RESIST is an EU-funded five-year project aimed at increasing resilience in regions against climate change. With the impacts of environmental changes being a reality that affects our communities in many ways, the project has developed a practical framework to test adaptation pathways in four leading regions within the European Union: Southwest Finland, Central Denmark, Catalonia, and Central Portugal. The knowledge and adaptation pathways tested in these regions will be transferred to eight twin regions through mutual learning activities and the use of immersive digital twins.

Region Blekinge and Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) are active partners in the project. BTH contributes with expertise in technical design as well as the use of digital twins and advanced technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The goal is to raise citizen awareness about climate change and help authorities plan and design climate adaptation solutions.

A previus project, "Coastal Protection Design for the World Heritage Site öf The Naval Port of Karlskrona" has identified how the world heritage site may be affected by rising sea levels. The challenges identified in the world heritage site due to climate impacts have therefore been highlighted as a testbed for new technologies within the RESIST project.

Based on the "Coastal Protection Design" project, BTH students in mechanical engineering and researchers within the RESIST project have developed various prototypes, which were showcased during the inspiration day for the world heritage site.

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One prototype is a game that uses immersive technology. The game, "80 Years (of water rising) in 80 Seconds," is designed as an exciting VR experience where visitors gain a concrete understanding of the consequences of rising sea levels. In the game, which resembles an escape room adventure, players must act quickly with just over a minute to activate water barriers and prevent the Marine Museum in Karlskrona from flooding—a scenario that is predicted to occur by 2100.

Another prototype uses new technology to visualize a coastal protection model inspired by Karlskrona's original fortification plan from 1683. Through VR, users can walk along the proposed coastal protection and explore its potential functional, cultural, and recreational values.

Similarly, another prototype demonstrates how analog media can be enhanced and used in dialogue with various target audiences through AR. The final demonstrator showed how Internet-of-Things technology and digital twins can be used to monitor and preserve buildings of significant cultural heritage.

The RESIST project represents an important step toward a more sustainable future by combining technology, education, and citizen engagement in the fight against climate change.