Technology can support sustainability in many ways, contributing both to raising awareness and to the development of new tools for better energy management and environmental protection. Through participation in critical research projects, such as the SILVANUS project, it is possible to integrate advanced technological solutions to monitor, protect, and restore natural ecosystems. Thanks to initiatives like this, technology not only facilitates the collection and analysis of critical data, but also promotes greater collective awareness of the importance of environmental sustainability and wildfire management, encouraging more responsible behaviour on a global scale.
SILVANUS is an ambitious initiative funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Green Deal program, uniting 49 partners from Europe, Brazil, Indonesia, and Australia. Coordinated by Università Telematica Pegaso, the project aims to develop a climate-resilient forest management platform to prevent and suppress wildfires. By integrating environmental, technical, and social sciences, SILVANUS supports regional and national authorities in monitoring forest resources, evaluating biodiversity, generating accurate fire risk indicators, and promoting safety regulations through awareness campaigns.
Fincons Group plays a pivotal role in SILVANUS as the Italian pilot project leader, contributing to the development and implementation of technological tools for wildfire prevention and forest management. Their work includes integrating and analysing data from IoT sensors, weather data, and earth observation tools to create effective fire detection and prevention systems. Fincons has successfully demonstrated these solutions in pilot projects at Gargano National Park in Apulia and Tepilora Nature Park in Sardinia, showcasing the platform's capabilities in real-world scenarios.
Thanks to the SILVANUS project, significant objectives have been achieved, including 21 pilot demonstrations in 11 countries, spanning four continents; over 40 scientific publications; 11 newsletters; a comprehensive citizen engagement course and the ontology, which is designed to represent all the semantic concepts which are relevant to the SILVANUS project. These achievements were also showcased during the final project event held in Brussels on March 25th 2025.
Beyond the technological results, a key part of SILVANUS' success has been its approach to communication and dissemination.
We spoke with Lovorko Marić, consultant and dissemination manager for the SILVANUS Project, about the communication strategy, which played a crucial role in engaging a wide range of stakeholders — from young students to citizens, civil protection agencies, forest managers, public administration and policy makers — and in raising awareness about the importance of sustainability and technological innovation in environmental protection.
When tackling a challenge as vast and urgent as wildfires, collaboration is key and with 49 partners from across Europe and beyond, the SILVANUS project brought an unprecedented level of diversity, innovation, and creativity to the table. From the beginning, our goal was to make the most of this diversity. A range of SMEs, tech expert companies and universities all brought their unique baggage of experience and skills to the project. Sweden’s University of Borås proved invaluable in their support with posters and graphic design, while we discovered that AMIKOM University from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, had a wealth of experience in animation that we quickly turned to the project’s advantage creating an animated character, Silvanus the Trailblazer, and a series of video animations. These videos were very valuable in helping us connect to younger audiences, while remaining highly engaging for our adult audience too.
Our dissemination campaign, aimed at raising awareness about the project, was therefore anything but conventional. Its three core elements: educational, promotional and entertainment combined to provide unexpected results. While animated videos starring Silvanus the Trailblazer captured the imagination of younger audiences, posters and promotional videos were disseminated online and also displayed in live exhibitions, e.g. along the pedestrian streets of Rijeka in Croatia and at the City Hall of Limoges in France. The many events and initiatives that have supported the dissemination of the project came about organically, thanks to the connections with public bodies, along with expertise and experience of the huge range of partners involved. Without this diversity, the project’s communication efforts would not have evolved so naturally and successfully.
Some tools, like LinkedIn, proved better suited to our specialist and technological audience than others. We leaned into visuals such as cartoons, videos, and infographics because they sparked conversation and made our content memorable. Behind those visuals, however, stands a four dimensional strategy that covers public sector stakeholders, forest management and civil protection authorities, young people and the general public and scientific community.
In measurable terms we produced: over 40 scientific publications, 21 pilot demonstrations across 11 countries, and real-world applications like the Citizen Engagement App. Overall we can estimate that we reached over 24,320 experts and 135 events and are particularly proud of the huge number of young people we reached out to through events directly in schools such as those in the Gargano area in Puglia.
One of our proudest achievements? Blending education and tech in a way that resonated with both students and experts. Educational materials, animated stories, school lectures, and citizen engagement courses didn’t just raise awareness but encouraged action. Firefighting organizations also offered feedback to refine our messages, helping us ensure they resonated across cultures.
The SILVANUS platform itself was demonstrated using real-world pilot sites like Gargano in Italy, where cutting-edge tech like fire-spread models, evacuation simulations, and IoT sensors came to life. And we’re not stopping there: a detailed guidance has been developed for the EU and other stakeholders which should help guide awareness and policy making to prevent fires in an increasingly over-heated climate. A new set of videos on YouTube, depicting the citizen engagement course, will also provide educational conversations starters for firefighting companies, schools, citizens and other stakeholders.
Overall, this experience has been incredibly rewarding. It has shown us that creativity doesn’t always come from where you expect and that visual storytelling is a powerful tool. And that when you combine purpose with passion and partnership, the results speak for themselves.
In conclusion, the SILVANUS project demonstrates how interdisciplinary collaboration, technological innovation, and creative communication can come together to address one of today’s most pressing environmental challenges such as wildfire management. As wildfires continue to pose a global threat, initiatives like this pave the way for more informed, connected, and resilient responses.