The Atlantic Social Lab project, with the team at the Centre for Social Studies of University of Coimbra, is co-organizing with the APDR – Portuguese Association for Regional Development, the 25th APDR workshop “Social Innovation Towards Sustainability: Embracing Contemporary Challenges for Regional Development”. This event will take place on 16th April 2020 in Faro (Portugal), with the local support of CinTurs - Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-Being of the University of Algarve.

The workshop will promote the reflection and knowledge sharing on social innovation practices connected with sustainability and regional development. It intends to promote an inter-sector dialogue among researchers, activists, local, regional and national policy makers, associations, non-governmental organizations, practitioners of social innovation and social entrepreneurs. Its main objective is to discuss the state of the art of social innovation in Regional Science and the contemporary challenge for sustainability. Topics of discussion, among others, regard social innovation, micro-scale innovation, transformative innovation, sustainability transitions and community-based sustainability projects. The workshop intends to stimulate synergies between research, governance and civil society initiatives, present examples of community-based good practices, and contribute to the visibility of social innovation as a central topic for the transformation of society towards a more sustainable future.

In the event, the results of the Atlantic Social Lab will be presented  and a focus group discussion, in Portuguese, about “The Transformative Potential of Social Innovation for Regional Development” will be organized under the work of the Atlantic Social Innovation Observatory.

Submissions might be based on formal research or on concrete activist, community or public policy initiatives. There is a limited number of Registration fee waivers to associations, practitioners and projects that are interested in sharing their social innovation experiences. Please contact the organisation if you are interested in getting a Waiver. The call is open.

More information available at: http://www.apdr.pt/evento_25/index.html