R. Zafeiriou & N. Roumelioti (Greece): Narratives of vanishing landscapes and collective loss

Rigas Zafeiriou & Natalia Roumelioti (Greece): Narratives of vanishing landscapes and collective loss – From mourning to community empowerment Narratives of vanishing landscapes, ecological grief and heritage loss can move beyond mourning to empower communities and inspire future-oriented action. Often, stories from local communities convey grief and loss of familiar landscapes abandoned or irreversibly altered. Drawing from six community-based projects on Greek islands, the presentation will explore how local stories attached to cultural landscapes, food heritage, agricultural practices and water management interpret loss while activating collective imagination and stewardship. Through this work, narratives are co-created, abandoned landscapes are reframed as spaces of regeneration and possibility, while traditional practices are safeguarded for future resilience. The cases demonstrate how place-based narratives can reconcile communities with change and open them up to present and future possibilities, offering transferable insights for community empowerment in times of uncertainty and environmental transformation. Rigas Zafeiriou is manager of MedINA's Sustainable Food Systems programme, under which more than 20 projects have been implemented across Greece in Lemnos, Kythira, Messinia, Konitsa, and Zagori since 2022. Previously, among other roles, he served as programmes director of the Kytherian Foundation for Culture and Development (KIPA) and as a consultant to UNESCO. Natalia Roumelioti is project manager for Sustainable Food Systems at MedINA, with a background in marine sciences and experience in environmental and international humanitarian programmes.