”. to sum up, the STMS focused on analysing the information collected in the Workshop, mainly by:
- Questionnaire filled in by trainees in the advance to the Workshop (until 8 February);
- Videos-interviews of all participants in collaboration with School of Visual Arts of Lusófona University (14 February);
- Final evaluation of the workshop by trainees.