Apr 20 2017
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European Youth Conference 2017 in Gdańsk

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The three-day Conference in Gdańsk addressed issues including globalisation and European and nationalist answers to it. From  24 to 26 July, we explored the current challenges to open societies and inclusive democracies, and how people risk being divided along lines of integration and identity. Moreover, the programme included practical workshops and ample space for networking.  

We discussed important points of reference and processes that are shaping the worldview of engaged young Europeans, who on an everyday basis are searching for ways to make a socially responsible, just and sustainable Europe happen, and also focus on the causes of and reactions to growing feelings of uncertainty, injustice and fear in EU member states in a beautiful setting at the Baltic Sea.

GEF Workshops

The Green European Foundation contributed to this conference with three relevant workshops:

  • WIDEN YOUR OUTLOOK – NETWORKING SESSION (Tuesday, 25 July, 15h-17h): To face today’s challenges, it is crucial that grassroots movements and activists connect with each other and collaborate to strengthen their impact. This session reflected the needs of youth leaders to expand their network and identify resources which the other organisations/ participants present at the event can offer them.
  • ONLINE LEARNING FOR GREEN POLITICS (Tuesday, 25th of July, 17h30-19h00): During this workshop, we shared the experience of Green European Foundation in developing e-learning programmes. Furthermore, the workshop provided an interactive space for exploring ways in which the participants can make use of new (online) technologies to advance their own learning and activities.
  • TELLING THE STORY: GETTING YOUNG GREEN VOICES HEARD (Wednesday, 26 July, 11h-13h): This workshop aimed to give participants some tips and tools to make their voice heard. From coming up with an angle to turn an important topic into a compelling news story, to pitching their proposal and getting their work published – we walked them through the steps to get their story out there.

More Information

Other useful information can be found here: http://calendar.boell.de/de/event/european-youth-conference or you can send an email to eyc2017@pl.boell.org.

Registration: Applications closed on 30 April 2017

Date: 24 to 26 July 2017

Venue: Europejskie Centrum Solidarności I European Solidarity Centre, Gdańsk (Poland)

Mar 20 2017
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European Green Activist Training Finland

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Also in 2016, young green-minded people gathered in Helsinki for a training on European topics as part of the Green European Foundation’s transnational project European Green Activist Training.

The training was organised in parallel to similar trainings in Catalonia, Czech Republic and Hungary, and culminated in a common study trip to Brussels to experience the European Union first-hand.

 

Programme

December 2

15:00h: Visit to the European Commission’s Finnish department and to the European Parliament’s Finnish information service; ‘EU in a nutshell’ – Jarmo Oikarinen and Timo Pulkkinen

17:30h: Green in Europe and in the EU – Laura Norström (MEP Heidi Hautala’s assistant, on maternity leave)

19h30: Me, an European? – Jesse Jääskeläinen (Young European Federalists Finland)

December 3

10:00h: Discussion on the Future of free movement in the world of Trump and Brexit – Kati Pietarinen, Markus Himanen, Laura Nordström and Hussain Kazemian

12:30h: EU policies workshop – Riikka Tähkävuori

15:00h: Hate speech and human rights in Europe – Niko Pyrhönen (University of Helsinki)

17:00h: How can I influence on policy making? – Filipe Henriques

19:00h: Dinner with Alan Haji, a syrian refugee

December 4

10:00h: Climate policy – Tuuli Hietaniemi (Kepa)

13:00h: NGO and the EU – Anssi Pirttijärvi (Seta)

 

 

Mar 17 2017
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Repensem Europa: Green Activist Training Catalonia

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The training gathered around twenty young activists, aged 18 to 27, with the aim to foster their expertise about European politics  and the Green movement. It was part of a transnational project offering educational opportunities to young people from Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, and Catalonia.

Highlights of the national training can be found in this video (Catalan).

