All the events and activities organised in the Spanish city during the project’s second year

The second year of the IN-HABIT project in Cordoba has been a very busy and complete one.

September 2021 started with two workshops organised by Design for Change (DFC), one of the project partners. In these two workshops, the participants learnt and practiced the Design for Change (DFC) Methodology, in search of a change of mentality. This activity, which was attended by education professionals to learn the fundamentals and philosophy of DFC, was aimed at empowering children and young people who can change the world.

Also in September, the IN-HABIT project participated in the European Researchers’ Night organised by the University of Cordoba with its scientific theme: “Health and well-being in your city”.

In October, the IN-HABIT project encouraged a group of inhabitants of the Las Palmeras neighbourhood to go on an excursion and visit the beautiful courtyards of the FLORA 2021 Festival. This is a unique event in the world, now in its fourth year, which invades emblematic places in Cordoba to bring the art of the world’s most important floral artists to the city.

In November, the Córdoba IN-HUB was born, a laboratory for inclusive interaction. The city of Cordoba got involved in the launch of the ‘IN-HUB’, the social innovation laboratory created by IN-HABIT.

The same evening that the IN-HUB was launched, an activity was held in Las Palmeras, where several informative tables were set up and the inhabitants of the neighbourhood were invited to contribute ideas to improve their environment. Experts in health, environment, technology and art also took part in this meeting to share their proposals.

Additionally, the IN-HABIT project developed some workshops in the Las Palmeras neighbourhood (Córdoba): one to create decorated hands with Christmas motifs, aimed at the children of the neighbourhood; and another for adults, focused on the creation of candles. Palmeras’s May Cross design and assembly workshops also encouraged the participation of dozens of residents and it was the first time that the May Cross was celebrated in the neighbourhood.

The Córdoba team was also able to bring dozens of people together on other occasions, such as at the Carnival party in February. The inhabitants of Las Palmeras threw themselves into the initiative of the IN-HABIT project to organise a parade that would make history. Crowds of more than a hundred people joined the crowd of costumes that danced animatedly through the streets of the neighbourhood.

There was also a very special celebration on the 8th of March 2022 for International Women’s Day, which left its mark in the form of a feminist mural on the wall of the neighbourhood’s football pitch. This space, which has traditionally belonged to men, is now also being conquered by women of the neighbourhood, who are growing in strength. ‘Palmeras con voz de mujer’ is the name given to this mural which, with the help of a specialised artist who did the sketch, the women of the neighbourhood were able to shape and colour. Everyone from little girls to the oldest residents contributed to the creation of this mural, which can now be enjoyed by all the inhabitants.

There was also a visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Cordoba, when the residents of Palmeras went on an excursion with IN-HABIT. This offered a new opportunity to get in touch with nature and all the possibilities that plants offer us. Together with a guide, an expert in the field, participants walked through different parts of the floral museum.

However, one of the most important footprints that IN-HABIT will leave in Palmeras is the picnic area next to the Cantarranas stream. The hillside of the Cantarranas stream in Las Palmeras had been unusable for decades, but it has now been converted into a picnic area and leisure space, thanks to the personal commitment of the residents of the neighbourhood and the IN-HABIT European research project, coordinated by the University of Cordoba and with the involvement of the Neighbourhood Association Unión y Esperanza de Las Palmeras. The work of residents and the support of two other local companies, Sadeco and El Brote, and of the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation in the European IN-HABIT project (2020-2025), was fundamental in this initiative.

To keep people informed about this activity programme, during this year the local team created a radio podcast, ‘Palmeras, tu voz se escucha’ where they commented on every activity carried out with the residents who collaborate with them. They also put out a monthly publication, like a special magazine, which provided an overview of the previous month.