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Ecopolis 2019: Generation Hope (Brussels)

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Event Background

The past year has seen the remarkable rising worldwide of young people calling for action on the climate emergency: all across the world, the younger generations are bringing the debates on climate to the political forefront.

Ecopolis 2019 will focus on this inspiring “‘#GenerationHope”, exploring how we can ensure a sustainable future on our planet.

About the Event

Ecopolis is an annual conference held in Brussels and the perfect place to connect and discuss with others who are passionate about a sustainable future!

The ecological challenges we face are transnational and so Ecopolis is appropriately diverse, international and interactive to stimulate productive discussions.

Ecopolis will bring together Belgian and international authors and experts to debate on the transition to a socio-ecologically sound society. The conference will encompass inspiring books, documentaries and discussion sessions between academics, writers and civil-society thinkers on ecology, economy and society.

Speakers:

More speakers to be confirmed soon!

Anissa Boujdaini – Flore De Pauw – Mariyam Safi – Joke Hermsen – Christian Felber – Sofie Bloemen – Elvis Peeters – Arno Kempynck – Maeve Cohen ∙ Stijn Warmenhoven – Walter Lotens – Thomas de Groot – Christian Schwarzer – Arno Kempynck

For speaker profiles, please the Ecopolis website. 

Programme

10:30 – DOORS OPEN

11:00 – The Citizen Movement, the Government and Future Generations

Lecture performance by Dutch dramatists Anoek Nuyens and Rebekka De Wit.

11:30 – Can We Turn the Tide?

Discussion panel on the climate crisis, featuring Dutch writer Joke Hermsen, alongside climate activists from across Europe.

13:00 – Why Should We Still Study?

Discussion panel exploring the interplay between the climate crisis and education, featuring Post-Crash Economics Society founder Maeve Cohen, Austrian “Economy for the Common Good” movement founder Christian Felber, and UN Youth Representative on sustainable development Flore De Pauw.

14:30 – How to Unite Countries Torn Apart?

We will delve into the fragmentations evident in European societies and the challenges this poses to tackling the climate crisis with this panel discussion, featuring writer Elvis Peeters, and climate activists Stijn Warmenhoven and Mariyam Safi.

16:00 – Intermezzo:

Spoken word performance by Anissa Boujdaini

16:15 – Global Warming and the Male Meltdown – the interplay of misogyny, right-wing populism and climate denial

Debate discussing ecofeminism and the connections between anti-feminist movements and climate skepticism, featuring Sherilyn MacGregor (University of Manchester), Benedikte Zitouni (Université Saint-Louis), Leen Schelfhout (Extinction Rebellion) and Youna Marette (Manifeste de la Génération Climat), moderation by Bieke Purnelle.

18:00 – END

For the full programme description and list of speakers, please visit the Ecopolis website. 

Practicalities

Language

Simultaneous interpretation into Dutch, English and French will be available.

Directions to the venue

  • By foot – 15 min. walking distance for Brussel-Noord station.
  • By bike – bike parking in front of the venue; Villo-station at Square Saincetlette (across the canal)
  • Metro –  Stop at Ijzer/Yser (lines 2 and 6)
  • Tram – Line 51.
  • Bus –  Line 47 (MIVB) or lines 129, 190, 212, 213, 214, 230, 231, 232, 233, 235, 240, 241, 242, 243, 246, 250, 251, 260 and 355.

Tickets

Tickets can be purcahsed from the venue Kaaitheater website

Tickets cost 7 euro in presale and 10 euro at the door.


Further details of this event are to be confirmed, please check back later for more information.

The official website of the event can be found here. 

EGAT Study Trip (Brussels)

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Event Background

The European Green Activists Training (EGAT) consists of training sessions for young Green activists in three phases.

The first phase is the completion of the free online course Impact Europe. Then, in the second phase, the trainees participate national training sessions in their respective countries on domestic politics, as well as a session on European politics and institutions. The final stage is the study trip, which brings all of the trainees from across Europe together in Brussels.

The EGAT project aims to Europeanise existing training programmes for Green activists in several European countries by incoporating more pan-European content and to make these programmes more cooperative by enabling young activists to meet and network.

About the Event

During the four-day study trip, participants from Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland and Malta will have the chance to engage with professionals, politicians, NGOs and other activists operating in and around the European institutions, as well as with each other.

With a range of formal and informal training methods, including interactive workshops, the trip will be a valuable learning experience for young activists brought together by Green values and a motivation to enact change.

Programme

Monday 4th March – Getting to know each other

  • Meeting the participants and familiarising them with the Green family on a European level.

Tuesday 5th March – Discover the European Union

  • European Parliament visit, with MEPs Heidi Hautala, Ernest Urtasun and Sven Giegold.

Parallel Sessions:

  • House of Europe visit
  • Parlamentarium visit
  • Career opportunities in Brussels

Wednesday 6th March – Influence the European Union

  • Different faces of lobbying: citizen, NGOs and corporations
  • Activist toolbox: debate and demonstrate

Thursday 7th March – Debate the European Union

  • Keynote speech on the Future of Europe
  • Groupwork and debates

The exact details and timings of the programme are to be confirmed, please check back later for more information.


If you would like to take part in the next generation of EGAT, there will be a call for participant applications in Autumn 2019, for national training sessions in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland and Hungary. 

Check back later for more information, or follow us on social media and sign up to our newsletter. 

Roundtable on Smart Cities (Brussels)

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Event Background

This invitation-only workshop is the first event to be be held as part of the 2019 transnational project A Charter for the Smart Citywhich aims to create a charter to assess and steer technological innovations in European cities.

 About the Event

Bringing together politicians and representatives from NGOs, trade unions, and technology sectors, this closed workshop in Brussels, Belgium, will act as a starting point for the project by exploring the opportunities and challenges of Smart Cities.

Chaired by GEF board member & Oikos coordinator Dirk Holemans, the workshop will draw upon the expertise of the attendees to identify what is needed on an EU level, build a network of contacts and inform the drafting process of the charter.

The event will be divided into two main sessions:

  • Firstly, all experts will have the opportunity to comment on the draft version of the charter and feed into it.
  • In a second session, the workshop will focus on the most controversial issues identified in the first part and provide space for more in-depth discussions.

Organised by the Green European Foundation, with the support of Bureau de Helling and the logisitical support of Oikos.