 

PROGRAMME

October 27

18:00 – 19:15h: Mark Jeffrey, Representation of the European Commission in Barcelona, on key facts about the European Union and how it works

19:30 – 21:00h: Mar Garcia, Secretary-General of the European Green Party, on Green politics both at the Catalan and European level

October 28

18:00 – 19:15h: World Café to discuss with members of DiEM25 DSC their proposals to the ‘polycrisis’ of the European Union

19:30 – 21:00h: Debate with Ernest Urtasun, Member of European Parliament, on EU politics

 

 

Feb 21 2017
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Hope and cope – Green Summer Academy in Poland

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Context:

We meet in an extremely important year for EU, with the Brexit negotiations, the elections in France, Germany and Netherlands, the unpredictability of the new US President Donald Trump and the crisis of democracy in Poland and Hungary.  This generates various factors that will directly and indirectly impact the progress of the global climate policy and the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Next year’s municipal election in Poland makes us focus on the role of regions and cities in the transition to low carbon societies, and other progressive transformations. We checked if the European Pact of Amsterdam can play a role in this transition. One of the cornerstones of the green vision of the world is sustainable development, for which the preservation  of pure environment and of nature rich in biodiversity for the future generations is as important as the short term economic efficiency and social justice.

Therefore, our Green Summer Universities gave the participants an opportunity to enter into a direct relationship with living nature and thus provide them with additional knowledge, sensitivity and motivation for its protection and political representation of its interests.  Due to the mega projects of transeuropean waterways that threat the principal Polish rivers, together with badly implemented Water Frame Directive, the water ecosystems were at the center of  the ecological outdoor expeditions during this third Green Summer Academy, located in the heart of the Natural Park of Great Poland.

Programme:

The three day event consisted of lectures, debates and practical workshops focusing on the following themes:

  • Puszczykowo theme;
  • Green economy seminar;
  • Green and progressive city, local governance theme;
  • Skills and empowerment;
  • Climate change and Paris Agreement theme;
  • Public debate in Poznań.

 

This summer school was executed with the support of the Green European Foundation and Heinrich Böll Foundation in Warsaw.

Registration: Via email to ewa.sufin@strefazieleni.org

Date: 13 to 16 July 2017

Place:  Puszczykowo near Poznan, Poland

 

Feb 15 2017
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Escola d’Estiu 2017 in Barcelona

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The core question of  the  Escola d’Estiu 2017 was how can cities, villages and the local communities meet global challenges? Furthermore, the focus  was on the challenges faced by European societies in order to guarantee the democratic future for its citizens. For this occasion we brought together local politicians, Green party members and enthusiastic young people to exchange ideas and engage in Green debates.

Programme

We opened the event with a documentary screening of “Brave class. The power of the words”, a film about political communication in time of Brexit, Trump, the rising of the extreme right in Europe, post-truth and other challenges.

The second day consisted out of panel discussions with experts on two relevant topics:

  • The freedom of speech and expression, threathen?
  • The left and the ecology in the South of Europe: flight, governing, opposition and construction of a pan European alternative.

These were followed by a series of simultaneous workshops which allowed for more in-depth analysis of the following topics:

  • Ecology, animal protection and local management;
  • Sustainable management and social issues: reorganization of the public services;
  • Economy, ecology and tourism;
  • Agenda 2030: the objectives of a sustainable development International instruments to include feminist issues in the local agendas.

Download the full programme here.

The European point of view was represented by Green members of the European Parliament as well as representatives of EU-wide institutions.The results of this summer university will be disseminated to a wider audience and made accessible in English afterwards.

More information available here.

Registration: Register by sending an email to fundacio@noushoritzons.cat
Date/Time: June 30th – July 1st
Place: Barcelona
Venue: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Campus de Poblenou, Carrer Roc Boronat, 138

Feb 14 2017
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Online E-Learning and Green Politics

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E-learning has the potential to become a powerful tool in promoting Green ideas: it can respond to the knowledge and skills needs of Green activists, campaigners and politicians across the globe.

Therefore, GEF organised a workshop, which took place at the Global and European Greens Congress in Liverpool on 31 March 2017. 

