Karpenisi the capital of Evrytania one of Greece’s most underdeveloped mountainous regions, is experiencing a severe demographic and economic crisis. The population of Karpenisi holds the worst old-age dependency ratio in Europe (78.3%), with fewer than one working-age person per retiree. Births have declined dramatically, making it one of the most shrinking regions in the EU. Schools are closing, youth are leaving, and the local economy is unraveling. At this moment Karpenisi has 1.100 students out of 8.000 citizens in total.
ARTEMISNET offers a bold, community-based solution by turning the pristine night sky of Karpenisi (Bortle scale 3), into a driver for sustainable, locally led development. By building a new identity around science, nature, and cultural heritage, the project aims to empower residents—especially youth, women, educators, travel agents -to become astroguides, storytellers, hospitality providers. Astronomy is used not only for outreach and education but will be the foundation to provide long-term income, visibility, and resilience changing the local tourism ecosystem and reverse current situation.
The project builds on the legacy of the ARTEMIS Space Observatory, a volunteer-run facility operating since 2014, which continuously offers public outreach, involve in research projects with STEM implementation for schools, enabling immersive night-sky experiences to local residents. ARTEMIS is a complex of optical and radio telescopes supported by the local Artemis Club. It is located at 1,000 meters altitude and just 4 km from Karpenisi. Despite partial destruction due to a severe storm (2024) ARTEMIS remains central to the vision, thanks to the dedication of the operators that comes to the community trust and network it has cultivated. The idea of the project started in 2022, when the pristine night sky of Karpenisi – a photo that was taken by the ARTEMIS- was showcased as the signature image of a major online conference on Dark Sky Preservation, organized by Dr. Metaxa under the auspices of the IAU-OAO, etc. The event drew over 2,000 participants and spotlight Karpenisi’s exceptional skies across Greece. ARTEMISNET capitalizes on this momentum with an astrotourism model.
Activities:
• Training workshops for residents -open call- (women, youth, travel agents and educators) on telescope use, sky interpretation, astro-mythology, and sustainable tourism.
• A taylored for Karpenisi bilingual Astrotourism Toolkit, based on OAD;s.
• A geolocated AR/XR “Starlight Stamp” linking virtual users to Karpenisi’s skies.
• School visits especially in most isolated villages, stargazing nights, and a flagship Dark Sky Festival.
• A bilingual website/fb and campaign to promote the region internationally.
• Restoration of ARTEMIS Observatory.
• A Starlight Path around ARTEMIS public area, integrating local geology, culture, and a scaled solar system trail with planets and necessary information on plates, embeded with AR technology.
