Green Talks with GEF at Ecotransformation 2025 (Olomouc)
August 15
Join us this August for the GEF day during the Green Summer School: Ecotransformation 2025 : a four-day gathering in the Czech Republic to explore how we can defend democracy, build resilient communities, and drive a fair green transition in turbulent times.
About the Event
Green Summer School – Ecotransformation 2025 is a four-day educational and discussion-based summer school event in which GEF is organizing a whole day of conferences that brings together activists, researchers, and policymakers to explore how to drive a fair, democratic, and sustainable green transition. As Europe faces growing ecological and social crises, while democratic spaces shrink under the rise of authoritarianism, the Summer School will provide space for reflection, strategy, and action.
This year’s edition will focus on how to build public support for the Green Deal, strengthen civil society, and protect democratic institutions – all while pursuing ambitious climate policies. Participants will engage in a mix of workshops, seminars, and panel debates, addressing topics such as the far right’s cultural strategies, geopolitical tensions, and practical steps for resilience at the local level.
Please note the GEF day will be the only one providing all English sessions. If you wish to participate to the broader summer school, keep in mind the sessions will mostly be in Czech with no live translation.
Project Background
Ecotransformation 2025 is part of a broader effort to merge ecological sustainability with democratic renewal and social justice. Now in its fifth edition, the Green Summer School offers an important platform for civic actors and communities to come together, build skills, and co-create solutions to today’s most pressing challenges – from accessible housing to energy justice and sustainable urban development.
Programme
9:00 – 9:45: introduction and ice breakers
10:00-11:00:
- Green Deal under attack. What’s at stake and how should we react? Kateřina Kolouchová (analyst, Fakta o klimatu)
- Trump and Trumpism 2.0 Jan Beneš (Department of English and American Studies, University of Ostrav)
11:15 – 12:45:
- Minimum decent wage: Why is it important and how can we guarantee decent pay for work? Jan Bittner (economist, expert of the Platform for a Minimum Decent Wage)
- Is Slovakia destroying its civil society? speaker tbc
13:00 – 14:00: lunch break
14:30 – 16:00:
- Current political situation in Germany Adéla Jurečková (director of the Prague office of Heinrich Böll Stiftung) and Laurent Standaert (Director of GEF)
16:30 – 18:00:
- The Czech way of restricting democracy Vendula Menšíková (Network for the Protection of Democracy, STEM)
18:30 – 19:30: dinner
20:00 – 22:00:
- The experience of a Polish LGBT+ emigrant Jacek Slewczuk (Association of Young Polish People Polonus)
Practicalities
Date: full conference: 14–17 August 2025 GEF day: 15th of August 2025
Location: Sluňákov Ecocentre, Horka nad Moravou (near Olomouc, Czech Republic)
Language: Czech / English
Registration: please find the registration form to this link
Cost: The GEF day is free (15th of August). However, please note that in case you wish to participate to the full summer school, you must pay a fee of the following amount:
- Basic fee – 1,200 CZK
- Sponsor fee – 1,600 CZK
(Fee includes accommodation and vegan meals from Thursday dinner to Sunday lunch)
As a reminder, please note the GEF day will be the only one providing all English sessions. If you wish to participate to the broader summer school, keep in mind the sessions will mostly be in Czech with no live translation.
This stream of sessions is organized by the Green European Foundation with the support of Institute for Active Citizenship and with financial support from the European Parliament.
