Climathon Venice 2025
A marathon of ideas to shape the future of Venice, together
Climathon is an international event promoted by ClimateKIC, held annually in hundreds of cities around the world. It’s inspired by the format of a traditional hackathon – a marathon of ideas – focused on developing concrete and innovative solutions to tackle the challenges posed by climate change. At its core, Climathon is about mobilizing citizens globally, inviting them to activate their human potential to collaborate and take action together, for the good of our communities and the planet.
When
- Saturday October 4th, 2025: a day of workshops and collaborative activities, dedicated to the co-creation of ideas by the participants
- Sunday October 5th, 2025: a celebratory day, open to a wider audience, featuring the presentation and awards ceremony for the ideas that emerged, along with the unmissable conference-show “CambiaMenti climatici”
Where
The event will take place at the very heart of Venice, at the premises of The Human Safety Net, Procuratie Vecchie, Piazza San Marco, Venezia.
Entrance: Saint Mark's Square 105 (Corte Maruzzi)
Challenge
Let’s create solutions that build networks and prepare us to face extreme climate events – by leveraging the unique features of Venice and its lagoon.
Climathon Venice 2025 focuses on two key directions, both deeply rooted in the city’s identity:
- Solutions for and with the most vulnerable
The goal is to design supportive solutions for those most vunlerable to the impacts of climate change. These solutions should emerge from the territory itself, reflecting the specific characteristics of the lagoon and the complex architecture of the historic center of Venice. They should be anchored in the historical nature of Venice, a city born in a lagoon that offered refuge and resources, and which grew by welcoming and valuing diversity. - Solutions for and with the lagoon
The lagoon and its biodiversity are what make Venice truly unique. Can they also become the cornerstone of its climate adaptation? This challenge invites the creation of solutions that both promote the active protection of the lagoon ecosystem – engaging the human potential and strengths of citizens, schools, associations, and institutions – and harness biodiversity, local knowledge, and traditional practices as active resources in responding to climate change.
Why a Climathon in Venice
The climate emergency in Venice is unfolding with accelerated and intensified dynamics. The city’s deep connection with its lagoon – long a source of identity and greatness – now becomes also an element of fragility and vulnerability. Venice, the world’s iconic city of water, and its lagoon ecosystem, rich in biodiversity, local knowledge, and traditional practices, stand on the front lines of climate change. Among its most evident impacts, high tide events, storm surges, heavy precipitations, and heatwaves, which are becoming increasingly frequent and severe.
The challenge is to harness the uniqueness and richness of this territory and turn them into resources for climate resilience. Because resilience – the ability of a system to cope with change without losing its trajectory of development – stems from diversity: of functions, responses, and solutions. Policies alone – whether European, national, or local – aren’t enough. Infrastructure alone isn’t enough. We need something more. We need connection. We need collective action, rooted in care for the land and its traditions. We need to be a community.
This is where Climathon Venice 2025 comes in: an opportunity to activate collective intelligence, to imagine a multitude of grassroots actions, bottom-up solutions, and territory-driven initiatives. A chance to leverage, with creativity and vision, the distinctiveness of the lagoon context – unique in nature, culture, and history – and transform it into a driver of adaptation and innovation. Climathon is not just an event. It’s an invitation to think, act, and build the future of Venice – together. Because, as “Futures Literacy” teaches us, it is by envisioning the future that we become capable of making more informed decisions in the present.
Programme
Saturday October 4th, 2025
Morning – Auditorium
10.00-10.30 Welcome remarks and institutional greetings
Official welcome and event opening
10.30-11.45 Inspirational talks and introduction to Climathon
- Carlo Barbante (International Centre for Climate Change Research and Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
"The climate crisis and human responsibility: acting in the Anthropocene" - Fabio Pranovi (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
“Venice is its lagoon” - Isabella Mavellia (GreenerEU)
“From Climathon to the birth of a start-up” - Alex Bellini (explorer)
“New narratives for a different world” - Silvia Rova (CSRCC), Elisabetta Russo (CNR-ISMAR), Luciano Canova (economist and science communicator), Massimo Bustreo (humanist, IULM Professor, trainer, and coach)
“Climathon Venice 2025: Instructions for Use” - Circle of voices – A word from participants
Climathon Venice 2025 also aims to be an opportunity to build connections among the many people and organizations in the area. In this circle of voices, participants will have the chance to introduce the associations and initiatives they are part of.
