ALCANENA – Satellite Event – application

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Call for expressions of interest for Satellite Events
The Festival of the New European Bauhaus, 9-13 June 2026

In June 2026, the European Commission organises the third edition of the and you can be part of it! New European Bauhaus Festival The NEB Festival 2026 will among other topics address the transformative power of democratic engagement in shaping more inclusive and sustainable communities. It will highlight how empowered citizens, and local authorities can play an active role in creating their environments, with a particular emphasis on affordable housing as a cornerstone of democratic participation. In line with the NEB’s core vision, the Festival will be a space to reimagine our built environment placing first life, then spaces, and only then buildings. We offer you an online space, where your event or project can shine. This includes key information about your event, such as dates, location, names of organisers, agenda, and links to your event website and social media channels. You will also have the opportunity to be featured on our interactive map, gaining exposure and connection to a wider audience. Additionally, selected events and projects may have the chance for live streaming or recorded sessions on our central platform, allowing for even greater reach and engagement. 

Event title

CoLiving Alcanena

Description of the event

Alcanena is portuguese town, situated 108km from Lisbon, with an area of 127 km2 and, around, 12.472 inhabitants being a low-density territory with a valuable cultural and natural heritage, being part of the Natural Park of Serras de Aire e Candeeiros. Within the 7 parishes of the municipality, it’s possible to observe a common territorial language, with each village having their own identity, as well. The municipality has been committed to a large-scale housing program, being currently the Portuguese municipality with the highest p/capita investment in the residential sector. The 2nd stage of this programme aims to development collaborative housing dispersed by every parish of the municipality, promoting intergenerational connectedness and interoperability and fostering the sense of community. This Event aims to bring the local community together to achieve a Co-living proposal for the revitalization of the rural community, taking into consideration the identity and heritage of the territory, the protection of the natural heritage and putting people first.

It will consist of a set of different initiatives:

  • Presentation of co-living projects, created by FAUP, based on concepts of co-living, sustainability and community;
  • Voting of the best projects, by the local community, with everyone contributing to the decision making process;
  • Talk with experts on the topics of architecture, health, well-being, culture and environment;
  • Dinner with gastronomical tasting, dance and music, creating e festive spirit and reconnecting people, nature and tradition.

This will be an opportunity to have a community centred event, reconciling nature with the heritage, particularly the ancient Olive Groves a symbol of the territory and origin of a regional gem, the Olive Oil our “Liquid Gold”. Held in Serra de Santo António Parish this event will be part of Santo António Festivities (13&14 June), a main event that reunites residents and people from other towns.

The organization of the event will include key partners:

  • Porto University of Architecture: FAUP’s students will design participatory methodologies, make the presentation of the co-living projects and promote the voting of the projects alongside the citizens.
  • NOVA Medical School: An established partner of the Municipality bringing knowledge on the topics of health and wellbeing focused on the communities.
  • ADIRN: Working with the municipality in the Action Plan for the development of Serra de Santo António, aiming to create a vibrant, sustainable and just community where people’s well-being, the local identity and the landscape regeneration are priorities.
  • Paulo Fernandes: Former Mayor of Fundão, led the implementation of a strategy for the integration of migrant communities on a rural setting, reviving a rural territory.
  • APOAC: private non-for-profit, with a big presence in the region, aiming to promote and value the regional production of Olive Oil.
  • NEBgoesSouth Lab.

What activities/programme do you plan for your event?

The event will be divided into 2 parts and a Pre-Satellite Event: Pre-event: held during Alcanena Walking Festival (AWF 2026), on the 22, 23, 24 of May, where students from FAUP and from NEBgoesSouth Lab partner institutions will have an immersive experience in Serra de Santo António, where they will meet the local community and promote participatory sessions to collect contributions to develop co-living projects for the village, testing these methodologies to be able to replicate them in the other villages, on a later phase.

12 June| 18:30–22:00 (GMT Time)

  • Exhibition, in a traditional Olive Grove in Pia Corseira, of the Collaborative Housing projects developed, which be exhibited between the Olive trees, creating a pathway for the participants to walk through (sense of continuity between the Pre-event during AWF 2026 and the Satellite event). After the exhibition, the projects will be presented to the community by FAUP students.
  • Conversation with specialists on Architecture, Heritage and culture, Well-being, Health and Environment. The speakers (representatives of the partner entities above mentioned) will talk about their area of expertise, focusing on the local impacts of the co-living, highlighting the importance of the co-creation process and participatory methodologies used.
  • Discussion of the projects with the local community, creating a sense of Village Assembly.
  • Official Opening of the Voting on the Co-Living projects. The voting system will be based in a historical approach (to choose an Abess nuns would receive one white and several black broad beans, placing the white bean in the ballot box of the person they chose and the black beans in other boxes, winning the person with a higher number of white beans).
  • Dinner, in the Olive Groove, with tasting of traditional cuisine and local products, traditional music and dancing, promoting social interactions and contributing to increase the sense belonging.

