Partners from across Europe gathered in Thessaloniki, Greece, last week for the official Kick-off Meeting of the REHUBS project, hosted by DREVEN.
REHUBS is an EU-funded Horizon initiative aiming to transform the way rural and small-to-medium-sized communities adapt to and respond to climate change. eBOS was represented by Sozos Karageorgiou, R&D Senior Project Manager, and Xenia Hadjikypri, R&D Project Manager, for two full days of collaboration, communication, and discussions.
During the meeting, each consortium partner introduced their expertise and role, setting a collaborative tone for the discussions to follow.
Consortium members presented an overview of the REHUBS vision and outlined the objectives, milestones, tasks, methodology, identified risks, and interdependencies of all the project’s work packages. The day ended with an open discussion that allowed partners to clarify expectations, identify potential risks, and set a common course of action for the next phase of activities.
The REHUBS project aims to significantly enhance climate resilience in vulnerable rural areas and small-to-medium-sized communities that are highly susceptible to climate risks such as droughts, floods, and wildfires, by developing an integrated framework of adaptation solutions. The project’s core objectives are to:
- Identify climate challenges and provide comprehensive risk assessment tools.
- Design a multi-level approach to adaptation solutions that notably mainstreams Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for water, wildfire, and agricultural issues.
- Create user-friendly ICT tools (such as the Risk Assessment and Adaptation Platform and the Advanced Early Warning System) to support local authorities.
The project will also focus on facilitating community engagement and capacity building through the establishment of Rural Micro Hubs (RMHs) in seven locations across Europe, with the aim of deploying, testing, and validating these solutions—ensuring their replication and long-term sustainability to build greater climate resilience in these areas.
eBOS plays a key role in the REHUBS project, focusing on the development of digital tools designed to improve climate resilience in rural communities. The key tasks and responsibilities include leading the creation of an integrated Risk Assessment and Adaptation Support Platform (RAAP), which involves the identification and integration of various partner tools, data sources, and components. These include modules such as an AI chatbot, Climate Regional Projections and Risk Assessment Tool, Advanced Weather Modelling, a Framework/List of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for Rural Resilience, an Online Academy, and wildfire detection and forecasting outputs.