During this workshop, we shared the experience of Green organisations who have developed e-learning programmes. Furthermore, the event provided an interactive space for exploring ways in which Green organisations and parties can make use of new (online) technologies in order to advance their capacity building activities.

Date: 1st April 2017
Time: 9:30 – 10:30
Location: Arena and Convention Centre, Kings Dock, Liverpool L3 4FP, United Kingdom
Room: 10

Interested in joining the Green European Foundation online course for green activists? Find out more here!

Feb 13 2017
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ECOPOLIS 2017: Digital Together – For a Just Society

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The main theme of Ecopolis 2017 is the impact of the digital era on relationships between people, between people and organisations as well as between people and politics. In spite of the insecurity of the modern world, the rapid speed of advancing technologies will not slow down or go away. On the contrary, our reliance on these technologies will only increase in our daily lives. Therefore, it will be crucial to empower people to work together, share ideas, and connect with politicians in new ways.

What is Ecopolis?

Ecopolis is a full day event incorporating several key note speeches, high-level panel discussions and round table workshops, which will converge around the possibilities of digital technologies to unite people in different ways. The panels, among others, will for instance be entitled ‘Tools for democracy’, and ‘Individual autonomy and digital commons’. A core question will be how we can build political communities in the digital era and what policies can be developed on the EU level to facilitate this goal?

The aim of Ecopolis is to set up a fruitful dialogue between different sectors of society on the socio-ecological challenges, to provide a platform for exchange of innovative ideas and perspectives. The Green European Foundation will contribute to the European dimension of this event and interpretation in English, French, and Dutch will guarantee broad accessibility to the event.

Programme

The full programme of Ecopolis 2017 can be found here.

Speakers

Speakers will be Yochai Benkler (Harvard University Professor and co-director Berkman Center for Internet & Society), Ana Naomi de Sousa (Filmmaker and journalist), Kate Raworth (Economist and author), Aral Balkan (European Cyborg Rights Activist and designer and developer ), Jeroen Olyslaegers (Novelist and playwright), and many more. See the full list here.

Registration: Tickets can be purchased here.
Date: 8 October 2017
Venue: Kaaitheater, Brussels
Time: 11-19h

Feb 10 2017
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Green Debating Room

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The year 2017 will witness several European parliamentary and presidential elections, whose turnout are not only of major importance to the respective countries, but are also expected to have great influence on the overall political direction of the European Union. In this context, GEF hosted the ‘Green Debating Room’.

In accordance with GEF’s mission to contribute to the development of a European public sphere, where European citizens can engage in a political dialogue to shape decisions taken at European level, this event gathered Members of the European Parliament, diplomatic representatives from France and Germany, think-tanks, as well as representatives of Green foundations from all over Europe, the European Green Party, and guests from other political families.

A panel debate took place followed by questions from the audience. Speakers at the event included:

  • Daniela Vincenti, Editor-in-Chief of Euractiv;
  • Marc Olivier Padis, Director of Studies, Terra Nova think tank; 
  • Reinhard Bütikofer, Member  of  the  European  Parliament (Greens/EFA)  and  the  Co‐Chair  of  the  European  Green  Party  (EGP).

Location: Renaissance Hotel, Brussels
Date: 7th March 2017
Time: 11:00 – 13:00

Feb 10 2017
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Green Foundations and Institutes World Cafe

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On Friday 31st March 2017, GEF hosted a stimulating workshop at the Global Greens and European Green Party Congress 2017 in Liverpool for actors involved in Green foundations and institutes.

11:00 – Capacity building and networking

This session focused on welcome and introductions between participants and provided a space for foundations’ representatives, both staff and board members, to get to know each other. It was organised as an interactive working session, where foundations could learn about each other and exchange concrete experiences, best practices, achievements and challenges on several aspects of their work (e.g. fundraising, relations with parties, organisational tips, strategic development).

