On 7^th June, Novo mesto hosted the first co-creation workshop with local stakeholders. The event was part of the first series of VARCITIES Co-creation workshops, taking place in June in all the eight Pilot Cities. The goal of the first series of workshops was to introduce the visionary solutions to the local stakeholders in order to validate and refine them collectively, before starting the co-design process.

The event took place in person at the velodrome in the park of Češča vas, the pilot site of Novo mesto. It was attended by more than 40 participants.

The Mayor of the Municipality Mr. Gregor Macedoni delivered an introductory speech where he emphasised that VARCITIES project will focus on building recreational paths and on the coexistence of natural and urban environment. The Mayor also invited the participants to actively take part in the project, bringing their proposal and expertise. “We want to hear you and involve you”, he stressed.

Peter Gersic, VARCITIES project manager within the Municipality of Novo mesto, introduced the project and the visionary solutions to the workshop participants. He also pointed out that citizens are the co-creators of the Sport and recreational park Češča vas, in a collaborative effort to encourage and promote physical activity and well-being within the municipality of Novo mesto.

VARCITIES Visionary Solutions – the five actions presented

1. Brownfield remediation and greening with indigenous plant species
2. Creation of sustainable forest trails
3. Interconnection among sport, recreational and therapeutic facilities
4. Integrated management of the facilities
5. IoT solutions for measuring the health and well-being of users and visitors.

What we learned from participants and local stakeholders (main inputs)

• There are several recreational programmes and initiatives in the surrounding areas of Češča vas recreation park which could be integrated in the project
• Necessity to maintain the forest trails, with potential new jobs to be created
• Assess the optimal number of daily visitors in the park to protect the sense of intimacy with nature
• How to provide access to people with disabilities (i.e. along the forest trail)
• Preserve the existing vegetations, whatever intervention will be made
• Connect the running trail with other running areas in the city
• Accessibility to the park (public transport connections should be expanded)
• Češča vas sports and recreation park should engage especially children and recreational athletes.