Jun 20 2017
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Basic Income Study Trip to Barcelona

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The visit is hosted with an international group of experts, composed of academics, basic income activists and politicians, in order to advance the political debate around this topic and to share experiences across Europe.

This event is a part of the ongoing project “Living with Dignity in a Digitalised Working World – Basic Income for all EU Citizens?” which aims to  contribute to the debate about basic income and to further explore social and fair solutions to increasing inequality within the European societies.

The study trip to Barcelona will provide insights about basic income in the context of Spain and Catalonia in particular, along with clarification of various definitions of this concept. In addition, it will include meetings with relevant experts and NGOs working in the field.

The result of this event will be published and shared at the end of the year, summarising the most important questions and insights about basic income, and a comparison between different experiments (i.e. Barcelona and Helsinki). Participants of the study trip are pre-selected. Stay tuned for more updates!

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 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 09 2017
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“Next To Us’’ A New Narrative on Migration in Europe

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The project consisted of a set of events, organised by the above-mentioned institutions, aimed at identifying the main challenges in ensuring the wellbeing of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe. This report, which included the participation of the author in the 6 events organised in 5 countries between May and September 2016 in Spain (Barcelona and Madrid), Germany (Berlin and Munich), United Kingdom (Oxford) and Greece (Athens), was developed as part of this project with a twofold objective:

Firstly, it summarises the main findings from debates held within the GEF transnational migration project involving a wide range of actors, from policy-makers, civil society and refugees themselves;

Secondly, it provides an analytical view of the divergent trajectories of the debate to identify a solid common ground and to build a narrative that would precede new policy proposals offered by the Green political family.

You can read the report by accessing it below.

Jan 21 2017
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Workshop in Barcelona: EU Borders Management and Migration Policies

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The programme of the workshop enabled a discussion on dismantling the European Fortress and the possibilities of alternative refugee and migration policies.

The first day of the event included a round-table debate on the role of the city in reception and social integration of refuges. Therefore, the focus here was on the situation occurring on the local level, with representatives from Austria, Germany and Barcelona.

During the second day, the workshop provided space for examining the context of the European refugee crisis and the externalisation of EU borders. These panels led to important conclusions about the impacts of the inner European policies that simultaneously affect the situation on an international level. Furthermore, the speakers provided interesting and different insights about the conditions in Libanon, Mellila and Italy, together with an overview of the development of general issues related to the refugees in recent years.

Finally, an additional topic was the question of the responsibility of European Union and its member states, along with the challenges of the Dublin Regulation. Here, Ernest Urtasun presented the Dublin Reform paper of the Greens at the European Parliament. This session evoked many questions and comments from the participants who valuated and criticized the Green position.

PROGRAMME:

  • DAY 1 (Friday, 6th of May)

18:00 -19:30  Welcome by Susanne Rieger (Co-President of GEF) and RoundTable: Refugee-City:  From reception to social integration moderated by Blanca Garcés (Resercher at Barcelona Centre for International Affairs)

  • DAY 2 (Saturday, 7th of May)

10:30 – 12-30 Welcome and opening remarks by Dolors Comas d’Argemir (Fundació Nous Horitzons), who will moderate Session I: The European Refugee Crisis and the Externalization of EU Borders.

13:00 – 14:30 Session II: European and States Members Responsibility. Challenges to the Dublin Regulation moderated by Gemma Pinyol (GRITIM-UPF)

14:30 Closing Session by Susanne Rieger

LOCATION: Centre Cívic Convent de Sant Agustí (Carrer del Comerç, 36) Barcelona

RELATED CONTENT: Debate videos from the second day of the event are available for streaming in Spanish.

Video 1 | Video 2

Jan 19 2017
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Summer University in Barcelona: Escola Estiu 2016

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This year’s summer school of the Catalonian foundation Nous Horitzons served as a space to reflect and advance. Its programme evolved around questions on the future of the European Union, and Catalonia in particular, on a political but also economic level.

A panel debate, organised by the Green European Foundation, with speakers such as Ernest Urtasun (MEP Greens/EFA, Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds & Economist), dealt with the topic of fiscal paradises, tax evasion and whistle-blower protection in the aftermath of the release of the Panama papers.

Moreover, different parallel workshops were organised on the second day of the workshop on relevant topics such as the consequences of the Brexit or perspectives of the welfare state.

For practical information and detailed programme, visit the website of Fundació Nous Horitzons.