11.45-12.00 Teams formation
Participants will be divided into teams of 4-5 people, who will serve as creative hubs to develop ideas and solutions for the Climathon challenges.
Lunch – Illy Cafè
12.00-13.00 Buffet lunch
With team-building activities in the “A World of Potential” exhibition and opportunity for a self-guided tour
Afternoon – Hub Coworking
13.00-19.00 Group work
Teams will develop their ideas through targeted exercises, facilitated by Massimo Bustreo and Luciano Canova.
19.00-21.00 Aperitif – Illy Cafè
With effective communication games in the “A World of Potential” exhibition and the opportunity for a self-guided tour
Sunday October 5th, 2025
Morning – Auditorium
10.00-10.15 Welcome remarks and institutional greetings
10.15-11.00 Ideas presentations
The participating teams will present their ideas. The jury will evaluate the ideas based on their relevance to the local area, feasibility, expected impact, and communication effectiveness.
11.00-12.15 Conference-show “CambiaMenti climatici. Are we gambling with our future? The perfect storm of irrational behaviors” [ITA] by Massimo Bustreo and Luciano Canova
A conference-show on sustainability, behavior, and climate change. It explores our attitudes of inertia and underestimation of the problem, using interactive and playful methods to stage the mental, emotional, and cognitive traps that prevent us from seeing the elephant in the room.
12.15-13.00 Awards ceremony
The teams that developed the three winning ideas will be offered participation in the InnovationLab, a programme created to transform the ideas from the Climathon into concrete projects.
Galleria fotografica
Emerging ideas
We are proud to present the six ideas that emerged during Climathon Venice 2025, the result of the collaborative work of the citizens, students, professionals, and representatives of local associations who participated in the workshops.
GAIA Network
The group began from the perspective of a 13-year-old Venetian girl experiencing eco-anxiety and envisioning a future of collaboration among local entities. The project proposes the creation of a non-profit cluster connecting associations, small and medium-sized enterprises, educational institutions, and public bodies to promote an inclusive and sustainable future in the Venice Lagoon. It aims to strengthen environmental and social resilience through operational consulting, legal support, strategic communication, and a collaborative web platform. The initiative is rooted in the territorial hubs of Poveglia and Vignole, which respectively emphasize memory and nature. The project is based on values of environmental justice, participation, and biodiversity protection, with a systemic structure linking local and international actors.
Santa Marta El Zardin in pìe
This group proposes a redevelopment project for the Santa Marta neighborhood, involving the installation of vertical gardens and bio-reactors on buildings. These modular solutions aim to improve thermal insulation and reduce the urban heat island effect, while also producing food, enhancing biodiversity, and fostering cohesion among residents – especially the most vulnerable. The project will unfold in a design phase followed by implementation and monitoring, supported by universities and local associations. Its development will promote the creation of circular micro-economies and strengthen territorial identity.
CAE Vignole
The group proposes the creation of a network of energy communities based on renewable sources, centered on the island of Vignole. “CAE” stands for Active Energy Community, but also evokes “calle” (Venetian street), a metaphor for connection between different realities. The project aims to foster a sense of community, environmental responsibility, and active participation by involving citizens, schools, universities, local authorities, and businesses. The implementation of a widespread and participatory energy community will help reduce CO₂ emissions and energy costs, while promoting an interdisciplinary approach that strengthens social cohesion and enhances environmental research and education.
Acquapelago
This group proposes the creation of an experiential and digital network dedicated to the “Water Civilization,” to enhance the lagoon territory and convey positive visions to new generations. Through a web portal and immersive activities (tours, workshops, boat trips), the project promotes environmental awareness, social cohesion, and personal well-being. It includes an educational path for schools and young “water guardians,” and an experiential ecotourism portal, engaging schools, researchers, creatives, and institutions. The project is expected to have significant territorial impact, generating employment, skills, and sustainable tourism, easing pressure on the historic city and strengthening lagoon citizenship.
Respiro della Barena
This project promotes the revalorization of the barene (salt marshes) as productive ecosystems, using them as a metaphor to address the expected increase in coastal salinity due to sea level rise. It aims to identify food crops suitable for saline environments and involve young and elderly people in research and experimentation. In this vision, the barene become spaces of connection between generations and with nature, offering young people new perspectives of trust and participation. The project integrates science, education, and active citizenship to imagine a resilient and productive future.
