Between October 2-6, all the partners of the SPARSE Plus Project and their local promoters travelled by train, plane, bus, and car from all corners of Europe to converge in the charming little village of Ascoli Piceno in Marche, Italy, which set the scene for us to collectively kickoff the exciting 4-year journey that lies ahead of us! Coming all the way from Sweden, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Hungary, and other parts of Italy, we got the chance finally meet each other in the physical world and build bonds that will come to form the cornerstone of this remarkable project!