Building momentum. How EcoZani is laying the foundations for a zero-waste, zero-exclusion transformation

The early months of EcoZani’s implementation have been defined by a clear intent. To build a shared ecosystem for transformation. One of the most pivotal milestones has been the finalisation of the project’s operational heart, which sets out communication and management rules among partners. Far from being just an internal protocol, this structure has enabled a truly collaborative dynamic among the city, academia, non-profit organisations and enterprises. With regular online consortium meetings, bimonthly Steering Committee sessions and peer review teams embedded in the process, EcoZani is not only implementing activities. It is modelling participatory, transparent governance from within.

In May 2025, the first Entrepreneurship Competition revealed the project's potential to spark innovation rooted in local identity. Among the winning ideas was a touching proposal. Mapping accessible routes during the Carnival, so people with disabilities could enjoy Kozani’s signature celebration. This initiative didn’t just tick boxes on inclusion and mobility. It touched something deeper - a civic will to make the city's transformation visible, tangible and shared. Simultaneously, engaging the Fanoi cultural associations, which are often seen as guardians of tradition, proved both strategic and symbolic. Their active participation in EcoZani’s feasibility workshops demonstrated a genuine openness. A recognition that preserving tradition does not mean resisting change, but helping shape it.

No meaningful transformation comes without friction. EcoZani has faced some early procedural challenges, particularly in navigating public procurement frameworks that require fully finalized designs before launching tenders. This has affected the timeline for transforming Kozani’s old train warehouse into the Municipal Inclusive Circu-Tech Hub, a cornerstone of the project’s technology ecosystem. Yet the team sees this as a worthwhile tension between bureaucratic necessity and co-creative flexibility. In Kozani, blueprints aren’t just technical documents. They’re living agreements, shaped by users, cultural actors, and future entrepreneurs.

While the city of Kozani is the beating heart of EcoZani project, its ambitions extend further. A series of knowledge exchanges with Transfer Cities has already begun through digital meetings. These early interactions signal strong international interest in upscaling the
project’s approaches. The forthcoming partnership agreement among the Transfer Cities will formalise this collaboration, ensuring that EcoZani’s lessons live well beyond the life of the project. A major moment will come in September, when Kozani hosts representatives from all Transfer Cities for a formal site visit, marking not only a symbolic milestone, but also the beginning of deeper cooperation and shared learning.

The next few months will mark a crucial transition for EcoZani. From setting the stage to delivering tangible results. Activities across all work packages are gaining momentum. In the area of monitoring and evaluation, the project is finalising its methodological guide and initiating baseline data collection, which will allow for meaningful tracking of progress over time. Meanwhile, the Talent ecosystem is entering a hands-on phase. Selected ideas from the Entrepreneurship Competition are moving into mentoring and prototyping, with user testing helping refine them into viable solutions. Work on the Technology ecosystem is also advancing, with the feasibility study for the Municipal Inclusive Circu-Tech Hub nearing completion. Public consultations are being launched to co-design Kozani’s first 3Z Carnival, while early prototypes of zero-waste and zero-emission products are under development. At the same time, the Tolerance ecosystem is preparing to roll out a participatory platform for community engagement and initiate the first urban design interventions inspired by the 3Z vision.

EcoZani is more than a project. It’s Kozani’s leap of faith, an act of collective imagination grounded in place, people and possibility. It dares to ask: “what if a post-coal city could become a circular city”? What if the Fanoi fires of Carnival weren’t just a cultural relic but a symbol of regenerative urbanism? By bridging heritage and innovation, EcoZani is building momentum and laying the foundations for a transformation that’s not only zero-waste and zero-emission, but also zero-exclusion.

This article was developed in collaboration with the EcoZani project implementation team. The author thanks project partners for providing materials and insights into the implementation progress.