Santorini Blue Loop Living Lab to Host Activities at Aegean Hearth Summit, 23 – 25 Oct, 2026

• September 2, 2026

The Santorini Blue Loop Living Lab will take part in the Aegean Hearth Summit, a 2.5-day gathering focused on wellbeing, landscape and regeneration, scheduled for 23 to 25 October 2026 on the island of Santorini.

This Living Lab, part of the PHAROS project, will run a series of activities and sessions throughout the summit. On Friday morning, Impact Hub Athens, a PHAROS consortium partner, will host a three-hour Fisher Guardian training session in collaboration with the Municipal Port Authority of Thira and local fishermen. Saturday’s programme includes a beach clean-up, discussion panels, workshops and hands-on experiences at the Plastic Lab. Artistic interventions and installations inspired by the ocean will be present across all days, aiming to support a healthier ecosystem.

More details on the Santorini Blue Loop Living Lab agenda, logistics and participation arrangements will be announced shortly.

Hearth Summit Aegean 2026

Impact Hub Athens, in partnership with the Wellbeing Project, is organising the Hearth Summit Aegean 2026 as a place-based gathering that brings together people, ideas and practices to explore how places and communities can thrive through ecological, social and economic regeneration. The summit approaches Santorini not as a mere backdrop, but as a place shaped by volcanic land, water scarcity, tourism, climate pressures, ancient knowledge, Cycladic culture and diverse communities.

Building on the work of Impact Hub in Greece in urban and rural regeneration, community resilience and inclusive development, the summit emerges from cross-sector initiatives, partnerships and place-based projects across the country. These efforts support the transition towards regenerative and wellbeing systems that prioritise ecological balance, social cohesion and local prosperity.

In 2024, the first Hearth Summit in Athens brought together 243 pioneers from across sectors, with 81 speakers from Greece, Europe and the United States. That gathering became a shared exploration of what might be possible if wellbeing were placed at the centre of how we design communities, economies and our relationship with nature and landscape.

The 2026 Aegean edition explores bioregioning as a practice for regeneration: working from potential rather than problems, creating leverage through targeted initiatives, and recognising the realities of living in a specific place. At its core, the summit approaches wellbeing through the interconnections of human beings, land, water, energy, biodiversity, culture and economy.

Taking the Hearth Summit to Santorini is an intentional act. The Aegean, like many bioregions, faces interdependent tensions: overtourism, water scarcity, fragile ecosystems, biodiversity loss, and economic and cultural pressures. These are not abstract challenges but lived conditions that directly shape the wellbeing of communities, ecosystems and local economies. Santorini, as a global destination, serves as a symbol of how a place can be reimagined and restored by leveraging its unique characteristics: ancient history, indigenous seeds and produce, traditional crafts, volcanic geology, marine biodiversity, agricultural practice, climate and soil conditions, remoteness, and the connectivity and solidarity of a rural island community. The summit will take a deep dive into these tensions, recognising them as essential entry points for meaningful, place-based change.

The event unfolds over two and a half days across multiple locations on the island, designed as an immersive journey that moves participants from sensory to emotional, cognitive, social and participatory sessions.

The summit is intended for local communities of the Aegean and Santorini, including residents, entrepreneurs, farmers, winemakers, tourism professionals and cultural actors; policymakers and public sector representatives; civil society organisations and philanthropic institutions; researchers, startups and professionals in bioregioning, regenerative practices, environmental science, tourism, circularity and governance; and artists and creative practitioners engaging in site-specific, participatory and ecological practices.

Those interested in attending can book their spot here.