The Common Ground Festival 12-14 June, 2026
The Common Ground Festival is happening soon… How to join us:
Coming from far away? Make it a weekend holiday and stay for the whole festival by purchasing a multi-day pass!
Multi-day passes* include:
- guaranteed access to all workshops on the days you’re attending
- all morning knowledge-exchange sessions
- all afternoon workshops
- all evening concerts
- campsite or hostel spot
- breakfast
- a reusable metal festival cup
- a product from the ViA Verde Farm
Live locally or in a nearby city? Come for the day/evening via a donation-based pass at the door!
*For the prices of the different multi-day passes, check out „How much does it cost?“ in the FAQ below.
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About the festival
At The Common Ground Festival you will experience what our futures can look like when people from near and far and from different cultures and backgrounds come together. When everybody can drop in and share their skills, talents, experiences, and knowledge. When we share our passion for researching sustainability, living healthy lives, and helping society to solve its biggest problems, we can create resilient and flourishing communities. Experience the magic that unfolds when we link science with sharing our research work, and practical insights among favorite foods, art, music, and stories of positive change!
What if we could cultivate a common ground that prevents and counteracts war, discrimination, climate extremes, biodiversity loss, pollution, and unfair access to basic rights like health, education, safe food, and housing? What if we could make clean mobility and energy accessible for all? What if we had food systems that help regenerate the soils instead of depleting them? It all starts with us! Let’s create a culture of collaboration! Let’s foster co-creative communities of peace, not war!
Where is the festival?
The festival takes place in the small town of Penna in Teverina, an hour north of Rome in the beautiful Umbrian countryside, and at the walkable ViA Verde Farm, a green living and learning lab for regenerative practices and food systems transformation.
The morning knowledge-exchange sessions will take place in Penna in Teverina and the afternoon workshops will be on the ViA Verde Farm.
How can you contribute?
Submissions for participating contributors are now closed. There will still be an opportunity to contribute on the spot in an open space format for 1 hour slots. This will take place in a gazebo on the farm on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 15:00-18:00.
How much does it cost?
We want to be as inclusive as possible and honor collaboration and volunteering while also hoping to cover our costs.
Please help us to make this solidarity festival possible by donating more than the indicative amounts suggested below … if you can!
3-DAY + 3-NIGHT PACKAGE:
starting at €180 + VAT per person
3-DAY + 2-NIGHT PACKAGE:
starting at €150 + VAT per person
2-DAY + 1-NIGHT PACKAGE:
starting at €100 + VAT per person
1 DAY + 1 NIGHT FEE:
Starting at €50 + VAT per person
Multi-day passes include:
- guaranteed access to all workshops on the days you’re
attending - all morning knowledge-exchange sessions
- all afternoon workshops
- all evening concerts
- a campsite or hostel spot
- breakfast
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEND A SINGLE DAY?
For the best networking and community building effect, we encourage a stay for the multi-day experience. At the same time there will be a possibility to acquire a donation based day pass on the spot – An opportunity especially created for local attendants that want to see what all this movement in their beautiful home town and region is all about.
Where can I sleep?
For simple accommodation, the following options are available:
- Camping spots on the farm – bring your own tent*; limited spots available (priority for 3-day pass holders)
- Hostel bed – 30 bunk-bed spots available (first come/signed up – first served – bring your own sleeping bag)
* Priority is given to 3-day pass holders (3 nights stay included in the pass)Â
A resource-sharing channel will be available for registered pass-holders that do not have the necessary equipment or are unable to bring it.Â
We also have partnered up with the following Agriturismi (Guesthouses) in a 3km radius (reachable by car in less than 5min, by bike & walking in +/- 20-35min) that will offer discounts on self-organized multi-night stays for festival guests that want to upgrade their experience:Â
- Agriturismo Claudio
- Albergo degli Struzzi (contact Patrizia via WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram: +39 331 816 5157)
If you are open to sharing your room (with multiple single/queen size beds) with someone, to lower the cost, let them know.
You can of course also check classic booking platforms for various categories of sleeping options in and arround Penna in Teverina.
How do I get to the festival?
We strongly encourage using sustainable transportation. Check out connections at: thetrainline.com or trenitalia.com or interrail.eu
Consider options such as trains, buses, public transport, or carpooling (there will be a channel to connect and self-organise the latter)
The nearest train stations are: Orte Scalo and Attigliano-Bomarzo. There is a public bus from outside of the Attigliano train station that goes directly to Penna in Teverina.
For 3-day pass holders, pick-up can be arranged from the Orte Scalo train station on Friday morning.Â
Return trips will be offered on Monday morning.Â
If you are not a 3-day passholder or arrive outside of these pick-up times, you have the following options to reach Penna in Teverina/the festival location:
- Public bus from Attigliano-Bomarzo (4 times a day).
- Book a rural taxi service through Claudio via WhatsApp +39 335 829 0471 (ideally a bit ahead of time) from Orte Scalo (20€) or Attigliano-Bomarzo (10€).
- Hitchhike / Solidarity bench.
- Come with your own car and offer a solidarity spot to others (free parking spots in Penna are indicated on the map below).
Upon registration, we will invite you to a resource and car-sharing chat in order for people to self-organize in solidarity.
Which languages we will use?
Since our audience will include both international and Italian participants, we want to make the program accessible to everyone. We will therefore use a mix of English and Italian, with some sessions offered in Italian, some offered in English and some being translated.
The program will indicate the languages of each session. Keep in mind, by collaborating, we can bridge all borders – including language barriers!
Good to know for contributors:
- All contributors will receive a confirmation email if their contribution is accepted.
- All contributors will receive a special badge, and their name and organisation will be visible in the digital and printed programs. (This is only possible for contributions announced before 30th of May).
- Some spontaneous contributions will be possible in the format of an open space session, but their names and contributions will be only visible on the homepage after the festival (if desired).
Who we are
ViA Verde Umbria is not just a beautiful piece of farmland and one of the two main venues for the festival; it is also a working farm and living lab created by two of the festival’s main co-organizers. Here, we not only grow food but also cultivate knowledge and sustainable futures together with volunteers from around the world. ViA Verde is proudly rooted in the local community of Penna in Teverina.
As a shining example of collaboration and a welcoming culture, the municipality and the local festival committee (Pro Loco Penna) are supportive partners for logistical and food-related matters. Additionally, the local art and cultural initiative “Società Lunare” provides a hospitable space for artists and activists from both nearby and distant locations.
ViA Verde is also connected to the broader global SCORAI Network (Sustainable Research and Action Network), which began developing the concept of a conference combined with a festival over the course of a year, drawing inspiration from research on pop culture and positive emotions for sustainable development. This year’s festival will take place back-to-back with the main conference in Brazil, building a small bridge between continents as well as research and action.
Speaking of action, we should also highlight three national and international civil society organizations: Sahel Vert, which brings incredible networks that connect Europe with Africa, creating an eco-social common ground for this festival; The Hope Hub Network (It’s Thyme), which connects regenerative farms and living-learning labs like ViA Verde to strengthen the growth and reach of our grassroots initiatives; and Italia Che Cambia, one of the best storytellers and mappers of change in Italy, who we are proud to have as a media partner for this first of hopefully many Common Ground Festivals.
Our partners:
Thank you for checking out our site and supporting what we’re doing. We are run by volunteers, so we appreciate your patience as we continue to update with new information.
See you at the festival!
Please consider donating to help our cause!
Banca Etica
VIA VERDE di Valentina Aversano
IBAN: IT93E0501803200000020000218
Contact
Our sponsors and supporters:
