We are here Venice, coordinator of the Venice Lagoon Action Site, has been exploring the relationships of the local community and stakeholders with the lagoon and how these interact with the proposed restoration solutions, governance models and financial systems.

To efficiently integrate these plural aspects, while making less evident values more visible, WahV created the “Voci dalla laguna” interactive map, available as an open-access StoryMap online here (only in Italian for now).

The map is the visual result of a participatory mapping during a deliberative workshop held in June 2023 during which a very diverse group of stakeholders shared their memories and hopes but also specific experience relating to activities, practices, events in the lagoon. This allowed the acquisition of the social, spatial and temporal distribution of values associated with lagoon resources from those based on transcendental beliefs to the instrumental values associated with natural resources, as well as relational and intrinsic values. The extent to which these values are realised was noted: at the individual level or shared within communities.

Collectively discussing these socio-cultural values is known to improve community up-take of the restoration efforts which in turn motivates new actions -individual or collective - fundamental to more successful participation in environmental decision-making in Venice and restoration upscaling.

Further activities to explore these relationships and how to make them more visible are planned for spring 2024.

Text by Margherita Scapin, Researcher at We are here Venice.

Photography by Eleonora Sovrani, Artistic Director at We are here Venice.