13 June| 19:00–23:59 (GMT Time)

  • FAUP students will have a stand during Santo António Festivities, where they will engage with the local community, presenting the projects to the population and encouraging people to vote in the collaborative housing projects.
  • Official end of the voting period and presentation of the most voted Co-Living Projects. The municipality, with its partners, is committed to implement the co-living strategies with most votes, showing the dedication to a community centred housing strategy.

Target audience(s)

The local community is the primary target audience of this event, since it aims to give voice to the community and involve the citizens in the decision-making process of choosing a collaborative housing proposal for the revitalization of the local villages. Since the chosen projects will have a direct impact in in Serra de Santo António Village it is of the utmost important to involve and collect opinions from inhabitants of all the Villages. In addition, this initiative aims to be an event for the community where everyone comes together to live the land, the culture and the identity of the territory, in a happy and festive way. This will only be possible if the local population adheres to the event and make it their own. Moreover, a territory is made, not only, of people but also of businesses and organizations that bring new ideas, concepts and that contribute to the sustainable and economic growth of the territory. As such, the enterprises, organizations and institutions that have an active role in the municipality will also be a target group for this event. Lastly, we aim to reach and engage people who might be interested in coming to the territory, either looking for a place to live and call home or with the aim of investing in the region.

How will you engage with your events target groups (participants and beyond) before, during and after the event?

Before
The target groups will be engaged during Alcanena Walking Festival 2026, being able to join collaborative workshops, contributing to the development of the Co-Living Projects. This is a key engagement initiative to ensure that people will participate in the Satellite event activities.

During
The target groups will be invited to participate in all activities of the event:

  • Presentation of the projects, made by FAUP students.
  • Talk with specialist where the participants will be able to ask questions not only about the projects presented but also about specific topics related to the expert’s field of activity (architecture, health, environment, heritage)
  • Voting process, where the target audience will be invited to vote on the projects they like the most. The chosen method for voting will contribute, as well, for a higher engagement of the population as it is a different, innovative and curious approach, that will appeal to both young and old generations.
  • Community Dinner, where the participants will experience a traditional meal in the Olive Grove and have a true community experience. This will be held in Pia Corseira, a natural amphitheatre in the middle of the olive grove.

After
The Municipality commits to implement the co-living projects in the next years having, already, identified a funding opportunity for this (Loan from EIBank). The community will be engaged throughout open sessions as well as through social networks and municipal events.

How will you communicate about your satellite before, during and after the event and its links with the NEB Festival?

Aware of the importance of a good communication for both the success of the event and the dissemination of the NEB values and principles, A strong communication and dissemination of the event will be made in the previous weeks, ensuring that the information will reach the majority of the municipality’s population, in every parish. The communication actions will include:

  • Online dissemination through social networks, the website page created for the events, website of Alcanena Municipality and of the event partners, as well as through social media (local and regional level).
  • Communication of the event through flyers and physical communication materials, directed to the older audiences who have more challenges in working with technologies/online tools, as well as word of mouth or one on one conversations with more secluded people and with migrant communities
  • A strong dissemination will be made throughout Alcanena Walking Festival 2026, by advertising the event by word of mouth and flyers to the participants of AWF.
  • The event will be both Recorded and Livestreamed to ensure the participation of a wider number of people and include people that, for some reason, might not be able to attend the event in-person. For this, it will be used the “Culture Van” a vehicle owned by the municipality that is able to reach isolated places, bridging the gap between more urbanized areas and more rural places.
  • After the event the recording will be shared in the municipality’s website and social media and articles/news about the event will be shared with local and regional social media entities.

Through this event we aim to change the paradigm and reinvent the way that we live the rural areas, showing that villages do not have to be synonym of abandonment, at the same time as inspiring other national and international regions.

How does the event reflect and relate to the values, principles and thematic axes of the New European Bauhaus?

How does your event meet NEB values in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality?

It’s known that a Beautiful and aesthetically pleasing places contribute to increase the physical and mental wellbeing of people, with art and culture playing a major role in making our lives beautiful and meaningful. In addition, a beautiful project will contribute to increase the value and beauty of the rural language as well as enabling creation and the re-invention of places. The values of aesthetics and quality of experience will be met as follow:

  • The collaborative Housing projects that will be presented will focus not only on the functional aspects but, as well, in creating places that are visually integrated in their surroundings and that reflect the specificities of the village where they will be placed.
  • During the talks with experts, there it will be given particular focus to raise awareness on the topics of architecture and well-being, explain the importance of aesthetically pleasant projects for the population’s wellbeing and how beautiful projects can truly enhance experiences and connect people and places.
  • The event will be held in Serra de Santo António, a village characterized by beautiful landscapes, particularly the Olive Grove where the activities of the first day will occur. In addition, its beautiful heritage is in the process of being classified as tangible and intangible heritage.

Through the Co-living projects we aim to revive the villages, requalifying infrastructures which are abandoned or degraded, bringing new Life into these places.

How does your event meet the NEB’s value of inclusion?

