Youth as Agents of Hope: Urban Living Labs and Community-Engaged Learning
29–30 October 2026 | Larnaka, Cyprus
A two-day conference is combined effort of the Erasmus+ project ‘Education in Living Labs: Participatory Skills for Sustainable Urban Governance’ (PS-U-GO) and the ‘AESOP Thematic Group on Public Spaces and Urban Cultures’ (TG PSUC), hosted by the Society and Urban Form lab (SURF), Department of Architecture, University of Cyprus, and supported by Larnaka2030, the European Capital of Culture 2030.
Conference Topics
Involving young people in public space and urban governance brings immediate concerns into long-term urban development agendas. Urban Living Labs (ULLs) offer a promising framework for inclusive urban decision-making, fostering collaboration among multiple stakeholders and young people, and creating situated learning environments that bridge formal higher education with engagement in space of everyday life.
The conference aims to address the following questions:
- How do young people gain a meaningful role in public space and urban governance?
- What role do Urban Living Labs play in bridging formal education with real-world urban contexts?
- How can participatory methodologies support civic responsibility among students and young urban professionals?
- What pedagogic frameworks best support situated, experiential learning through ULLs?
- How can students and young people contribute to urban change by co-creating urban solutions and imagining hopeful urban futures?
- What institutional, spatial, and relational practices make ULLs with young people effective?
Who is Invited to Participate?
Researchers, educators, students (including early-career researchers), practitioners, youth workers, policymakers, and community organizations engaged with:
- Youth participation in urban planning and decision-making
- Urban Living Labs as educational and governance spaces
- Participatory and community-engaged pedagogies
- Situated learning and experiential education in higher education institutions
- Co-creation, commoning, and civic empowerment in urban contexts
Format of Participation
- Oral presentations, visual essays or videos (10–15 minutes).
- Contributions may address theoretical, methodological, educational, or practice-based perspectives related to the conference themes.
The Conference Format
The conference is organized around roundtable discussions, each to one of the conference's core questions, with a moderator and a discussant. Roundtables bring together diverse participants who share their work in short interventions (10–15 minutes), followed by open discussion.
This is accompanied by a mobile workshop to an active Urban Living Lab site in Larnaka, connecting the academic discussions with live urban practice. Participants will also have the opportunity to engage onsite with the work of international artists participating in the Creative Europe project MedSea led by Larnaka2030.
The conference is small-scale, limited to approximately 30 participants, allowing for in-depth exchange and collaborative reflection.
Submissions
Abstract of 250–300 words to:
Please use the template provided here: https://www.surf.com.cy/news-and-events/call-for-participation-ps-u-go-aesop-tg-psuc-international-conference-2026/
Key Dates
- 1 September 2026 Deadline for participation interests and submissions
- 15 September 2026 Participation approvals
- 29–30 October 2026 Conference
- 30 May 2027 Conference publication
Conference publications
- The conference findings, including all presentations and discussions, will be published online following the event. A book of abstracts will also be published prior to the conference. Both publications will have ISBNs.
Fee
- There will be no registration fees for the conference. Participants are responsible for all travel and accommodation costs.
More information: https://www.surf.com.cy/news-and-events/call-for-participation-ps-u-go-aesop-tg-psuc-international-conference-2026/
