On 9 October, the Fleuve Hackathon took place in the Charente region (France), a day of innovation organised within the framework of the European project POST – Polycentric Sustainable Tourism, funded by the Interreg Atlantic Area programme.

The event brought together 50 participants, including students, professionals, and local stakeholders, with the aim of designing sustainable family tourism proposals around the Charente River, addressing the challenges posed by climate change, mobility, and the preservation of the natural environment.

Throughout the day, teams worked with the support of eight mentors, using collaborative methodologies such as the Empathy Map and the Value Proposition Canvas, which helped define projects focused on the real needs of visitors and local communities.

The hackathon also included a training session for coaches, focused on their role as facilitators of the creative process and on the tools needed to guide teams effectively.

After an intense day of ideation and prototyping, five projects were presented to the jury.

The winning proposal, POP-IT, envisioned eco-designed and immersive shelters along the Charente Valley, created to promote responsible, close-to-nature, and sensory tourism.

The second prize went to L’aventure dont vous êtes le héros, an itinerant and gamified experience inspired by the “choose-your-own-adventure” book format, inviting participants to discover the territory in an interactive and sustainable way.

The remaining proposals —Goûter la Charente, Oliver’s Angels, and Horizens— also stood out for their creativity and their commitment to a more human, educational, and nature-connected form of tourism.

The Fleuve Hackathon thus joins the experiences of Braga, Ourense, and Dublin, consolidating a network of innovation that, under the framework of the POST project, is driving the transformation of tourism across the Atlantic area towards a more sustainable, inclusive, and polycentric model.