The value of inclusion aims to keep the focus on granting equal access to opportunities and resources for all, promoting unity across cultures, ages and genders.

This event will meet the value of inclusion as follows:

  • The event will involve the rural community in a co-creative and participatory process, as a strategy to prevent desertification of small villages and solitude/abandonment of older generations.
  • The community will be part of the decision-making process related to the co-living projects, ensuring that everyone has a say in the development of their villages, giving a stage to people who, usually, have less space to voice their opinions, making them feel like they are part of one community: Alcanena community.
  • This is an opportunity to include the migrant community that lives in Alcanena and that is already being involved in other initiatives organized by the municipality (such as Christmas in Espinheiro Village), showing that this involvement is part of the municipality’s priorities and not an isolated act.
  • The event will be free of charge and open to every person to participate in it.
  • With the creation of co-living spaces there is a commitment to learn to live in a community centred way, respecting one another and incorporating the same principles of living in small villages: Share, cooperate and taking care the other.
  • We aim to bring together the concept of common goods and services (community oven), managed by the whole village.

How does your event meet the NEB’s value of sustainability?

The NEB Compass states sustainability as “prioritising the needs of all life forms and of the planet by ensuring that human activity does not exceed planetary boundaries.”, as such, it’s not possible to talk about development of the territories without talking about sustainability. Sustainability should be looked not only from an environmental perspective but also through an economic and social one, with sustainability being tied to empathy, unity and creativity, being achieved through a collective effort.

The value of Sustainability will be met as follows:

  • The collaborative housing projects proposed will aim to reduce environmental impacts, taking into consideration sustainable principles, not only in the process of constructions/rehabilitation of the infrastructures (use of sustainable materials, eco-design, reduction of waste, water and energy efficiency measures), but also in the creation of community vegetable gardens, construction of green spaces surrounding the buildings and harnessing of rainwater.
  • The event will be held in Serra de Santo António, with some activities happening in the Olive Grove, a unique and valuable setting, promoting the reconnection of the community with nature and the territory.
  • The event will be organized following principles of sustainable events: ensuring the reuse of materials, the reduction waste production, the promotion of recycling during the event and the use of local products for coffeebreaks/dinner.

Please explain briefly how your event reflects one of the NEB principles (multilevel engagement, transdisciplinary approach, participatory process).

A multilevel engagement will be ensured engaging actors from different sectors and levels (local, regional, national) and bringing together the community, civil society organizations, Academia, businesses and local authorities to achieve one common goal: a Collaborative Housing proposal for the revitalization of the rural community. This event, and the process of developing collaborative housing projects, will encompass different thematic areas, such as architecture, sociology, economy and ecology incorporating knowledge and bringing practitioners from different fields of expertise. The participatory aspect of this event has a central stage role, being our goal to involve a high number of citizens during this initiative, receiving contributions and opinions on the presented projects, as well as to involve the entire population in the voting process, empowering the local community and involving them in a process that will have a direct impact on their villages. In addition, we want to value not only the scientific/Academic knowledge but also the collective knowledge of the traditions, that live in the memories and that was passed by through generations. We want to look at the territory as a living entity, with the ancient Olive Trees taking a role as “Village Guardians”, that witnessed the transformation of societies through generations and that will witness the revival of our villages

NEB thematic axes does the event relate to?

  • Reconnecting with nature
  • Regaining a sense of belonging
  • Prioritising the places and people that need it the most

Event’s link to the selected thematic axe

This event will contribute to reconnect people with nature, particularly to the land and to the Traditional Olive Grove, as well as to bring together nature, heritage and culture, highlighting the unique values of this territory, strengthening the emotional ties of the community to the territory and reenforcing the sense of belonging. As well, with Alcanena integrating the Natural Park of Serras de Aire e Candeeiros, this event is an opportunity to highlight the natural beauty and values of this protected area. With Alcanena being a Low-density territory, this event aims to contradict the feeling of loneliness that might be felt by the older generations and bring them activities and opportunities to socialize, be active and improve the physical and mental well-being of our citizens. Since a true sustainable development is only possible with the help and contribution of every single person, through this event we want to give a place and a voice to everyone, leaving no one behind.

Is there anything else that you would like to communicate to the organisers of the Festival?

Alcanena is strong commitment to change the way villages are seen, as isolated and abandoned places, to villages of Well-being, where living in them is synonym of health, belonging, creativity and balance. Serras de Santo António has an Action Plan for the development of the village, created together with the Local community, aiming to change this parish into a Well-Being Village. In the last 5 years the Municipality is focused in developing projects with the local communities, like Espinheiro Green Lab, which aims to develop Espinheiro Village, based on the concept of “Smart Villages”. Alcanena is part of two URBACT Transfer Networks: ReDAN, focused on the use of Nature Based Solutions to renaturalize and restore the ecosystems in collaboration with the local communities. CivicHeritage is focused on the requalification of /degraded infrastructures into places where the community comes together. In Alcanena we aim to requalify an old industrial site into a cultural Hub.