The first collective interpretation sessions of the listening process in Busturialdea-Urdaibai are underway Over the last few weeks, we have launched the first collective interpretation sessions of the listening process in Busturialdea-Urdaibai. These spaces seek to reinterpret, in a collaborative and open manner, the findings gathered in the previous phases of the project, comparing narratives, validating analyses, and generating new lines of research and action. They are deliberative spaces that bring together people and organizations with diverse backgrounds and visions, allowing us to move from a logic of confrontation to a logic of mutual recognition.

These first sessions have been structured around the ethnographic profiles from the local area analyzed, accompanied by questions aimed at encouraging dialogue: Do you recognize yourself in these narratives? Do you recognize that they exist? What is missing? What is superfluous? How would you refine the profiles? Thus, rather than validating results, these spaces help us to reinterpret them collectively, detect blind spots, and enrich the process with new approaches.

What makes this process truly different, aside than a completely open real-time tool to follow the interviews and information is the unprecedented mix of participants. Representatives from government at different levels sat side by side with activists from the Guggenheim urdaibai Stop platform and local actors who contributed to the listening phase, alongside migrant residents, young people, elders, and subject-matter experts. This diverse composition—rarely, if ever, seen in the region—created a space where people could listen across difference, challenge assumptions, and build shared understanding around an issue currently being shaped by the government, institutions, and the museum.

So far, we have held sessions in Ibarrangelu, Murueta, Bermeo, and Gernika, and the next one will be in Elantxobe. The meetings have been attended by local mayors, people who have participated in the listening process, and relevant actors in the region. Far from being a one-off exercise, these interpretation sessions will be repeated throughout the process. They strengthen links between participants, democratize knowledge production, and foster shared ownership of the analysis. From this perspective, collective interpretation is not only a technical tool, but also a political commitment to more open, localized, and pluralistic social innovation.

The response has been very positive. The diversity of contributions and the climate of active listening have demonstrated the value of creating these spaces in parallel with technical analysis. We continue to work to expand these sessions in the fall, ensure the inclusion of new voices, and document shared learnings.