The workshop centred on two "Anchor Cases." These are real, clearly defined situations that the project's training curriculum will be built around. For Palestine, the Anchor Case is the Gaza Urban Resilience Living Lab (GUR-Lab), a coastal urban corridor of about 63 km² covering parts of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. It is framed to cover every phase from active conflict through recovery to reconstruction planning. For Ukraine, the Anchor Case is the winter 2026 blackouts.

ANNU ran the Palestinian session. The ANNU team first gave an overview of practical case studies in five sectors: water, energy, food, housing and gender. They then presented several of them in more depth:

• groundwater sustainability and aquifer recovery

• GIS mapping of displacement and water-infrastructure needs

• local seed initiatives

• electrical load assessment and solar integration

• converting school shelters back into schools

• safety of coastal shelter sites

• safe lighting and energy access for women

Participants found the case material practical, useful and comprehensive. They agreed that current shelter conditions do not meet displaced people's needs and called for a gradual move from emergency response to real recovery. They identified decentralised water security as a priority. On energy, they asked for hands-on training in solar system design and generator load estimation. On food, they recommended combining traditional farming knowledge with urban growing methods. They also called for psychosocial support across society and for more participation by young people, especially young women.

The findings will feed into FORWARD's Knowledge and Capacity Gap Matrix and Practical Case-Study Template. These will shape six training modules: Open Science, Water Management, Energy Sustainability, Food Security, Housing and Sheltering, and Gender Equity.