Santorini Living Lab Fisher Guardian Workshop in Vlychada before opening Aegean Hearth Summit

• October 22, 2026

SANTORINI, Oct 22, 2026 — Today starts the Aegean Hearth Summit with a PHAROS Santorini Living Lab activity, the Fisher Guardian Workshop, taking place on Friday 23 October from 12:00 to 16:00 at Vlychada Fishing Port. This half-day event precedes the official opening of the Aegean Hearth Summit, which will be held later this afternoon at 17:30 at the Mati Art Observatory.

The Fisher Guardian participatory workshop, organised under the PHAROS Fisher Guardian Programme, brings together Santorini fishers to share their experiences, discuss the challenges they face and jointly identify practical measures to tackle marine litter, improve waste management and reduce bycatch, among other issues. By recognising and building on their knowledge and experience, the workshop seeks to strengthen and empower fishers in their role as Guardians of the Ocean. The session is organised by CIIMAR, Coordinator of the Fisher Guardian Programme, and IHA Athens, Coordinator of the Santorini Blue Loop Living Lab. Dimitra Mavrommati will facilitate the workshop.

Time	Session	Description
12:00 to 12:15	Registration and Welcome	Arrival and sign-in for participating Santorini fishers.
12:15 to 12:30	Theoretical Introduction	A short framing session introducing the workshop objectives and the Fisher Guardian approach.
12:30 to 13:40	Workshop #1: Marine Litter, Group Exercises	A series of group exercises examining marine litter from different angles: Exercise 1: Litter Classification; Exercises 2 and 3: Litter produced on board; Exercises 4 and 5: Marine litter passively collected.
13:40 to 14:00	Plenary Session	Presentation of results from Workshop #1 and a facilitated discussion among participants.
14:00 to 14:15	Short Break	Refreshments and informal conversation.
14:15 to 15:15	Workshop #2: Bycatch and Fisheries Footprint, Group Exercises	A session focusing on the wider environmental footprint of fishing activities: Exercises 6 and 7: Bycatch; Exercise 8: GHG emissions; Exercise 9: Plastic pollution.
15:15 to 15:30	Workshop #3: PHAROS Solutions, Group Exercises	A short session introducing practical responses developed through the project: Exercise 10: PHAROS solutions; Exercise 11: Spread the word.
15:30 to 16:00	Plenary Session and Closing	Presentation of results from Workshops #2 and #3, followed by a discussion and the official closing of the workshop.
16:00	Social Gathering with Food and Drinks	An informal networking opportunity for participants and organisers.

PHAROS will also have significant activities in several other sessions over the weekend. The first is Radical Futures: Imagining a Truly Zero-Waste Island, taking place on Saturday 24 October from 10:30 to 12:00 at Ftelos Brewery. This participatory session invites attendees to explore bold and unlikely future scenarios for the Aegean, moving beyond conventional thinking about waste and resources. By taking these speculative possibilities seriously, participants are asked to reflect on what they reveal about the present moment and to identify the actions that could help us prepare for, prevent or accelerate such futures. It is an exercise in collective imagination, designed to stretch the boundaries of what a truly zero-waste island might look like and what it would require in practice. The session forms part of the Summit’s wider inquiry into how islands can move from linear models of consumption to circular ones, using foresight as a tool for present-day decision-making.

Later the same day, the Plastic Lab Workshop will run from 15:30 to 16:30 at Vlychada Port. Part of the Zero Waste Island Pathway, this hands-on session offers a direct opportunity to engage with participants and present the circular innovation activities connected to the projects. Attendees will explore how materials can be circulated in nature, finding new life through circularity, craft and local knowledge. The workshop is designed to turn waste into useful objects, challenging participants’ relationship with disposable materials and demonstrating practical alternatives to single-use culture. It is a tangible expression of the Summit’s commitment to moving from discussion to doing.

The Beach Clean-Up on Saturday 24 October from 12:30 to 13:30 at Vlychada Beach is also part of the Zero Waste Island Pathway. This activity brings participants together for practical environmental action, building on the community engagement approaches developed through REMEDIES and continued through ISLA BONITA. It is another opportunity for PHAROS to connect with the local community and support the objectives of the PHAROS Living Lab, turning dialogue into tangible action for the coastal environment. By combining hands-on work with the Summit’s wider conversations, the clean-up reinforces the link between ecological stewardship and collective responsibility.

Beyond the PHAROS activities, the Hearth Summit Aegean features a packed programme across two and a half days. The full agenda is set out below, with each session and its location.

