1. Municipality of Kozani (Coordinator)

2. Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia

3. Waste Management of Western Macedonia Region (DIADYMA S.A)

4. University of Western Macedonia

5. Entrepreneurship Support Foundation - JOIN4CS

6. Impact Hub Labs Athens

7. CIVINET CY-EL Secretariat ΑΜΚΕ

8. Symbolo GP

9. Cocoon Modules Private Company

10. CHLIAPAS SA

The overarching objective of EcoZani is to propose an alternative way towards just work transition in Kozani, within the framework of de-lignitisation, by empowering the city’s productive social capital and preserving its socio-cultural identity against unemployment, outmigration and under-skilling especially among young people. The core innovative approach is that EcoZani employs a popular, officially recognised, local annual event, with very old and strong ties to the local communities, as a vehicle and testing bed to activate local ecosystems, while working towards an integrated legacy: the strategic goal is to unearth, harness and retain talent, while the tactics is to turn the event into the first Zero-waste/ Zero-emission/ Zero-exclusion (3Z) Carnival in Greece and Europe. The proposed solution tackles the abovementioned challenges in 3 T-Ecosystems:

i) “Talent”, developing a local ‘Talent Booster’ reinforcing local youth entrepreneurship and accelerating existing enterprises/ professionals

ii) “Technology”, producing and applying new 3Z products to the re-branded Carnival, while establishing two legacy structures for circu-tech innovation, i.e. the UpCycle Creative Reuse Center and the Municipal Inclusive Circu-Tech Hub

iii) “Tolerance”, opening EcoZani’s vision to the city through participatory processes and upskilling/ reskilling training programmes and capacity building

The Reuse Centers can be utilized for EcoZani by providing many materials that can be used to create carnival equipment such as costumes, flags. DIADYMA is engaged in 3D printing activities contributing to circular economy. Plastics refining unit-3D printer manufactures new materials through plastics and aims not only to reuse waste but also to transform waste into new and higher quality products. In this way, it can be used to manufacture materials that can be used in carnival events. DIADYMA has two e-platforms which can be used appropriately for the needs of EcoZani and four electric vehicles that can be used to transport materials and personnel to and from the Municipal Inclusive Circu-Tech Hub. In addition, DIADYMA organizes a series of environmental education, information and public awareness campaigns on recycling and waste management practices to the general public in parks, squares and conference centers. In this direction, the main purposes and all the components of the project will be communicated to the general public.