Citizen Action Labs (CAL) are citizen-centred events that strive to obtain first-hand knowledge on how “energy” is being perceived by the participants in their daily routines and how it is embedded into their lifeworld. The hope is to co-produce new knowledge on how to support the energy transition through citizenship engagement, by working with people who may not identify with the energy transition, nor with energy citizenship.
Città di Castello CAL will explore these issues focusing on household/citizens currently at the margins of the energy transition: women, underprivileged groups, and hard-to-reach groups.
The participants will be encouraged to think about energy as part of their daily lives and how they relate to it, in order to then explore the visions of a good energy future first suspending and then invoking the reality principle.
Main objectives
The main objective is to make citizens aware of their view and perception of energy in their daily life, not the least because of the present precariousness of energy refurbishment and the dramatically rising prices.
– How consciously is energy being managed in the household?
– How do the participants manage rising energy costs?
– How do they feel about energy security, and their own role in the “energy community”?
– What are their visions of assuming a wider role as energy citizens and thus improving their quality of life?
For whom is it relevant – Potential participants
The energy transition can be successful only through the involvement of all citizens. The European Union recognized the regulatory and ethical implications and related conflicts with the formula “just transition” and even more forcefully with the slogan “to leave no one behind”. In order not to leave anyone behind, a good reason must be given for those concerned to take action to claim their energy citizenship. Even more so for those groups of citizens who are already “behind”.
Main topics of discussion
– Energy in daily life: domestic appliances, keeping the house warm/cool
– Experiencing energy through action: ‘How do I feel about energy efficiency and renewable?’
– Energy consumption and possibilities of improvement:
– ‘What do I want to change in my relation to energy? What do I expect from the local government and the energy providers to improve the situation?
– In an open “town hall” meeting: Debate on how to improve the energy services, the environment, and fight climate change. Perspectives on an energy community.
Co-organizers and other partners
Research Team
Climate Alliance Italy and University RomaTre
Implementation Partners
Social Services of municipality of Città di Castello – Caritas – UniTre – Università delle Tre Età, Città di Castello
Stakeholder groups involved
Citizens in contact with the Social Services of the city, Caritas (predominantly women, citizens with a migratory background, elderly living energy poverty as a threat), and with UNITRE (senior citizens, middle class).
The project research team, implementation partners and stakeholders group involved will be all “participants” of the Citizen Action Lab.