The FORWARDS Project Annual Consortium Meeting took place from 17-21 February 2025 at Ilse Walentin Haus, BOKU, Vienna. Hosted by BOKU University and led by EFI-FPRN’s Gerhard Weiss and Aine Parlade, the event gathered around 50 in-person participants and online attendees, fostering discussions on advancing climate-smart forestry through research and collaboration.
The meeting commenced on Monday with an internal session for Work Package 4 (WP4), focusing on stakeholder and citizen engagement. From Tuesday to Thursday, the main project meeting featured updates and interactive workshops from all work packages, highlighting progress, challenges, and next steps. Cross-work package meetings facilitated knowledge exchange and interdisciplinary collaboration, ensuring alignment across the project’s objectives. A hybrid format enabled broader participation, allowing both in-person and remote attendees to contribute effectively.
The meeting also featured a citizen engagement exhibit from Task 4.3 led by BOKU, showcasing interactive posters that presented initial outputs from activities in the Swiss and Latvian demo sites. The exhibit highlighted key insights from citizen engagement activities, including perspectives gathered from local communities and stakeholders. The posters incorporated visual storytelling elements, featuring photographs and quotes from participants, as well as preliminary data on community perceptions of climate-smart forestry. Attendees were encouraged to engage with the exhibit by adding their reflections and insights, fostering an interactive dialogue on best practices and lessons learned in citizen engagement.
The event concluded with closing remarks from Project Coordinator Ruben Valbuena (SLU), who reflected on the achievements and ongoing efforts of the FORWARDS consortium in advancing climate-smart forestry. The meeting reinforced the importance of collaborative engagement and set the stage for the next phases of the project.
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