As part of the CAROUSEL project, a series of trainings successfully began with the first online session titled “Advanced Upcycling, Community Concept, and Values.” The webinar, held on April 23, brought together around 30 participants from partner organizations to jointly explore how upcycling contributes to sustainability and the building of circular communities based on shared values.
The training was organized by Dženita Karović and moderator Maja Nikolić from UZOR, and included detailed presentations by Dr. Damjan Marušić and Dr. Barbara Goličnik Marušić from DIPSTOR, experts in fully circular design. Through engaging visual content and practical examples, participants were guided from the basics of upcycling, through the R-hierarchy and the value hill model, to more complex concepts such as material flows within circular communities and criteria for assessing upcycled products.
An important segment of this session was the contribution of our guest speaker Dragana Đurović from the Montenegrin company REMID VIS, who shared inspiring insights from their practice of transforming industrial waste into aesthetic and functional products through innovative production and machine revitalization.
Key messages of the training include:
- The importance of upcycling as a strategy for preserving value within the circular economy,
- How material flows define the structure and cohesion of circular communities,
- The role of shared values such as sustainable production, fair trade, and social justice in strengthening community engagement,
- Real-life examples such as Solina & Coccodrillo and Line Massimo, which demonstrate the evolutionary design of DIPSTOR in practice.
The next session, as a continuation of the training, will be organized within the next 15 days, where these concepts will be further elaborated and deepened.
The next training is scheduled for May 13, when we will continue exploring ways to identify and inspire members of the upcycling community to join us on this path toward a circular and values-driven future.
