Down TO Earth project kick-off conference in Santiago de Compostela

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Down To Earth Project Launch & Kick-off Conference! 

In the last week of June, Down to Earth partners were in Santiago de Compostela for the Inaugural Management meetings and the Public Kick-Off Conference!

Down to Earth – Tackling depopulation challenges to improve environmental resilience in rural areas – kicked off the first conference to the public, highlighting the main challenges faced in many rural areas across Europe, such as land abandonment and climate disasters, but also supporting an economic fabric that allows the agricultural sector to grow sustainably. The project is co-funded by European Union and aims to optimize the utilization of available tools and resources within the participating regions, including Cohesion Policy funds. By doing so, we aspire to promote sustainable development and increase the disaster risk resilience of rural communities across Europe. 

The Kick-Off Meeting brought together 8 dedicated partners introduced the various components of the project, and laid out the steps ahead for the coming months. The ISOCARP Institute participated in the Kick-Off Meeting and presented its upcoming contribution to the Communication and dissemination work plan. As the leader of Communication and Dissemination, we presented our strategy to aggregate project results in multimedia dissemination and increase and maintain the visibility of the project to the EU-level public.

Stay tuned for more updates! And check out the Press Release to discover more about the project

PlusChange project kick-off meeting announced

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PLUS Change Project Launch & Kick off Meeting! 

On the 12th to 14th June 2023, the PLUS Change project was officially kicked-off! PLUS Change (Planning Land Use Strategies: Meeting biodiversity, climate and social objectives in a changing world) is funded by the Horizon Europe programme and aims to develop strategies and decision-making processes for land use that effectively address challenges related to climate change, biodiversity, and human well-being. By bringing together diverse stakeholders and examining case studies from various regions in Europe, the project emphasizes the interconnectedness between urban, regional, and peri-urban areas. The overarching goal is to generate knowledge and drive transformative change towards a sustainable world.

The Kick-Off Meeting took place in Prague and brought together representatives from 14 countries and 23 institutions including the ISOCARP Institute as well as public administrations, universities, and field experts. Together, the partners introduced the various components of the project and laid out the steps ahead for the coming months.

The ISOCARP Institute took part in the Kick-Off Meeting and presented its upcoming contribution for the Dissemination, communication and exploitation plan. As the leader of the Dissemination, communication and exploitation Work Package, we presented our plan to aggregate project results in multimedia dissemination as a central hub for activities within this work package, and acts as the anchor for disseminating project deliverables and fostering their exploitation. This is a multi-format strategy, centred on the project website and online hub, in which we will build a community of knowledge by showcasing practice cases, disseminating artistic output and interactive modules.

Stay tuned for more updates! And check out the Press Release to discover more about the project.

The final intensive study programme of the Erasmus + project WAVE!

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The final Intensive Study Programme of the Erasmus+ project WAVE!

We are in Nürtingen until 29th June for the final Intensive Study Programme of the Erasmus+ project WAVE!

University students from Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Italy, and Romania will focus on discovering and proposing alternatives the corridor of the Tiefenbach valley, specifically in Nürtingen city center, where the waterway is visually absent. Together with WAVE partners, we will guide them in their efforts to adopt a landscape perspective to envision these alternative futures for the Tiefenbach in Nürtingen. 

We are super excited to see new and returning students discover the WAVE methods!

As part of the exploration, students studied the water system, its interplay with natural, social, and economic factors, and their profound impact on land use and landforms. They now have to critically evaluate these cause-effect relationships on the landscape values and ecosystem services and formulate new design prototypes! These will serve as tangible representations of their concepts and will help illustrate the transformative possibilities for the landscape as part of the Landscape Forum on 27th June -1st July, co-organised by IFLA Europe and LE:Notre Institut

Down to Earth – Interregional cooperation for sustainable, resilient and attractive rural areas

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ISOCARP INSTITUTE partners in Interreg
Europe project DOWN TO EARTH

We are excited to announce the launch of our new project “DOWN TO EARTH” funded by the Interreg Europe programme. This project aims to lead to a better use of available tools and resources, including Cohesion Policy funds, in the participating regions, ultimately seeking to promote sustainable development and increase the disaster risk resilience of rural communities across Europe.

