The DUST consortium's last meeting to reflect on the future together

From 14–16 October 2025, partners of the DUST project gathered in Sofia and Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, for their final consortium meeting — a milestone event marking the transition from experimentation to reflection and dissemination. Hosted by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and Stara Zagora Regional Development Agency (SZ REDA), the meeting brought together project partners, Advisory Board members, and regional stakeholders to review findings from the Regional Futures Literacy Labs (RFLLs) and explore how the results can inform just sustainability transitions across Europe. 

The Regional Futures Literacy Labs 

The meeting opened on 14 October at the Millennium Hotel in Sofia with a focus on the project’s central innovation: the Regional Futures Literacy Labs (RFLLs). In her introduction, Dr. Verena Balz (Delft University of Technology) presented the RFLL approach — an experimental, design-led framework that combined territorial research with citizen participation to give voice to least-engaged communities in policymaking. 

The RFLLs, implemented in four European regions, tested hybrid participatory formats blending in-person workshops, digital tools, and design methods. Verena reflected on how these labs became spaces of co-learning — helping citizens articulate local concerns, explore long-term visions, and reframe their roles in the sustainability transition. She emphasised that the process not only produced valuable insights for policy but also demonstrated how democratic engagement can be strengthened at the regional level. 

Building on this, Leneisja Jungsberg (Nordregio) presented an overview of the results gathered from nearly 200 participants across the RFLLs. The participants represented a broad mix of ages, genders, and professional backgrounds, creating a rich diversity of perspectives. Leneisja highlighted that, beyond the data collected, the RFLLs demonstrated how learning and dialogue can build confidence and a shared sense of purpose in communities often distant from formal policy processes. 

Insights from the case study regions 

Each of the regional partners then shared their citizen position papers, which summarised the outcomes of their local RFLLs and captured what communities value most in a just transition. 

In Stara Zagora (Bulgaria), Tea Turlakova (SZ REDA) explained how the team experimented with the Pol.is digital participation platform to structure and visualise citizen debates. Participants focused on priorities such as improving education and skills, diversifying the local economy, and promoting wellbeing and social justice. 

The Lusatia (Germany) case was presented by Tihomir Viderman, who highlighted the need to address shortages in social and educational professions, improve housing and neighbourhood quality, and enhance mobility and accessibility — all key conditions for equitable regional transformation. 

In Norrbotten (Sweden), Leneisja Jungsberg (Nordregio) summarised discussions centred on healthcare, sustainable transport, and local food production as foundations for resilient and inclusive communities. 

Meanwhile, in Katowice (Poland), Dr. Marcin Baron (University of Economics in Katowice) described strong public interest in preserving industrial heritage, strengthening education and skills, and ensuring a fair balance between energy transition speed, security, and equity. Across all regions, participants emphasised the need to connect environmental goals with social wellbeing, reflecting a deep understanding of what “just” transition means in practice. 

Futures literacy and territorial capacities 

Following the regional reflections, Ioana Forgaci (Delft University of Technology) presented the futures literacy dimension of the RFLLs — a key element that helped participants think beyond short-term challenges and imagine their communities’ longer-term trajectories. 

Through guided visioning exercises and design-based discussions, participants learned to distinguish between probable and preferred futures and to imagine new possibilities for their territories. Ioana noted that this process expanded people’s sense of agency and helped them see how collective imagination could influence policymaking. 

The work also examined how territorial capital — the mix of social, cultural, and spatial resources available to each region — shapes citizens’ capacity to envision change. By bringing these elements together, the RFLLs created a powerful learning environment where local knowledge and expert insights complemented one another. 

Reflections from the Advisory Board 

The presentations and discussions were followed by rich reflections from members of the DUST External Expert Advisory Board (EEAB) and Stakeholders Advisory Board (SAB), who praised the project’s methodological depth and innovative spirit. 

Prof. Paolo Graziano commended the project’s depth and called for the development of concise policy briefs and a roadmap translating DUST’s learnings into practical policymaking tools. Dr. Christina Cavaco emphasised the added value of DUST’s visual and spatial design methods in making complex ideas tangible, as well as the importance of mutual trust and the temporal dimension — connecting the past, present, and future in policy thinking. 

Luc Hulsman appreciated the relevance of the findings from a policymaker’s perspective, underlining the potential for a toolbox of participatory approaches to help integrate least-engaged communities into policy design. Apostol Dyankov highlighted the role of futures literacy in restoring a sense of agency, particularly for young people expressing uncertainty about their future. 

Agneta Green noted the importance of maintaining community involvement beyond the project, addressing existing power imbalances between citizens and policymakers, while Anna Dudek valued the innovative design of the RFLLs and encouraged developing a practical guide to replicate the approach elsewhere. 

Sharing results 

After discussions on the RFLLs and the advisory board members’ reactions to the project, the consortium shifted focus to the dissemination of results. Chaired by Samir Amin (iUE), this session explored how to ensure that DUST’s outcomes reach audiences across Europe - including policymakers at all levels, regional authorities, civil society, and academia. 

Partners discussed the need for a targeted strategy that present results clearly and concisely, from short policy messages and infographics to learning modules hosted through the DUST Academy. Importantly, they discussed how real change can be brought about by contributing to ongoing discussions amongst stakeholders, drawing on the wealth of insights and outputs from DUST to create new strands of thought and ignite new dialogues. 

The consortium moves to Stara Zagora 

The following day, partners travelled to Stara Zagora, where they visited the AES Galabovo Thermal Power Plant, witnessing firsthand the complexities of Bulgaria’s energy transition. The field visit grounded the previous day’s discussions in a tangible context, illustrating both the challenges and opportunities of transformation in coal-dependent regions. 

Later that day, DUST contributed to the public conference “30 Years Connecting the Dots – Stakeholders’ Policy Dialogue for the Future” at the Regional Library of Stara Zagora, where the project hosted a roundtable titled “People-Centered Transition: What Do Citizens Think About the Future?” Moderated by Kalina Tcolova (CSD), the session featured Dr. Verena Balz (TUD), Tea Turlakova (SZ REDA), Grzegorz Trefon (KADRA), Luc Hulsman (Northern Netherlands Alliance), and Dr. Gancho Iliev (University of National and World Economy, UNWE). The dialogue brought together European and local experts to discuss how citizens’ knowledge and aspirations can guide fairer, more inclusive policy approaches.  

The DUST exhibition was also proudly on display at the conference, with triptychs displaying visual representations of three types of futures in each of the DUST RFLL regions, intended to inspire new perspectives on just sustainability transition policies and to support the positioning of LECs’ concerns in debate about these. The designs imagine the impact of community-led and government-led just sustainability transition policies. They draw on input from the DUST’s Regional Futures Literacy Labs (RFLLs) and policy analyses conducted in four case study regions of Norrbotten (SE), Stara Zagora (BG), Katowice (Pl), and Lusatia (DE). During design explorations, the expectations, hopes, and dreams of least-engaged communities (LECs) from the regions were visually represented and compared with the representation of policy impact.  

The evening concluded with SZ REDA’s anniversary celebration at the State Opera Stara Zagora, a lively cultural event that reflected the project’s collaborative and human spirit. 

The last few months and the future beyond the project 

As the consortium travelled back to Sofia on 16 October, discussions turned toward the future: synthesising the RFLL outcomes, creating policy recommendations, expanding the DUST Academy’s reach and creating dissemination spaces to share the wonderful results from the project. 

In its final phase, the project will continue translating insights into practical tools and guidelines — ensuring that the lessons learned in DUST continue to inform Europe’s journey toward more just and sustainable futures.