Over the past two years, the FOSTER - Future oriented Solutions Toward Environmental Resilience project has brought together citizens, local authorities, researchers, and civil society organisations from nine countries to explore how communities can better anticipate and respond to climate change.
On 17 September 2026, we gather in Vienna to present the outcomes of two years of participatory workshops, cross-border dialogues, research, and citizen engagement across the local paths— to reflect on the processes we have built together, and to open a wider conversation about the future of climate governance and civic participation in Europe.
The closing conference offers two complementary sessions: a morning of citizens' voices and policy reflection, and an evening of high-level debate.
Morning session | 10:00–14:00
The conference opens with a keynote by Anja Haider-Wallner (Deputy Governor of Burgenland, Austria) on climate change impact, management and public participation, followed by a reflectionby Stefan Lütgenau on enabling participation in sensitive governance contexts. At the heart of the morning is a citizens' panel — seven voices from across Europe sharing their direct experience of participatory processes on climate change — followed by open debate and a harvesting of the FOSTER project's collective experience.
Evening session | 18:30–20:30
A high-level panel debate — Participation and Climate Change: How to Navigate Between Scylla and Charybdis — will bring together scientists, politicians, and civil society representatives for a structured dialogue on three guiding questions, followed by open debate and closing remarks.
The conference is held in English.
draft AGENDA:
Part A | 9.30-14.00
09:30 - Registration
10:00 - Opening
10:15 - Keynote - Climate Change Impact Mitigation, Management and Public Participation
Anja Haider-Wallner (Deputy Governor of Burgenland, Austria)
10:45 - Observations on how to enable participation in a delicate matter
Stefan A. Lütgenau (Foster Europe)
11:00 - Q&A
11:15 - Coffee break
11:45 - Sevenfold Experience with Participation in Europe: Citizens panel on climate change and participation
Project partners from: IT, DE, BG, GR, AT, RO, ES
13:00 - Debate
14:00 - Harvesting FOSTER experience
Part B | 18.30-20.30
18:00 - Registration
18:30 - Opening
18:45 - Panel Debate- Participation and Climate Change: How to navigate between Scylla and Charybdis
Angelika Derfler, Project manager, Südwind
Daniel Hausknost, Associate professor at Institute for Social Change and Sustainability, Vienna University of Economics and Business
Rebecca Marconi, Project coordinator, ALDA-Europe
Helfried Carl, Founding board member, European Capital of Democracy
20:00 - Open debate
20:30 - Closing Remarks
Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please register below.