14:30 – Identification of common political goals & operational cooperation

The second session of the workshop allowed for political discourse between the participants on specific topics (which were determined by the participants), with the intention of exploring the role of institutes and foundations in such issues as well as the potential for transnational collaboration in the future. This involved a “World Café” format to enable a high level of interaction and participation. The participants experienced working with each other and had an opportunity to develop common political campaigns/programmes and to establish increased levels of cooperation.
Time: Friday 31st March 2017, 11:00 – 16:00
Venue: Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool Kings Dock, Liverpool L3 4FP, United Kingdom
Room: 4A

Jan 25 2017
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Creating a Peoples’ Europe [VIDEO]

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“Creating a People’s Europe” was produced and scripted by John Gormley, Irish Minister for the Environment (2007 – 2011).

The film is a project of the Green European Foundation for the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament. It was realised in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation and with the financial support of the European Parliament.

Subtitles available in Catalan, Czech, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, and Spanish.

Jan 25 2017
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My Data – My Choice! [VIDEO]

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New data protection laws, contrary to the 1995 Data Protection Directive that allowed member states to individualise laws, have now been enacted across the European Union. The new data protection levels enacted will protect all 500 million EU citizens.

The new laws have been revised to protect citizens from the potential perils of the digital age; in particular for the EU Single Digital Market. New rights like data portability, principles such as data protection by design and high sanctions in the case of infringements are enshrined in the text, allowing citizens to browse the digital market freely, safely, and in knowledge of their protected rights.

GEF and The Greens/EFA have provided you with some tools: a cool educational video in English and German about what enhanced data protection laws mean for you; and a PDF outlining the study behind the reforms.

For more information you can also visit Jan Philip Albrecht’s website or see The Greens/EFA press release.

Jan 25 2017
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European Green Activists Training 2015-2016 [VIDEO]

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This video was produced in 2016 during the study trip to Brussels, which represents the final part of our European Green Activist Training project. This transnational project offers educational opportunities for young people interested in politics and activism. After a series of training in their respective countries, organised together with our national partners, this joint study trip enables the young participants to meet and exchange in Brussels with other Green-minded people from all over Europe. Furthermore, it provides them with a first-hand opportunity to gain knowledge of European politics during their visits to the European Parliament and other European institutions.

Find out what the organisers, coordinators and some of the participants from Finland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Austria, have to say about this experience and receive an impression of their study trip to Brussels in the video below.

 

Jan 20 2017
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“Crossing Borders – Refugee and Asylum Policy in Europe” Conference in Berlin

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This event addressed the scope and the causes of the ongoing crisis in relation to Refugee, Asylum and Migration policies in Europe. Furthermore, it analysed the EU’s lack of political consensus and co-ordination in the process of decision-making and the impact of this situation on the ongoing crisis.

This conference included experts from Europe and the US, as well as from the EU’s southern neighbour regions, who discussed crucial issues of Europe’s asylum and migration policies.

Some of the most important debates that this event aspired to contribute to are:

  • What are our responsibilities as Europeans in face of the refugee crisis?
  • How do debates in Europe differ between countries? What are the reasons for these differences? And how much common ground will we be able to find?
  • How can we create a European refugee policy that enables us to act in solidarity, while also respecting the Geneva Convention?
  • Is it possible to establish a European minimum consensus that goes beyond repression and closing the borders? Or will we instead have to form changing and flexible alliances between member states to decide, for example, whether or not to receive refugees or how to cooperate with neighbouring countries that serve as a refuge for refugees and migrant workers?
  • How can we create a common EU border regime?
  • How can the EU improve co-operation with its neighbours, in order to stabilise Europe’s external borders and improve the conditions for refugees in the initial receiving countries?

