An exciting opportunity to share and cross-fertilise new ideas between Scotland and Serbia arose shortly after through an invitation from the Centre for the Promotion of Science in Serbia.

They invited Cecilia Mañosa Nyblon, our Development Manager; Hamishibai Cardboard Theatre; and soil scientist Lazar Kaludjerovic, Associate Professor at the University of Belgrade, to facilitate a joint creative workshop for the 10th anniversary of the Arts + Science: Tech Destinations Festival on 5th October 2025. This was supported by the British Embassy in Serbia, following the Horizon Europe Climateurope2 conference.

Set in a unique outdoor community space – transformed from a forest filled with construction debris into a Honey Community Garden – our workshop – It’s Under your Feet– invited participants to explore why we need a healthy soil for a healthy planet and people.

The workshop offered an inclusive intergenerational, cross-cultural and multilingual space to reflect on the Earth as a living system that interconnects people, nature, and climate.

Through sensory exploration, science, absurd theatre, storytelling, and humour, we grounded the experience in the space, soil, trees, and air around us; inviting participants to discover the vital elements and values needed to regenerate our soil and sustain both planetary and human well-being.

Lale Eric Dobrivoje, Head of International Cooperation at Serbia’s Centre for the Promotion of Science commented that the workshop ‘connected all our aims and goals in these turbulent times – how to conceive and present a meaningful, creative content tackling ecological and climate topics and challenges from a creative, amusing, and critical perspectives all at once. At the end of the programme, we were sure we witnessed something so authentic and relevant. I hope we’ll be able to build upon and continue this wonderful journey with the team, as well as, devise our own programme in this context’

Addressing the complex challenges in our changing planet will require more than scientific facts to move us to action. We often imagine that knowledge naturally leads to action – that once the facts are clear, behaviour will follow. Whilst those are important, facts alone are not enough. We also need stories to understand complex issues in relatable human ways to remind us what’s at stake and what we value most.

What’s growing next?

Through storytelling, games, cardboard theatre, and humour, Hamishibai:

  • Invited us to cross boundaries, connect across disciplines, cultures and generations to explore new possibilities for dialogue, connection, collaboration, and friendships
  • Reminded us that being uncomfortable is part of who we are – we are living in unsettling/complex times and we need to create more spaces to be creative, to unlearn, learn, and (re) imagine our relationship with our planet and people in new ways
  • As one of the participants highlighted ‘Thinking about these complex issues in a fun way is liberating – makes us more receptive to new ideas and ways of seeing and being’
  • Planted the seeds for new ideas and a growing desire to collaborate going forward.

Image credits: Serbia’s Centre for the Promotion of Science