A successful public event and partners’ meeting of the European project ARCA, focused on the prevention of natural hazards through Artificial Intelligence, took place on 16 and 17 June 2026. The public event at the Center of Education for the Environment and Sustainability in Livadi, Thermi, and the partners’ meeting at the Alexander Innovation Zone in Thessaloniki were organized by ANATOLIKI S.A. as part of the dissemination activities of the European project ARCA – ARtificial intelligence platform to prevent Climate change natural hazArds.
The ARCA project develops innovative digital solutions that utilize Artificial Intelligence, sensor networks and environmental data analysis to strengthen the prevention and management of natural hazards intensified by climate change. The pilot implementation in Livadi, Thermi, coordinated by ANATOLIKI S.A., serves as an important example of how advanced technologies can support environmental protection and enhance the resilience of local communities.
On the first day, the public event brought together representatives of local authorities, civil protection agencies, scientific organizations, researchers and project partners, aiming to showcase innovative technologies developed for the prevention and management of climate-related natural hazards.
The event was opened with welcome addresses by Ms. Vaso Papadopoulou, General Director of ANATOLIKI S.A.; Mr. Dimitris Goudiras, President of the Livadi Community; Ms. Eleni Vrana, representative of the Thessaloniki Forest Service; Professor Anastasia Stergiadou from the School of Forestry and Natural Environment of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; and Mr. Triantafyllos Bouchounas, representing the Deputy Mayor for Civil Protection of the Municipality of Thermi. In their remarks, they emphasized the importance of cooperation among the scientific community, public authorities and local communities in strengthening prevention and resilience against natural disasters.
Representatives of the lead partner CMCC, Antonio Aloisio, Maria Mirto and Valentina Scardigno, presented the vision and key objectives of the ARCA project, highlighting the role of Artificial Intelligence, decision-support systems and advanced forecasting models in the early detection and management of risks such as wildfires, droughts and extreme weather events. This was followed by a presentation of ANATOLIKI S.A.’s activities within the project by Ms. Naya Tselepi, Project Manager of ARCA. Particular interest was generated by the training session on data management delivered by Professor Ricardo Valentini from Nature4, focusing on the collection, management and utilization of environmental data to support forecasting systems and decision-making processes.
The programme of the first day concluded with a field visit to the Livadi Forest, where participants had the opportunity to observe the project’s installed infrastructure, learn about the operation of the Tree Talkers sensor network and attend a drone flight demonstration by Gigonis Consulting. At the same time, representatives of the Civil Protection Services and Mr. Konstantinos Kokolakis presented the applications of new technologies in wildfire prevention and early response, followed by a discussion with participants on the challenges and opportunities related to their practical use.
On the second day, the partners’ meeting was hosted at the Alexander Innovation Zone in Thessaloniki and focused on the progress of the project, the presentation of technological tools under development and the coordination of upcoming activities.
The meeting opened with a presentation of the overall progress of the project by the lead partner CMCC, with Antonio Aloisio and Maria Mirto presenting the current implementation status, key achievements and next steps of ARCA. Updates were then provided by all project partners regarding the progress of individual work packages and activities implemented in each participating country. Subsequently, Ms. Eleni Iordanidou of ANATOLIKI S.A. presented the project’s communication and dissemination strategy, as well as upcoming events and public awareness activities. This was followed by the presentation of the Educational Gamification application, developed by CAD Solutions and ANATOLIKI S.A. within the framework of the project, aiming to raise awareness and educate citizens on natural hazard prevention and climate resilience.
Particular interest was attracted by the presentation and demonstration of the Decision Support System (DSS) by Maria Mirto of CMCC, which utilizes field data, satellite information and Artificial Intelligence algorithms for the early prediction and management of natural hazards. Subsequently, the developments and results of the project’s individual Use Cases were presented. The partners showcased the latest developments in the project’s pilot applications concerning wildfire risk forecasting and monitoring, drought forecasting, the management of extreme wind events, environmental indicator monitoring and the optimization of the operational capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). The meeting concluded with a general discussion among partners, during which issues related to technical implementation, cooperation and coordination were examined, while the next steps towards the successful completion of the project and the maximization of its impact on local communities and civil protection authorities were defined.
Through transnational cooperation and the use of advanced technologies, ARCA aims to strengthen the preparedness of local and regional authorities in addressing the impacts of climate change by providing innovative tools for prevention, early warning and decision support.
The ADRION ARCA partnership consists of 8 partners:
- Fondazione CMCC – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change Foundation (ITALY)
- DHITECH – DHITECH High-Tech Technological District Scarl (ITALY)
- UNIDU – UNIVERSITY OF DUBROVNIK (CROATIA)
- IRENA – Istrian Regional Energy Agency Ltd. (CROATIA)
- Anatoloiki S.A. – Organization for Local Development from Greece (GREECE)
- MECONET – (Mediterranean Excellence in Computing and Ontology (MONTENEGRO)
- UBT-Albania – Center for Modelling and Simulations – University for Business and Technology (UBT) – Tirana (ALBANIA)
- CAD Solutions – (SERBIA)
Project Budget: 1.592.156,00€
ANATOLIKI SA Budget: 200.000,00€
Duration: 36 months Site: arca.interreg-ipa-adrion.eu
