What kind of future do we desire for our shared home? What can we do together to bring this future about? And how do we navigate processes of change whilst embracing the complex interdependencies between each other and our living environment?
It is questions like these that contributors to the Alpine Changemaker Network are engaged with – each utilising the power of art, culture, science and civic engagement to cultivate the possible. As pioneering organisations located in different mountainous villages and towns, members develop methodologies, spaces and infrastructures as testing grounds for living and working in times of crises. From repurposing abandoned buildings, reviving traditional knowledge, developing resilient communities to exploring alternative economies – their approaches are experimental, diverse and place-based. Together, they act as living labs that inspire the adaptation to and co-creation of change processes across different places, sectors and scales.
As a transregional alliance, the Alpine Changemaker Network is dedicated to the support of and the collaboration between its members as well as the promotion of their work in public – through annual assemblies as peer-learning environments, the development of new tools and methods with transversal partners as well as the initiation of a summer school for new changemakers. Doing so, the network places the margins at the center of our attention and shows the innovative potential of rural regions. It serves as a reminder that change is not a distant goal, but an ongoing, collective practice dedicated to sustaining livelihoods for all of us, humans and more-than-humans alike.
Our Network
The Alpine Changemaker Network was started by CIPRA International in 2021 and merged with contributors of the Rural Commons Assembly in 2025 to reposition the network in strategic and operational terms, aiming to combine theory and practice in order to propel eco-social change in the Alpine region.
Between 2025 and 2028, the activities of this new Alpine Changemaker Network are co-funded by the European Union. During this period, the partners listed underneath will lead a range of interconnected initiatives together with other network contributors. Three annual assemblies will be held as peer-learning environments for practice-based organisations in Silandro (IT), Bolzano (IT), and Innsbruck (AT). In parallel, contributors will collaborate with partners from diverse sectors to develop new tools and methods for eco-social change; these partners include, among others, the Bayerische Akademie für Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege (DE). A summer school for emerging changemakers and public officials will be hosted at La Foresta | Accademia di comunità, Rovereto (IT). Additionally, a series of online educational formats will be organised to strengthen collective capacities.
Lungomare is a platform for design and cultural production. We carry out commissions and initiate artistic projects. In collaboration with clients, artists and other experts we develop strategies and concepts that focus on finding the appropriate form for the content to be conveyed.
Lungomare
Via Rafenstein 12
39100 Bolzano
Italy
info@lungomare.org
BASIS Vinschgau Venosta – located on the former site of the Drusus Barracks in Schlanders – is a Social Activation Hub aimed at promoting regional and societal development in the areas of economy, culture, education and social affairs.
BASIS Vinschgau Venosta
Drusus-Kaserne/Caserma Druso
Kortscher Straße 97/Via Corzes 97
39028 Schlanders/Silandro
Italy
BAU is an institute for contemporary arts and ecology dealing with contemporary art projects that respond to questions of the present, conceiving of nature and culture together and regarding the human with its environment as part of an ecological cycle.
BAU
Via Bottai 17
39100 Bolzano
Italy
Openspace Innsbruck is a non-profit association and cultural venue engaging artists, creative practitioners, active citizens and informal groups in creating a diverse program of activities focussed on international exchange, social engagement and cultural participation.
Openspace Innsbruck
Mentlgasse 12b
6070 Innsbruck
Austria
info@openspace-innsbruck.com
SOMALGORS74 is an independent cultural initiative based in the Engadine valley, Switzerland. With our program and events in we focus on cultural exchange in public spaces and raising awareness of biodiversity through sensory perception in the alpine environment.
SOMALGORS74
CH-7559 Tschlin
Schweiz
Künstlerische Leitung und Vorstandsmitglied: Curdin Tones
curdin@somalgors74.ch
La Foresta is a vibrant community academy in a collectively restored space at Rovereto’s train station, Trentino. It’s an open, evolving network of people and groups passionate about eco-social change, hosting participatory activities in culture, art, food, education, and more.
La Foresta – Accademia di comunità ETS
Piazzale P. Orsi, 15-17
38068 Rovereto
Italy
ciao@laforesta.net
CIPRA, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, is a non-profit, non-governmental umbrella organisation with representatives in seven Alpine countries and a member network of over 100 associations. CIPRA, together with Jens Badura, is co-initiator of the Alpine Changemaker Network.
Verein CIPRA International
Kirchstrasse 5
9494 Schaan
Liechtenstein
Marion Ebster-Kreuzer
marion.ebster@cipra.org
Contact
This website is currently under construction. More updates will follow soon!
For inquiries about the Alpine Changemaker Network, please contact: info@alpinechangemaker.org or any of our contributors.