DOWN-TO-EARTH gathers a group of organisations working on different aspects related to disaster risk reduction and rural development from regions across Europe, who firmly believe that retaining population and encouraging sustainable practices in key sectors is crucial to curb environmental deterioration, and can greatly contribute to risk prevention.

The partnership is composed of 8 partners, and two associated policy authorities, led by Axencia Galega de Desenvolvemento Rural, and will work together to identify and promote win-win solutions to manage, maintain and enhance natural capital to reduce the risk and impact of environmental disasters, while generating economic and social opportunities to attract population to rural areas.

Thanks to mutual learning through interregional exchange of experiences, the capacities of the regional and local authorities as well as relevant stakeholders from the participating rural areas to deal with the identified challenges will be increased.

Or download the document here.

DUST project kick-off meeting announced

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Exciting News: DUST Launch Meeting! 

Yesterday the launch meeting of one of our new projects, DUST, took place online. Funded by Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme, #DUST (“Democratising jUst Sustainability Transitions”), aims to bring European policies closer to citizens for the future of democracy and civic participation, especially in regions deeply affected by sustainability transitions, notably the regions dependent on energy-intensive industries that are a target by the Just Transition Fund (as part the European Cohesion Policy).

The meeting marked the official start of the DUST project. It is an opportunity to get to know DUST partners and advisory board members, and introduce the project elements and the roles of everyone.

As the leader of the Communication and Dissemination Work Package, we presented our plan to integrate effective communication at the core of our tasks, i.e. how we will make sure that the project engages with marginalised communities in a manner that is mindful of their own communication habits, using tools beyond words.

Stay tuned for more updates! follow us on social media channel.

DUST – Democratising jUst Sustainability Transitions

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DUST – Democratising jUst Sustainability Transitions 

We are excited to announce the launch of our new project “DUST”, which is funded by the European Union’s Research and Innovation Programme, Horizon Europe. The ISOCARP Institute is proud to be a partner in this project, which aims to bring European policies closer to citizens for the future of democracy and civic participation.

DUST will develop and operationalise novel participatory instruments for proactive and strategic citizen engagement in sustainability transitions. It will combine design-led territorial tools with digital tools for citizen deliberation at scale. The project addresses a defining #societal and #democratic #challenge for Europe: to hear the voices of least engaged communities, especially in structurally weak regions dependent on energy-intensive industries, which will be most affected by transitions towards a more sustainable future.

Led by Delft University of Technology, with a highly competent and enthusiastic consortium comprising 13 partner institutions across Europe. The project lasts for three years, starting from Feb. 1st 2023. The ISOCARP Institute is committed to contributing to the project by leading the Communication and Dissemination activities.

If you would like to learn more about DUST or how the project will develop and operationalise, please contact Samir Amir: amin@isocarp-institute.org, DUST Project leader at the ISOCARP Institute.

Or download the document here. 

CxC-Consortium Week-1a

4th +CityxChange Consortium Meeting

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4th +CityxChange Consortium Meeting

October 18-27th, 2021

CxC-Consortium Week-1a

On the 18th of October, the +CityxChange project kicks off its fourth consortium meeting. This time, the consortium meeting will be held over 1.5 weeks with a series of smaller sessions to share project updates and hearing the challenges and key learnings from each city. The meeting brings together all project partners including Lighthouse and Follower Cities.  

The project is heading into its fourth year of the five-year project and focusing on the finalization and replication phase. With over 69 deliverables submitted and a significant number of milestones achieved, the project team is proud of the ongoing dedication and commitment, especially under extra-ordinary conditions over the last year and a half. 

ISOCARP Institute will be sharing their updates and progress on their role in various work packages and integrating storytelling events to support city partners in their sessions.

Stay tuned for more information on how the consortium week unfolds.