Name: Building Belonging: The Unexpected Journey
Start: 2026-09-24T16:15:00+0200
End: 2026-09-24T17:30:00+0200

Creating better cities together.

Building Belonging: The Unexpected Journey

Thursday September 24, 2026 4:15pm - 5:30pm CEST

Plenary Room - Wroclaw Congress Center (RCTB)

Placemaking projects rarely unfold exactly as planned. When communities come together to negotiate belonging, priorities, identities, and shared ownership of a place, unexpected challenges inevitably emerge. Yet these moments of uncertainty often become the most valuable opportunities for learning.
This interactive session brings together practitioners from Italy, Turkey, Scotland, Poland, and Mexico to share real-life placemaking experiences from diverse cultural contexts. Through a series of short case studies, we will explore how each project evolved, the unforeseen challenges we encountered while working with communities, and the creative strategies we used to navigate them.
Rather than presenting “perfect” projects or one-size-fits-all solutions, we invite participants to engage with the complexity of participatory processes and reflect on how different approaches can foster belonging in unique contexts.
The session will conclude with an interactive exercise where participants will be invited to respond to the challenges presented, propose alternative solutions, and collectively imagine new ways of addressing tensions that arise when building places together.
Participants will leave with practical insights, fresh perspectives, and a deeper understanding that uncertainty is not a barrier to placemaking—it is an essential part of the process.

Speakers

Stefania Campioli

Team member, Local project team

Curious, open-minded, and passionate about architecture, design, and photography, she explores how collaborative processes can shape more inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable places. Architect with a PhD in Urban Planning, she combines professional practice and teaching to bridge concepts... Read More →

Kelly Henderson

Current Master’s Student at the University of Glasgow in City Planning & Freelance Researcher and Community Engagement S, University of Glasgow

Researcher and community engagement practitioner who enjoys learning with people using creative and participatory research methods. She has a background in health psychology, public health, and human-centered design research, and has worked with communities exploring a range of topics... Read More →

Martyna Sykta

Co-founder, KOLAB Laboratorium Projektowania Społecznego (KOLAB Social Design Laboratory)

Social designer and coordinator of interdisciplinary projects, specialising in participation, co-design and design research. She holds degrees in Industrial Design, Design Innovation and Citizenship, and Urban Studies. She is a co-founder of the KOLAB Social Design Laboratory. In... Read More →

Fulya Halacoglu

Community Lead, All Things Urban

Urban planning and community engagement practitioner passionate about cities, communities, and the ways people come together to shape places. As Community Lead at All Things Urban, she supports an international network of urban communities and brings urbanists together through workshops... Read More →

Alejandrina Castillo

Founder, Inspica

Architect, entrepreneur, and founder of Inspica. She has spent the last eight years designing and leading participatory projects with communities across Mexico, primarily in low-income Mayan villages in Yucatán. Her work brings together community engagement, placemaking, art, and... Read More →

Marco Iori

Freelance, Local project team

UX Designer and Workshopper.Passionate about challenges related to human interaction with technology, as a UX designer I work on enhancing the creation of complex products and services that are centered around human needs.As a workshopper, I guide people through processes, helping... Read More →

Carlo Bellini

parish priest, Catholic Church, Diocese of Carpi

Parish priest in Carpi (MO). Licentiate in Theology; studies in canon law. Degree in chemical engineering.

Wiktor Dembs

Co-founder, KOLAB Laboratorium Projektowania Społecznego (KOLAB Social Design Laboratory)

Social designer and co-founder of the KOLAB Social Design Laboratory. He holds a degree in Industrial Design and is a graduate of the Pomeranian School of Social Animation. He gained professional experience, among others, at the Social Innovation Lab in Gdynia.In his design practice... Read More →

Thursday September 24, 2026 4:15pm - 5:30pm CEST
Plenary Room - Wroclaw Congress Center (RCTB) Wystawowa 1, 51-618 Wrocław, Poland

Building Belonging, workshop

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Placemaking Week Europe 2026