Bergamo Connections

Bergamo Connections is a project exploring how visitors can support the local community and environment through healthy and sustainable actions. The project focuses on creating meaningful connections between residents and visitors through cooperation, using behaviours found in nature as a source of inspiration.

We looked at how organisms build resilient communities by communicating, learning and adapting together. Honeybees share information about resources through their waggle dance, showing how communication can help an entire colony make better decisions. Bottlenose dolphins pass knowledge between generations through social learning, allowing younger individuals to adapt by learning from their peers. Octopuses use a distributed network of neurons to sense their environment, retain information and adapt to new experiences. These behaviours became principles for the project: sharing knowledge, learning from others, sensing the needs of the community and adapting to change. We also explored how trust is built and maintained between organisms and looked at how other cities are rethinking tourism.

The resulting concept connects residents and visitors through volunteering. Residents share their needs, ideas and volunteer opportunities through a digital survey, while visitors share their interests, values and travel preferences. These inputs are used to create a personalised physical “passport” with opportunities that connect visitors with residents.

Through participating together, visitors and residents can exchange skills, stories and knowledge. Feedback from these interactions is then collected to reveal emerging needs and opportunities, creating a continuous feedback loop that allows the programme to adapt over time.

The project explores how tourism can move from simply visiting a place to becoming part of its community, creating a more connected and resilient Bergamo.