Co-Design and Hackathons as Models for Social Innovation in Inner Areas: The Sicani Territorial Development Experience

This paper explores the application of co-design and hackathons as methodologies for fostering sustainable territorial innovation, with a focus on the Sicani area, a rural region experiencing demographic decline and limited access to services. Co-design, known for its capacity to involve communities and support participatory decision-making, provides an adaptive framework for developing solutions tailored to local needs. Hackathons, initially emerging in software development contexts, have since evolved into collaborative events where diverse participants residents, students, and professionals work intensively to address territorial challenges. By employing structured methodologies such as the Design Sprint, which facilitates rapid ideation and prototyping, the Sicani hackathons fostered meaningful engagement and generated solutions aligned with local priorities in tourism, food, and cultural preservation. The paper presents two case studies: the "Food, Tourism, and Culture" hackathon in Siculiana, which addressed short-term regional challenges, and the speculative design-oriented "Sicani 2050" event, which envisioned long-term scenarios under global and local trends. These events highlight the integration of speculative and applied design approaches to produce proposals that are both sustainable and contextually relevant. The findings underscore the potential scalability of this co-design model and propose adaptable methodologies to enhance community integration and ensure sustainable impact in similar rural settings.