“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race”

H.G. WELLS

The Sunflowers European Tour is a bicycle journey of over 6,000 kilometers, starting from Lisbon on June 2, 2025, and arriving in Athens on July 16, 2025.
The journey is promoted and organized by the Social Cooperative Utopia 2000 and will be personally undertaken for the entire itinerary by its President, Massimiliano Porcelli.
Crossing 10 European countries – Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece – the project celebrates and promotes the Social Economy, highlighting its dual value: economic engine and promoter of shared civil, solidarity, and social goals.

The Sunflowers European Tour stems from the success of the Girasoli Tour of 2021, a 3,500-kilometer bicycle journey across Italy, during which Massimiliano Porcelli documented experiences of social inclusion and sustainability. This first project led to the creation of the documentary "Tutto quello che sarà", directed by Renato Chiocca, which received prestigious European-level awards, becoming a symbol of resilience and social innovation. With the Sunflowers European Tour, Utopia 2000 expands this vision, bringing it to a European scale. Through the bicycle, a symbol of effort and attention, the project will give visibility to realities working for a fairer and more sustainable Europe, demonstrating how the Social Economy is a driving force for economic development and collective well-being.
The project also aims to contribute to reaffirming the fundamental values of European identity: solidarity, inclusion, and sustainability. In a historical moment characterized by profound geopolitical changes and global tensions, the Social Economy proposes itself as a model for peaceful coexistence among peoples, demonstrating that reducing inequalities is essential for building a fairer and more cohesive society.

Project Objectives

Enhance the Social Economy as an economic engine;
Demonstrate how social enterprises and European solidarity organizations generate economic growth, jobs, and innovation, integrating civil purposes and shared utility;

Document virtuous models;
Create a documentary that tells success stories, showing how economic activity can serve the common good;

Promote the integration between profit and non-profit;
Give visibility to profit enterprises in Europe that adopt Social Economy principles, demonstrating that sustainability and competitiveness are not mutually exclusive.

Create a European network;
Encourage the exchange of experiences among organizations, businesses, and institutions, strengthening the role of the Social Economy as a pillar for European development;

Support peaceful coexistence among peoples;
Show how reducing economic, social, and territorial inequalities can contribute to building a fairer and more peaceful society, reducing tensions that fuel international conflicts.

Why use a bicycle?

The choice of the bicycle as the means for the Sunflowers European Tour is not only practical but profoundly symbolic. It embodies the values of the project and represents a model of sustainable and inclusive mobility.

The Symbolic Values of the Bicycle

Environmental Sustainability
The bicycle is an ecological means, reflecting the project's commitment to a sustainable future and reducing environmental impact.

Symbol of Connection and Resilience
Cycling over 6,000 kilometers requires strength, dedication, and commitment, just like the people we will meet.

Positive Slowness
The bicycle allows for careful and direct observation of the territories, fostering authentic contact with communities and people.

Inclusion and Accessibility
It is a simple and universal means, accessible to everyone, and represents a symbolic bridge connecting territories, cultures, and ideas.

A Means Consistent with the Project's Values
The bicycle reflects the principles of circular economy and sustainability, central to the realities encountered along the way.

Telefono

Indirizzo

Via Madonna delle Grazie, 20, Bevagna (PG) 06031

comunicazione@utopia2000.com

3897694889