Vivere la laguna
The group proposes a training path for students and citizens to rediscover Venice and its lagoon as a unique ecosystem and learn to live it consciously. The project encourages young people to engage with the lagoon and its traditions through “going into the lagoon,” combining eco-sustainable navigation experiences (Venetian rowing and sailing) with digital tools (gamification, augmented reality). By involving schools, universities, local authorities, and associations, the project aims to educate “new Venetians” who are aware and respectful, while reducing the impact of motorized navigation.
Follow-up
The Climathon is not a final destination, but the beginning of a long-term journey aimed at engaging the local community in a shared reflection on the future of Venice and its lagoon.
Specifically, Climathon Venice 2025 will mark the launch of two parallel tracks: an educational track for local schools and an innovation track focused on developing the ideas that emerge from the Climathon. Both of these tracks will converge at a public event scheduled for spring 2026, offering a chance to publicly share and discuss the outcomes of both tracks.
"Che clima che fa?" is an innovative programme on climate change and sustainability within the framework of global citizenship education. It is designed for primary and middle schools and is developed in collaboration with the Dialogues for Futures Network. The topic of climate change will be addressed on both a global and local scale through a series of hands-on, experimental workshops, using Venice and its lagoon as an emblematic reference. The programme will lead each class to develop its own reflection on the values of care and respect between people and nature. This will be distilled into a final communication product under the guidance of communication professionals. The goal is to raise awareness among all participants – students, teachers, and families – about the environmental and social dimensions of climate change, and to help them realize their own capacity to contribute meaningfully to a sustainable future.
"InnovationLab" is an innovation programme that aims to:
- provide participants with the knowledge and skills to transform the ideas that emerged during the Climathon into concrete actions and results (e.g., start-ups or projects);
- support the idea development process, guiding participants in their evolution and implementation.
The InnovationLab will be offered as a prize to the Climathon winners. It will consist of a series of five interactive workshops, led by GreenerEU, to be held between November 2025 and March 2026.
The educational and innovation tracks will converge at a public event scheduled for May 2026. This event will serve as a key moment for sharing and celebrating the outcomes of both tracks, and will in turn become a catalyst for a shared discussion. The event will act as an intergenerational gathering where students, teachers, citizens, researchers, and policymakers will meet to share and discuss concrete proposals for sustainable change in the Venetian area.
About us
Climathon Venice 2025 is organized by the International Centre for Climate Change Research and Studies (CSRCC), in collaboration with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, IUAV University of Venice, the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and the Biodiversity Gateway of the National Biodiversity Future Center, the Consortium for coordination of research activities concerning the Venice lagoon system (CORILA), the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), the Venetian District of Research and Innovation (DVRI) [ITA], GreenerEU [ITA], the Dialogues for Futures Network [ITA], Rinascimento Green [ITA], the EthnoAnthropological Research Centre (CREA) [ITA], under the patronage of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere, ed Arti [ITA].
The event is included in the programme of “Le città in Festa” by the Municipality of Venice [ITA]. We thank The Human Safety Net Foundation by Generali.
This initiative is part of our “third mission”, that is, activities that foster engagement between academia and society, with a strong focus on the Venetian territory. Our aim is to actively involve citizens in a public dialogue about the future of Venice and its lagoon in the face of climate change.
- Carlo Barbante (International Centre for Climate Change Research and Studies - CSRCC, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council - CNR-ISP)
- Francesco Musco (International Centre for Climate Change Research and Studies - CSRCC, IUAV University of Venice)
- Pierpaolo Campostrini (Consortium for coordination of research activities concerning the Venice lagoon syst - CORILA)
- Elisabetta Russo (Institute of Marine Sciences of the National Research Council - CNR-ISMAR)
- Erica Villa (Venetian District of Research and Innovation - DVRI)
- Alex Bellini (explorer)
- Silvia Santato (Transistor Venezia representative)
- Isabella Mavellia (GreenerEU)
- Fabio Malfatti (environmental antropologist, EthnoAnthropological Research Centre - CREA)
- Chiara Bidoli (Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change - CMCC)
Event coordinator
Silvia Rova, silvia.rova@csrcc.it