RESONATE Global Spotlight Series – A Real Success
As the RESONATE project is approaching its final years and more and more study findings are becoming available, it is important to share and discuss results with stakeholders. For this purpose, during the second part of 2025 and the first months of 2026 a series of online, in-person, and hybrid events has been hosted under the name the Global Spotlight Series (GSS). The series provides an important communication and dissemination instrument to engage stakeholders worldwide on the topic of nature-based therapies (NbTs) and examine the challenges of reach, adoption, implementation, and maintenance in different geographic, social, economic, and cultural contexts.
Although a couple of GSS events are still to take place at the time of writing, an initial status can already be drawn up. To date, 12 events have taken place, focusing either on the global level or a specific region or country, often zooming in on a specific theme related to NbTs. Over 8 months, the GSS reached 593 stakeholders who attended an event in person or online across 5 continents, 255 cities, and 43 countries and indirectly reached well over 1000 stakeholders based on event subscriptions, media engagement, and video downloads.
Helped by current communication technology and AI, the vast amount of content could be presented in local languages with supporting simultaneous translations, high-quality video production and summaries prepared in a timely and budget-friendly manner. Designing the structures of the individual spotlight series events from the bottom up, with local knowledge, networks and experiences guiding the design, helped ensure they were relevant for their target audiences and consequently well received by local, regional and global audiences.
Jill Litt of project partner the Barcelona Institute of Public Health (ISGLOBAL) coordinated the Series. She was positively surprised by the interest generated by the GBS and the lively discussions:
“The global response to the GSS was surprising and inspiring! The surprises came in Canada, Malawi, Singapore, and Brazil/Ecuador, among others, where we were overwhelmed by participant engagement, local discussion, and inspiring actions and actors, particularly among early career professionals! It was thrilling to see our pipeline of environmental and health professionals in action and to feel the passion and sense of commitment to uniting nature and people for better health, communities and societies.”
When asked about the value of the GSS, for RESONATE but also more widely, Jill said:
“These events are really helpful for creating connections, sharing successes and failures, and exchanging knowledge and best practices to drive local, regional, and global agendas for future research, practice and policy. We found these events refreshing and motivational, and highly multi-sectorial and interdisciplinary. It is the only way forward when trying to advance innovative nature-based interventions.”
Thematic analysis of GSS content and discussions reveals a global movement focused on transitioning NbTs from a complementary or “alternative” status into a core component of modern healthcare, however, at different stages of integration.