 

PROGRAMME:

DAY 1: Thursday, 26th of May (Open to public)

15h00 Welcome and introduction by Ralf Fücks (President, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin)

15h15 Keynote debate: Europe’s Responsibility – Europe’s Future

Speakers: Sven Biscop (Professor and Director “Europe in the World”, Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations, Brussels), Rosa Balfour (Senior Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Brussels) and Ralf Fücks (President, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin)

16h45 Panel: European Realities

Speakers: Pernilla Bäckman (Researcher, Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies, Stockholm),  Thanos Dokos (Director-General, Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy, Athens), Piotr Buras (Head of Warsaw Office, European Council on Foreign Relations, Warsaw), Steffen Angenendt (Head of Research Division, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin)

18h45 Keynote and Panel: Cosmopolitanism, International Law and National Interests

Speakers: Carol Batchelor, Director of the Division of International Protection, UNHCR, Geneva), Kathleen Newland (Senior Fellow and Co-Founder of the Migration Policy Institute, Washington D.C.), Aboubakr Jamai (Professor and Dean, School of Business and International Relations, IAU College, Aix-en-Provence/Rabat), Rebecca Harms (MEP, Chair, The Greens/EFA, Brussels)

DAY 2: Friday, 27th of May (Closed to public)

10h00 Keynote 1: Europe’s Asylum Policy – A Vision Limited by Realities

Speakers: Lotte Leicht (Advocacy Director, European Union, Human Rights Watch, Brussels) and Yves Pascouau (Director of Migration and Mobility Policies, European Policy Centre, Brussels)

11h30 Debate 1: European Asylum Policy: Shared Responsibilities, Shared Obligations 

Speakers: Matthieu Tardis (Research Fellow, Centre for Migration and Citizenship, IFRI, Paris), Maciej Duszczyk (Professor and Head of Research Unit, Centre of Migration Research, Warsaw), Sara Prestianni (ARCI, Roma) and Reinhard Bütikofer (MEP, Chair, The European Green Party, Brussels)

14h00 Keynote 2: Europe’s Border Protection – A Vision Limited by Realities

Gerald Knaus (Chairman, European Stability Initiative, Berlin/Istanbul) and Doris Peschke (General Secretary, Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe, Brussels)

15h30 Debate 2: Repelling, Sealing Off, Relocating: Risks and Ramifications of Europe’s Border Protection

Speakers: Andreas Takis (Assistant Professor, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki), Metin Çorabatır (President, Research Center on Asylum and Migration, Ankara), Manuel Sarrazin (German MP, Alliance 90/The Greens, Berlin) and Emina Bužinkić (Activist, Centre for Peace Studies, Zagreb)

LOCATION: Heinrich Böll Foundation, Schumannstraße 8, 10117 Berlin, Germany

LANGUAGES: The conference was translated simultaneously in German/English.

Jan 19 2017
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Green Summer Gathering: Edition 2016 in Belgium

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This year’s edition of Les Rencontres Ecologiques d’Eté (Green Summer Gathering) featured many insightful workshops, debates and lectures. Information about the programme and registration is available at Etopia’s website. During this occasion, the Green European Foundation contributed with two special debates about the present and future of the European Union.

The first debate was held on Saturday, the 27th of August, from 09h30 to 10h45. This roundtable addressed the “why EU” question: Why the EU? Is the EU dream over? Why should we keep working hard on it? Does it represent the best way to insure progress in Europe? Special inputs on these matters were provided by professor Tanguy de Wilde (University of Louvain).

Our second debate took place right after – between 10h45 and 12h00, and focused more on “how EU” question in relation to this year’s challenges, such as the situation in Greece, issues with refugee policies and Brexit. How do we re-dynamise the EU project and make it “popular” again? How to tackle and approach this? Should the priority be institutional (more democracy, more transparency)? Should it be economical? Should we create a different approach to some challenges, such as the refugee policies? And how to contain the influence of the lobbies in all this? The list of speakers included:

  • Philippe Pochet (European Trade Union Institute);
  • Jean Quatremer (Correspondant at Libe à Bxl);
  • Jean De munck (Professor of Sociology at UCL);
  • Vivien Pertusot (Head of IFRI);
  • Philippe Lamberts (Co-President of the Greens/EFA).

Both debates were held with simultaneous translation in French and English. More information about them can be found on this webpage.

