On 20 September 2025, the HIKE project was among the featured initiatives at the 8th edition of the OMCEO Congress held in Puglia and organised by Dr. Domenico Meleleo.
The event was entirely dedicated to the promotion of sustainable lifestyles and psycho-physical wellbeing, with a particular focus on the role of physical activity, balanced nutrition, and mental health. The Congress was structured around four thematic panels: Physical Activity, Sustainability, Nutrition, and Psychology & Sociology.
During the Sustainability panel, Simona Spinola, Communications Manager at the European Association of the Via Francigena (AEVF) and communication lead for the EU-funded HIKE and DETOUR projects, presented the successful activities implemented by HIKE in September 2024 in Puglia.
Rosa Anna Asselta, President of Via Francigena Canosa, also took the floor. A participant in last September’s HIKE walks, she highlighted the great potential of the Southern Via Francigena in Puglia during her speech, describing it as “a route that brings together scenic beauty, culture, spirituality, hospitality, and food and wine excellence.”
The project’s innovative approach was highlighted through an itinerant format involving hikes, sports activities, cultural visits, and public events, all aimed at encouraging outdoor physical activity and community participation. These activities formed part of a wider international programme including 6 hikes in Italy, 6 hikes in Türkiye and 6 hikes in Greece.
Each hike was accompanied by cultural and sports events, conferences, and presentations, attracting the participation of over 870 people across the three countries.
HIKE was presented during the meeting as a best practice in the field of sustainable health promotion and outdoor education, demonstrating the value of combining physical activity, cultural discovery, and environmental awareness in a cross-border European framework.
The Congress provided an important platform to share HIKE’s achievements with a professional audience from the fields of medicine, psychology, nutrition, and public health, contributing to a broader dialogue on how to support individual and community wellbeing through sustainable initiatives.
