What does it mean to build counter-power in a time of monsters? As Europe faces growing insecurity, climate collapse, democratic backsliding and profound shifts in the global order, the Green European Foundation joins the 10th edition of the Green Academy with a series of GEF Talks exploring the political ideas and strategies needed to shape a Green response.

About the event

From 21–26 August 2026, the Green European Foundation joins the Institute for Political Ecology and partners for the 10th edition of the Green Academy, taking place on the island of Vis, Croatia, under the title “Life in the Time of Monsters: Building Counter-Power”.

Established in 2010, the Green Academy is an educational and discussion platform centred on political ecology, bringing together debates on degrowth and post-growth, the commons, ecological transition, municipalism and public services. Over the years, it has become an international meeting point where green and progressive scholars, practitioners, researchers, politicians and activists exchange knowledge, experiences and political strategies.

With this tenth edition, the Green Academy seeks to collectively explore green and left responses to a political moment characterised by growing insecurity, ongoing wars and conflicts, climate collapse and profound shifts in the global order. The Academy will provide a space to examine different strands of green-left political thought and action, and to explore how to build the forms of counter-power needed to inspire, empower and strengthen progressive politics across Europe.

Throughout the Academy, the Green European Foundation will contribute a series of GEF Talks and workshops that connect current Foundation projects with the Academy’s overarching themes. From demographic futures and Greens in government to Europe’s contested green transition, the rise of the far right and the relationship between technology and democracy, these sessions will bring together researchers, policymakers and Green actors from across Europe to exchange experiences, challenge assumptions and collectively reflect on the political strategies needed for the years ahead.

Programme

You can find the GEF Talks sessions below. The full Green Academy programme is available here on the Institute for Political Ecology’s website.

Friday 21 August 2026

21:00–23:00 | Opening Debate – Do Monsters Smell Flowers? (EN)

• Inga Rademacher – Professor of International Political Economy, School of Policy and Global Affairs, City St. George’s University of London
• Asad Rehman – Chief Executive, Friends of the Earth Europe
• Meryem Almaci – Member, GEF Board and Member of Flemish Groen Party
• Sabrina Fernandes – Brazilian writer, economist and climate activist

The official opening debate of the Green Academy explores how progressive movements can respond to today’s multiple crises while imagining new forms of political action and hope.

Saturday 22 August 2026

11:30–13:30 | GEF Talks – Lecture: The Far Right as an Economic Monster (EN)

• Inga Rademacher – Professor of International Political Economy, School of Policy and Global Affairs, City St. George’s University of London

This workshop examines the economic narratives underpinning the contemporary far right and explores progressive alternatives capable of challenging them.

Sunday 23 August 2026

11:30–13:30 | GEF Talks – Greens in Government. A Participatory Session on Navigating  Power and Anchoring the Transition (EN)

• Florent Marcellesi – Senior EU Consultant, former Member of the European Parliament and former co-chair of the Spanish Greens Equo

This interactive GEF Talk presents the framework and first insights of the Green European Foundation’s “Greens in Government” project. The project examines the institutional, organizational, and societal anchoring of Green participations in regional and national governments. Designed as a participatory session, this workshop brings together research perspectives and political experiences to focus on: the modalities of entry, renewal, or exit of governments by the Greens; the institutional and human imprint they leave on public administration; their ability to build trust, as well as long-term political and social legitimacy; the evolution of Green political identity, strategy, and internal dynamics under conditions of power; their ability to adapt and navigate external conditions and major political, social, and cultural trends during different election cycles. Participants will actively contribute to sharing practices and collective learning for Greens in power.

Monday 24 August 2026

10:00–11:30 | Keynote

• Emma Holten – feminist debater, online humans rights activist and editor of Friktion magazine

11:30–13:30 | GEF Talks – Deal or No Deal: The Contested Futures of Europe’s Green Transition (EN)

• Agata Meysner – Board member, Green European Foundation and Co-Founder, Generation Climate Europe
• Sandra Bencic – Member of Parliament and co-leader, Možemo! 
• Pablo Sanchez – Local and Regional Government Officer, European Public Services Union
• Moderation: Jamie Kendrick – Head of Policy, Green European Foundation

Europe’s Green Deal has entered a new political phase. This panel explores the contested futures of Europe’s green transition; speakers will sketch out the contradictory trends defining the current movement and look ahead to key struggles for European green politics.