Jan 19 2017
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“Univerde” Summer University in Spain

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The 8th edition of “Univerde” was entitled “The Circular Economy and the model of change”. This summer university offered lectures, debates and workshops which provided insights into how the Green economy can be fostered through transitions to Circular economy. The goal of Univerde is to provide an open space for exchange of ideas, creation of new strategies and networks for better society.

The programme included three plenary sessions, with inputs from numerous national and international experts:

  • Saturday, the 9th of September (19h00-21h00) Another economy is underway. New dynamics and forms of prosperity. Circular economy;
  • Sunday, the 10th of September (12h00-14h00) Administrations as an accelerator of change towards the Circular economy;
  • Sunday, the 10th of September (18h00-20h00) Companies that foster the Circular economy.

These were followed by many interesting parallel workshops. The entire programme in Spanish is available for download here. For more information, visit Univerde webpage!

Watch the summary video from this event below!

Jan 12 2017
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GOVERNARE GREEN – Conference in Rome

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The focus of this conference were the Green approaches to city management as solutions to local and global challenges. The programme especially took into consideration the Commons, water and waste management. This was an occasion to highlight the examples of best practices and case studies in Italy and other European cities.

The event was preceded on the 22nd of October by the Local Councillors Conference ‘Moving ahead: Green Mobility for Healthy Cities’, organised by the European Green Party, where participants shared Green best practices from across Europe in reducing air pollution and enhancing mobility in cities, as well as to strengthen cooperation among green local representatives.

GOVERNARE GREEN consisted out of 3 sessions, each featuring thematic presentations by relevant speakers.

1. Local administration in the time of ZeroWaste  (9h45-10h45)

  • Arnaud Pinxteren: “How can Brussels be a zero-waste European capital? The plans, the policies, the struggles of the most observed and commented city in Europe.”
  • Raffaele del Giudice: “Strategies for Naples vis à vis circular economy and overcoming the difficult process of waste management.”
  • Enrico Fedrighini: “How Milan has become one of Europe’s leading cities in recycling.”
  • Francesco Emilio Borrelli: “The new regional plan for waste management and the choice of a zero waste future for the region Campania.”

2.  8 minutes to narrate green management. How to improve the life of citizens through green management: green experiences and policies as told by their protagonists. (10h45 – 11h45)

  • Flavia Marzano: “How to promote e-government in big cities?”
  • Mónica Oltra Jarque: “Winning against corruption and governing green.”
  • Eivind Trædal: “How to divest your territory from fossil fuels and live happily ever after.”
  • Carmine Maturo: “Naples: Walks for a change. Walking talks on beauty, identity and urban quality of life.”
  • Marco Gaudini: “How to buy back water management company into a public company?”
  • Andrea Costa: “How to set up grass root policies on migration: the example of Rome’s Baobab.”
  • Lucia Coppola: “How to win the Smart City award.”
  • Maria Laura Lorenzini: “How to implement good green policies in the field of heavy infrastructures.”
  • Daniela Filbier: “How to set up a project of direct democracy: the example of Possibile.”

3. Energy to the future: how to move towards zero emissions territories (12h30-13h30)

  • Michele Emiliano: “Past and present of the Italian heart of reneawable energy production.”
  • Bas Eickhout: “Implementing the Paris Agreement: from the global to the local level.”
  • Mónica Oltra Jarque: “Urban and community energy transition.”
  • Gianni Silvestrini: “The new Italian proposal for building retrofitting: beyond the green deal.”

 

REGISTRATION: This event is open to public and there is no participation fee. To register, send email to Davide Sabbadin (davidesabbadin@gmail.com).

Download the final programme here.

Live stream video from the event is available below.

Jan 09 2017
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‘Civilisation’ of the EU. A way for the EU to do more for world peace?

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The study points out the difficulties that arise from the role of the EU as a promoter of world peace and the EU’s progressive investments in military activities. To give but one example, already in 1999, the European Parliament took initial steps towards establishing a European Civilian Peace Corps (ECPC). To date, no tangible results have been obtained and in the spring of 2009 the EP reiterated its demand that the ECPC be set-up. On the other hand, during the same ten-year period, the EU established a military apparatus in Brussels and has dispatched EU soldiers on a number of EU military missions. This seems to convey the message that the European Union gives priority to military actions over peace promotion missions. Confronted with the reality of European peace missions, do we have to conclude that there is a serious lack of support for the civilian option in reality?

