On 14–15 October 2025, Out of the Box International participated in the Brussels Policy Dialogue of the Interreg Euro-MED Green Living Areas Mission, presenting insights from the Green B-LEAF – Green Participatory Budgeting for Local Environmental Action and Sustainable Future project.
The event gathered municipalities, researchers, and policy experts from across the Mediterranean to discuss how local participation and data–based planning can drive greener, more resilient communities.
Representing the Green B-LEAF partnership, Marko Paunović, Director of Out of the Box International, presented the project’s innovative approach to linking climate-data mapping, participatory budgeting, and citizen engagement.
He underlined how the project empowers municipalities—such as Faro, Beltinci, and Vodnjan—to translate complex climate data into local priorities that people understand, support, and help implement.
“Green B-LEAF is about turning data into dialogue and dialogue into action,” said Marko Paunović during his intervention. “When citizens and municipalities work together on climate priorities, resilience becomes part of daily governance.”
The Brussels Dialogue provided an important opportunity to connect Green B-LEAF with other initiatives under the Green Living Areas Mission, sharing experiences on how climate adaptation, participatory methods, and governance reforms can reinforce one another.
The discussion also highlighted the project’s strong focus on capacity building—training both municipal staff and citizens to use climate data, apply “green tagging” in budgets, and co-design participatory projects with measurable environmental impact.
As one of the Mission’s transnational cooperation projects, Green B-LEAF contributes directly to the Interreg Euro-MED objectives of fostering innovation, sustainability, and community-led governance across Mediterranean territories.
Through Out of the Box International’s coordination and policy work in Brussels, the partnership ensures that local experiences—such as those developed in Faro and other pilot cities—feed into broader European discussions on green governance and citizen participation.