18:00–19:30 | GEF Talks – Beyond the Tech Race: Reimagining Europe’s Digital Future (EN)

• Jan Philipp Albrecht – President, Heinrich Böll Stiftung
• Renata Ávila Pinto – CEO, Open Knowledge Foundation
• Moderation: Seden Anlar – Journalist, Climate Communicator

Tuesday 25 August 2026

11:30–13:30 | GEF Talks – Europe Is Ageing – Who Cares?  (EN)

• Emma Holten – feminist debater, online humans rights activist and editor of Friktion magazine
• Silvana Briones Piedrafita – Technical Advisor on Information, Office of the Spanish Minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and the 2030 Agenda
• Jelena Miloš – Member of Parliament, Možemo!
• Moderation: Alessio Giussani – Editor in chief, Green European Journal

Drawing on the latest edition of the Green European Journal, this roundtable examines demographic change, ageing societies, care, migration and intergenerational justice from a political ecology perspective.

Practicalities

Date: 21-26 August 2026

Location: Komiža, Vis island, Croatia

Language: English and Croatian

This is an invitation-only event with limited capacity. For more information please contact carlotta.geremia@gef.eu or lana@ipe.hr.

The GEF Talks sessions are organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Institute for Political Ecology and with financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. 

About the event:

The Green Academy is a discussion and dialogue platform, established in 2010 as a space for advanced learning in political ecology. The 9th edition of Green Academy is entitled ”Stay with the Trouble,” and will feature a varied programme of keynotes, panels, workshops, and social activities. As part of the programme, GEF is hosting a series of Green Talks spotlighting our latest work on the wellbeing economy, adaptation, and building a resilient Europe beyond growth.

Project background:

If trends continue, the summer of 2024 is likely to be the hottest yet, with the daily reality of the climate crisis coming into even sharper focus for ever more citizens. Yet unlike five years ago, climate and biodiversity do not dominate the political headlines or European voter priorities, whether due to disillusionment, disinformation, or competing concerns like cost-of-living and (in)security.

More than ever, it is important to demonstrate how social and ecological justice go hand in hand, and to foster the bottom-up democracy to make that happen. Concepts and ideas like post-growth, the commons, and citizen assemblies may hold some of the answers, but need the right narratives and policy grounding to truly pierce the mainstream European debate. GEF has supported this endeavour for a long time, including as a partner of the 2023 Beyond Growth Conference in the European Parliament and the International Degrowth Conference that took place in Zagreb that same year.

As we get ready to enter a new EU cycle, with a reshuffled parliament and Commission, it is crucial to keep the momentum going and ensure that wellbeing and a prosperous Europe beyond growth remain on the agenda. The Green Academy provides a constructive yet convivial setting in which to learn, exchange and expand on this challenge, in line with GEF’s role as a hub for political education and laboratory for new ideas.

Programme and Speakers:

GEF’s Green Talks  are featured in specific slots throughout the programme. August 24^th and August 28^th are arrival and departure days.

Monday, 26/08 (12 – 13:30): Enough – Thriving Democracies for Tomorrow’s Europe

Panel discussion with Remy Bonny, Danijela Dolenec, Dirk Holemans, and Elze Vermaas (moderated by Alice Hubbard)

Tuesday, 27/08 (12 – 13:30): A Race Against the Clock? Time and Climate Adaptation

Panel discussion with Marc Martorell Escofet, Marie-Monique Franssen, and Katarina Kusic (moderated by Alessio Giussani)

Tuesday, 27/08 (17 – 19:00): Knowledge Community on the European Wellbeing Economy

Interactive workshop with Emma Bergeling and Antoine Oger (moderated by Sien Hasker and Laurent Standaert)

Practicalities:

Date and Time: 24-28 August

Location: Hotel Biševo – Komiža, Croatia

Language: English 

This is an invitation-only event with limited capacity. For more information please contact sien.hasker@gef.eu and/or lana@ipe.hr.   

This event is co-organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of the Institute for Political Ecology and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.