Hearth Summit Aegean 

Day 1 Agenda: The Ground We Stand On

Location: Mati Art Observatory

Time	Session	Description
17:30 to 18:00	Registration and Welcome Drink	Arrival, informal networking and refreshments before the opening session.
18:00 to 18:30	Why Now, Why Here?	An opening plenary that places Hearth within a growing global movement around regeneration and resilience, asking why Santorini and why this moment matter.
18:30 to 19:00	Regeneration as the Practice for System Transformation	A keynote session featuring Anna Krzywoszynska, examining how regenerative thinking can reshape systems rather than merely improve existing practices.
19:00 to 20:00	Hikaru: The Fractured Mirror of the Anthropocene	A poetic performance by Anastasia Parava exploring light, shadow and perspective through mirrors, prisms, objects, the body and electroacoustic sound, inviting reflection on what remains unseen in ourselves and the world.
20:00 to 22:00	Saint Averkios Celebration: Wineries Opening First Bottles	A local celebration marking the end of the harvest season, with Santorini’s wineries opening the first bottles of the year’s production around shared tables.

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Day 2 Agenda: Feeling the Land, Imagining the Future

Morning Location: Ftelos Brewery
Afternoon Pathways: Multiple locations across the island, including Vlychada Port, Vlychada Beach, Megalochori and Emporeio. The evening sessions return to Nafsika Estate.

Time	Session	Description
09:30 to 10:00	Welcome Coffee	Arrival and informal networking at Ftelos Brewery.
10:00 to 10:30	Opening Plenary	A framing session to set the tone for the day’s explorations.
10:30 to 12:00	Radical Futures: Imagining a Truly Zero-Waste Island	A participatory exploration of bold future scenarios for the Aegean, inviting participants to reflect on what these possibilities reveal about the present and what actions could help prepare for, prevent or accelerate them.
12:00 to 12:30	Break and Travel to Pathway Starting Points	Participants move to their chosen pathway locations across the island.
12:30 to 17:00	Parallel Pathways (Optional)	Four simultaneous journeys across Santorini, each combining a place-based exploration, a shared lunch and a hands-on workshop. Pathway 1: Zero Waste Island includes the Beach Clean-Up at Vlychada Beach (12:30 to 13:30) and the Plastic Lab Workshop at Vlychada Port (15:30 to 16:30). Pathway 2: Water and Earth explores water, soil and cultivation in a landscape shaped by scarcity. Pathway 3: Biodiversity involves collecting local species and transforming them into colour and pattern through natural printing. Pathway 4: Landscape examines tradition, climate and innovation in Santorini’s wine production.
18:30 to 19:00	A Time Travelling into Ecological Belonging	A music, spoken word and storytelling performance tracing humanity’s relationship with nature from ancient Greek traditions to imagined future civilisations, featuring Yiannis Pantazis.
19:30 to 20:00	The Seeds That Bring Us Together	A session with Arianne Lotti exploring the stories held within seeds and what preserving natural landscapes and local biodiversity means for communities and culture.
20:00 to 21:30	Hearth Feast	A shared meal curated by Melina Dunham, designed as a space for connection. Around the table, participants respond to a series of questions, exchange perspectives and get to know one another, turning dinner into an opportunity for meaningful conversation and new relationships.
21:30 to 23:00	Panigiri	A music performance by Dimitris Sideris and Dimitris Sgouros, turning Greek music into a mystic environment as the hearth is lit and slowly transformed into a panigiri.

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Day 3 Agenda: From Seed to Harvest

Location: Tomato Industrial Museum

Time	Session	Description
09:30 to 10:00	Morning Welcome: Space Tour	An introduction to the Tomato Industrial Museum and its setting on Vlychada Beach.
10:00 to 12:00	In Times of Scarcity: Stories of Resilience	A session featuring island initiatives from Lesvos, Andros, Lampedusa, Ibiza, Mauritius and Santorini, exploring how smaller places adapt and build resilience despite scarcity and uncertainty. The discussion covers challenges around water, biodiversity, energy, tourism, food and community as sources of knowledge for a changing world.
12:00 to 12:30	Coffee Break	Refreshments and informal conversation.
12:30 to 13:00	Planted Debates: Resilience or Growth, Live Podcasting	A fireside conversation bringing mayors into the “messy middle” of competing priorities, exploring how places can remain open, prosperous and welcoming while protecting the people, culture, nature and identity that make them worth experiencing. Moderated by Nikos Zorzos, with confirmed participation from the Mayor of Athens (TBC) and the Mayor of Mallorca (TBC).
13:00 to 14:00	Lunch and Documentary Screening	A screening of Respiro delle Pelagie: The Breath of the Pelagie Islands, a short documentary trailer taking viewers to Linosa, a small volcanic island in the Pelagie archipelago, where local voices reveal the relationship between people, nature and the sea. Directed by Andrea Vanadia, 9 minutes 52 seconds, in Italian with English subtitles.
14:00 to 15:00	Experts Riddle: Post Tourism Aegean	A moderated session with Georgia Nomikou, President of the City Council and Tourism Board of Thira Municipality, alongside Dimitrios Alexakis (COO of Empiria Group), Pascal Falcone (CEO of Meta com) and Idrissia Thestrup (expert in regenerative tourism), examining the challenges and possibilities of tourism in the Aegean.
15:00 to 16:00	Closing and Music for the Sea	A closing music performance by Coco Francavilla shaped by soundscapes from the sea, creating a moment of reflection, grounding and connection with nature. A final reminder of ecological belonging as participants leave the Summit and return to the world beyond it.