HYDROUSA: Circular Economy Alternatives

The first Summer School of the HYDROUSA program took place in Tinos from 18 to 21 June 2022, where participants from all over Greece gathered on the island in order to explore alternatives for the transition from linear to circular economy.

The four-day program was organized by Impact Hub Athens in collaboration with a team of experts in the field of technology, from Tinos Ecolodge, National Technical University of Athens, Alchemia Nova, Radkte Biotechnik, Planet and Semide. Its goal was to spread environmental awareness, find nature-based solutions and explore sustainable practices for the management of water on the island of Tinos, which faces a severe water shortage, with 90% of it coming from desalination plants to meet the needs of the country.

The participants of the program, who came from different cognitive backgrounds, created a group of open exchange of perspectives, thoughts and ideas, with the contribution of the trainers, who presented in a holistic way the technical and practical development and implementation of applied Hydro 5 and Hydro 6 technologies.During the program, interactive content activities encouraged team and critical thinking in order to exchange views, concerns as well as raise awareness among the participants.

The completion of the Summer School was followed by Open Day on June 23, an open visit to the premises of Tinos Ecolodge. Through a walking tour by the initiators of the project, Nikos Bedau and Marilia Kalouli, the attendees had the opportunity to learn how an autonomous ecotourism unit operates in Tinos and to get to know the HYDRO technologies that have been applied there in order to promote to local authorities and visitors the conscious management of natural resources and specifically water, energy and food.

During the Open Day and the next day in Chora of Tinos, the play-performance “fall with grace” was presented by Despina Charitonidi as part of the Art Residency.

Accompanied by three dancers, the sculptor-performer presented an excerpt from the upcoming performance of a work that reflects the value of circularity and water bodies and explores the unseen processes and impacts of human interventions, focusing on the militarization and refinement of the oceans, noise pollution, and the impact on humans and marine mammals.

Throughout June, HYDROUSA’s Info Point was open to the public to provide useful information on the principles of circular economy, but also to raise awareness of the sustainability goals and solutions proposed by HYDROUSA.

The last day of the Info Point ended with an interactive workshop by Olivia Kotsifa, where the participants had the opportunity to create stencils, stickers and 3D-printed seals for the decoration of a fabric bag or card, using a 3D printer and a machine for cutting paper and vinyl (vinylcutter – lasercutter).

Through the HYDROUSA program, Impact Hub Athens aims at environmental and social awareness on issues related to the proper use, management and reuse of water resources