The Mediterranean is not just a blue line on maps or a postcard heritage. It is a living, fragile space, crossed by environmental crises, depopulation, unbalanced tourism and inequalities. This is where Move to Planet Be starts, the international campaign launched by ARTI Puglia to call young professionals under 35 to work, in the field, on the regeneration of three symbolic territories: Brindisi, Matera and Aigialeia, in western Greece.
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The initiative is part of the European project ENERGIE – Empowering New Energies and Resources in Greece-Italy Area, financed by the Interreg Greece-Italy Program 2021-2027. The objective is clear: to transform urban and post-industrial areas into laboratories of sustainability, innovation and participation, putting young people’s skills and shared visions at the centre.
An assumption of responsibility
The call will select nine young professionals from all over the world, with skills ranging from urban planning to renewable energy, from social innovation to regeneration finance. Each assignment is associated with a fee of 25 thousand euros plus VAT, until the project ends in May 2027.
The talents will work in international and multidisciplinary contexts, alongside institutions, local communities and stakeholders. Not top-down consultancy, therefore, but listening processes, field research, collaborative workshops and co-planning.
Three places, three challenges
In Brindisi, the heart of the intervention will be the former Molo Catene, a port area that is currently underused which will become a symbolic space for innovation, sustainability and renewable energy. A point of contact between the city and the sea, where you can experiment with new uses and new economies.
In Matera, the challenge is delicate: integrating the protection of the Sassi, a UNESCO heritage site, with sustainable mobility solutions. Here the theme is not only to reduce the environmental impact, but to improve the quality of life of those who live and work in a fragile and highly touristic context.
In Aigialeia, in western Greece, the project focuses on the reuse of the former Aigio paper mill, a large industrial archeology site to be transformed into a multifunctional, accessible and energy efficient space. An example of post-industrial reconversion that speaks to many areas of the Mediterranean.
Regeneration as a process
ENERGIE is based on a simple and radical idea: regenerating cities to regenerate the Planet. And not only through physical interventions, but also, and above all, thanks to new models of governance, circular economy, energy transition and social innovation. The projects developed must be replicable, capable of counteracting demographic crises and marginalization, in line with the values of the New European Bauhaus, the EU initiative which aims to transform the built environment, thanks to holistically conceived and designed buildings, open spaces and neighborhoods as part of the transition of the European Green Deal.
The call is open until 12pm on 27 February 2026 and applications can be submitted online on the ARTI institutional website. It is a concrete opportunity for those who want to put their skills at the service of the European ecological transition, working where environment, culture and community truly meet.
In the changing Mediterranean, this time we are not looking for abstract solutions. We are looking for people willing to get their hands dirty with the complexity of places. And to imagine, together, another way of living them.