Civilian oriented peace operations

The report aims to provide a factual picture of the European Union’s contributions to peace, with an emphasis on its civilian aspects (the status of these contributions, their impact and the possibilities for their further development). The ambition is to spark a debate on the role of the EU and its potential impact in the area of civilian peace operations. In other words, the report recommends bringing the ‘civilisation’ of EU peace missions to the core of the discussions on the EU’s role in peace-keeping and peace-building around the globe.

Jan 09 2017
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Populism in Europe

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The rise of the populist-right and why it matters 

The publication of this book coincides with the rise of populist right-wing parties in a number of European countries. The most recent is the True Finns in Finland, but there are similar examples in Hungary, Sweden, France and elsewhere. While the book acknowledges the sometimes crucial differences that can exist between these individual parties, it is also true that they share many attributes. These include focusing their grievances on minorities, railing against so-called “elites”, and  an always high level of euroscepticism.

How should the Green movement confront such a challenge? And does this challenge present an opportunity to put forth a positive, Green message on Europe, immigration and the socio-economic challenges that we face in the 21st Century? This book attempts to answer these questions, and its contributors offer varying and diverse opinions on the origins of this trend, and what an effective response should be.

As Erica Meijers states in her introduction, the reader will at times find contradicting opinions and analyses in this book. This underlines the complexity of this issue, and shows it to be fertile ground for debate and discussion.

Table of contents

  • Introduction (Erica Meijers)
  • The Temptation to Over-Simplify: Why Populism Poses a Danger to Europe (Daniel Cohn-Bendit & Edouard Gaudot)
  • The New National Individualism: Populism is Here to Stay (Dick Pels)
  • Adversaries or Competitors: The Rise of Green and Radical Right-wing Populist Parties (Sarah L. de Lange, Wouter van der Brug & Inger Baller)
  • European Dreams, Nationalist Ambitions: Internationalism in Populist Movements (Oyvind Strommen)
  • The Quality and Future of Democracy: Two Decades of Free Elections in Central Europe (Sona Szomolanyi)
  • Lifting the Veil: Populists and Women’s Rights (Olga Pietruchova)
  • Populist Realism: Vox Populi and the Postpolitical (Merijn Oudenampsen)
  • The Spiral of Noise and Attention Seeking: Right-wing Populism and the Media (Robert Misk)
  • Imagination in Power: The Social-political Conditions of Italian Media Populism (Marco Jacquemet)
  • The Politics of Fear and Belonging: The Socio-Economic Breeding Ground of Populism (Barbara Hoheneder)
  • Freedom and Security in the Twenty-first Century: Green Alternatives (Dirk Holemans)

You can download the introduction to the book for free, which will give you an insight into the book’s chapters and what the authors discuss and propose.

Please email info@gef.eu if you are interested in purchasing a copy.

German translation now available

A German translation is now available to purchase online, with a foreword by Heinrich Böll Stiftung Co-President Ralf Fücks, GEF Co-President Heidi Hautala and Andrea Novy of Grüne Bildungswerkstatt. The foreword is available to download below. This translation is a cooperation project of GEF, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Grüne Bildungswerkstatt and Bureau de Helling. More information is available on the Heinrich Böll Stiftung website.

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Foreword DE 36.98 KB 121 downloads

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Book Review - Andreas Novy 94.10 KB 80 downloads

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Jan 09 2017
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European Citizens’ Initiative – updated edition

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The European Citizens’ Initiative gives citizens the right to set the agenda of the European Union and establishes a truly multifunctional means of providing checks and balances for what happens in the EU. This Pocket Guide offers readers the knowledge and insights necessary to make effective use of this new instrument.

