With the objective of hosting the future European Capital of Culture at the first world’s certified Archipelago, the Azores islands have a strong focus on sustainable development, conservation of nature and biodiversity protection energy production and management, and a strong awareness to waste, water, quality of air and noise management.

In this issue, we are introducing the six IN SITU Labs. In each newsletter, we will highlight one of the six Labs – this time, the IN SITU Lab of the Azores archipelago, Portugal.

The IN SITU project is advised by a panel of international experts.

The IN SITU project is accompanied by nine Outreach Partners that will amplify the reach and influence of the research findings and the activities of the IN SITU project, helping to raise the visibility of issues and opportunities of CCIs located in non-urban areas internationally.

A distinguishing feature of the project is its six IN SITU Labs, that are located in the Azores archipelago, mid-Atlantic Ocean, Portugal; Western coastal periphery, Ireland; West Region, Iceland; Rauma and Eurajoki, West Coast and Baltic Sea archipelago, Finland; Valmiera county, Latvia; and Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia.

IN SITU partners have begun to map the field of CCIs - Creative and Cultural Industries across Europe’s non-urban areas with the aid of specialized knowledge from the Geography of Innovation Research Center at Utrecht University, in the Netherlands, and the MIK-Mondragon University team in northern Spain.