From Thessaloniki to Berlin: Butterflies and Placemaking
As part of the Future DiverCities Twinning Program, Evanthia Stavrou (founder of Craftopia and sociocracy expert), Ioannis Efstathiou (Street Mode Festival), and Dimitra Samsaki (communications strategist, MoMus) visited Berlin to engage in peer exchange and co-learning with Public Art Lab (PAL).
The visit revolved around shared interests in art, ecology, and civic engagement, with a special focus on non-human rights, gender equality, and participatory governance. Drawing from over 15 years of community-building experience, the Greek team exchanged know-how on grassroots activation, inclusive urban culture, and public space transformation.
A rich program of site visits brought the team into dialogue with some of Berlin’s most inspiring urban experiments, including:
-
Floating University (with Lorenz Kuschnig Lefort)
-
Tempelhofer Feld (with Margit Middelmann)
-
Spreepark Art Space (with Jennifer Sréter)
A highlight of the week was participating in re:publica 2025, where the team joined panels and interactive sessions on digital culture, activism, and interdisciplinary collaboration. At the youth conference TINCON, the team around Evanthia facilitated the workshop “The Butterfly Effect”, a symbolic and participatory activity combining origami with dialogue around biodiversity, gender justice, and chaos theory.
They also connected with contributors from PAL’s Biodiversity in Action programme, exploring innovative initiatives like Digital Calligraffiti, City Digital Skin, and the ECHO Campaigns – each blending creative storytelling with environmental awareness and urban activism.
A heartfelt thank you to Evanthia, Ioannis and Dimitra for their inspiring contributions throughout the exchange and to Susa from PAL for hosting!