In the six months that passed from the launch of the ECI instrument, 25 European Citizens’ Initiatives have been filed. Of these, 14 were registered by the European Commission, while others were rejected or withdrawn. The main challenge these first initiatives faced was related to the establishing a functional Online Collection System of signatures. In order to support the first initiatives, the European Commission offered organisers free servers in Luxembourg and decided to postpone the official start for the collection of signatures to August 2012, to make up for these initial set-backs. Even so, to date, only one of fourteen registered ECI’s is able to collect signatures online.

With this new edition of the ECI Pocket Guide, updated with the latest news and links to further sources of information and support, GEF aims to assist ECI organisers in their difficult challenge of pioneering European participatory democracy.

This updated edition has been produced by GEF for the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament.

How to use this Pocket Guide?

The Pocket Guide is divided in 3 sections which address the following questions, respectively: how can you use the ECI? What are the requirements you have to fulfil to successfully complete an ECI? Where can you find assistance for your ECI?

The ECI KEYCHAIN helps organiser identify the most suitable approach to an ECI. It details the various goals that an ECI can serve, such as introducing new ideas on the European legislative agenda, stopping existing legislation or acting as a platform that mediates between different legislative approaches.

The ECI PATHFINDER is a manual to assist ECI organisers or potential signatories to find their way through the often lengthy and sometimes cumbersome procedure of an initiative. The manual develops the 10 step approach to a European Citizens’ Initiative, already detailed in GEF’s earlier publications: The European Citizens’ Initiative Handbook and the flyer 10 Steps to the European Citizens’ Initiative.

The ECI RESOURCE CENTRE provides a wealth of details on the constitutional foundations, legal statutes and procedural regulations of the ECI. This chapter has been completely updated.

Order your copy now!

Would you like an own copy of the Pocket Guide? Then send us e-mail at info@gef.eu and we’ll send you one.

Successful pilot ECIs

GEF’s Campaign Handbook covered a number of successful ‘pilot ECIs’. These were efforts by NGOs and civil society groups to gather 1 million signatures in order to influence the EU’s agenda. They were inspired by the ECI, but took place before the ECI comes into effect on April 1st 2012.

1 million European Citizens for better animal welfare
Europeans unite for fair roaming
European Disability Forum and their ground-breaking ECI

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The European Citizens' Initiative Handbook. Your Guide to the World's First Transnational Direct Democratic Tool 7.81 MB 164 downloads

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Podręcznik europejskiej inicjatywy obywatelskiej. Przewodnik po zasadach pierwszego ponadnarodowego narzędzia demokracji bezpośredniej na świecie 1.61 MB 118 downloads

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Εγχειρίδιο της Πρωτοβουλίας Ευρωπαίων Πολιτών. Οδηγός για το Πρώτο Υπερεθνικό Εργαλείο Άμεσης Δημοκρατίας στον Κόσμο 3.59 MB 97 downloads

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Manuel de l’initiative citoyenne européenne. Premier outil de démocratie directe transnationale 1.94 MB 153 downloads

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Jan 09 2017
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Campaign Handbook: A users’ guide to campaigning

By Uncategorized

Participation in politics is not only about good policies and exciting new ideas, but also about having the skills to make these visions heard and embraced by others. This is even more relevant in European politics, where the distance between citizens and decision making can be better bridged with efficient communication and campaigning.
The Green European Foundation first developed the Campaign Handbook in 2010 as an online platform that was both a manual on campaigning for Green activists, as well as a platform of exchange of knowledge and experience for Green campaigners. The website has been constantly updated with interesting examples from Green campaigns.

The print edition of the handbook guides the reader through a coherent political campaign: from the strategic vision of what should be accomplished, to how to manage a campaign team in order to achieve the set goals; how to target the audience with the right messaging; and how to assess the gains and losses of the campaign.

This edition of the Campaign Handbook is updated to respond to the latest shifts in campaigning practices. It brings together the “musts” of successful campaigning, from the point of view of experienced Green campaign managers. We therefore hope it will be a useful guide, accompanying the reader in exciting and efficient campaigns.

Check out the Campaign handbook online platform