The challenge of the project week was how to work together, collaborate & co-create on the topic of nature (BiodiverCities) in order to develop apps for learning about nature in our environment as well as mapping nature, all in a fun and attractive way. We organized a program for the regional school project week where we established inter-institutional cooperation and involved key stakeholders for active cooperation of different levels from the local community, national level & EU level. This resulted in the institutionalization of the developed and tested program since it is included in the curriculum for 2022.

BiodiverCities project initiated the cooperation of the school and municipality. Together, teachers, the expert and municipality representative co-designed and co-developed the programme and workshop activities. Groups of students participating in Digital Biocitizen workshop independently co-created digital solutions for learning about nature and mapping nature in the city. This was also their first time to deal with the topic in the school as well as the mode of co-creative work in groups. Moreover, this activity as part of BiodiverCities project will inform the policies on biodiversity and citizen engagement, and deliberative democracy. Next, we will share this experience with other EU cities and institutions. With the project Digital BioCitizen we supported mainstreaming participatory practices in public institutions,  greening cities with citizens, and in our case sensitizing students about biodiversity and active citizenship. By initializing this participatory process we stimulated institutional change. The exchange of knowledge & co-creation of civil servants, practitioners, citizens, and EU officials bring sustainable impact and changes in curriculum and changes in institutional practices. BiodiverCities Maribor increases the awareness of the underpinning role of urban biodiversity by setting up citizen engagement activities. The results of DigitalBioCitizen action will help to understand better how to involve citizens in making cities greener and more biodiverse.