Local transition initiatives, researchers, local governments, artists, social entrepreneurs, activists and public sector representatives came together in ICLEI Member Dresden (Germany) on 16 and 17 June for the 5th annual Informed Cities Forum. The conference opened with a story of making invisible people visible: the Pimp my Carroà§a project, which celebrates trash-pickers' contribution to recycling in Brazil. The discussion that followed proposed that initiatives with great transformative potential may be found close at hand, that not everything that counts can be counted, and that strong local government can be boosted by strong local initiatives and vice versa.

Representatives of the five regions of the ARTS project, Brighton (United Kingdom), Budapest (Hungary), Dresden, Genk (Belgium), and Stockholm (Sweden) provided examples to illustrate the project's concept of how local initiatives help to accelerate sustainability transitions in their cities. Field workshops including a bicycle tour of urban gardens, a packaging-free shop and a former railway workshop (now an artist-run space) invited participants to share their experiences and showcased some of the movements contributing to Dresden's sustainability transition.

The final day of the conference delved into the issue of power. Ricard Gomà , former mayor of Barcelona and Professor of Social Science at Universitat Autà²noma de Barcelona, opened the session with a crash-course in radical democracy. Discussions considered the grey area between legality and legitimacy, while the European Commission's Ugo Guarnacci drew attention to the power of words as part of policy making.

For more information, visit informed-cities.iclei-europe.org more   30 June 2016 Basque Country invited to promote regional sustainable development across EuropeThe president of the Committee of the Regions, Markku Markkula, has invited the Minister of Environment and Territorial Policy of the Basque Government, Ana Oregi, to take an active role in the group of European pioneer regions that promote regional sustainable development. The prestigious appointment will see the Basque Country join several cities and regions working on a joint competitiveness programme.

In their meeting, Ana Oregi presented the next steps of the Basque Declaration (New Pathways for European Cities and Towns to create productive, sustainable and resilient cities). The Basque Declaration was adopted by the more than 900 participants in the 8th European Conference in Sustainable Cities & Towns that took place in the Basque Country in April. It is now open for endorsements.

The Basque Country was selected by ICLEI Europe to host the 8th edition of the Conference, due to the fact that it reflects the capacity of European cities and regions for transformation, having changed its focus on the industrial sector to embrace a modern service-based economy. Its newly adopted Environmental Programme for 2020 shows a firm commitment to improving the environment and aligns with current European and international strategies on job creation, enhancing standards of living and building a low-carbon economy.

For more information, visit irekia [in Spanish].Image copyright: Image (Irekia) more

» Publication Date: 04/07/2016

» Source: Iclei Europe

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