Toneta

Donostia: Cristina Enea anima a compartir experiencias sostenibles 'online'

2012-02-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

La Fundación Cristina Enea ha puesto en marcha una nueva sección en su página web a través de la cual intentará recopilar "hábitos de conducta y trucos que favorezcan el respeto hacia el medio ambiente y la sostenibilidad". Esta sección ha sido bautizada Y tú, ¿cómo lo haces? y en ella serán los propios ciudadanos los que podrán aportar sus experiencias.

Según los responsables de la fundación, esta iniciativa, "más que dar consejos sobre buenos hábitos", lo que busca es dar voz a la ciudadanía y posibilitar que sean los donostiarras los que intercambien opiniones y experiencias positivas. "Queremos que nos cuenten qué es lo que cada uno hace para cuidar más el entorno y ser más sostenible", afirman desde la fundación.

Fuente: Noticias de Gipuzkoa

Mas información: Fundación Cristina Enea

Lucha contra el cambio climático. Lo que ganamos y no lo que perdemos

2012-02-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

"No es momento de entrar en la los detalles de los climate-gate, las salidas de barra de los lobbies climáticos ni, en general, las disputas concretas sobre cuestiones muy específicas sobre el origen e impacto del cambio climático. La cuestión es, más bien, ¿cómo es posible que en una sociedad supuestamente moderna, al igual que con otras cuestiones donde la ciencia tiene tanto que decir, encuentren caldo de cultivo pensamientos acientíficos sobre el cambio climático? Es una respuesta compleja"

Un artículo de Manu Fernández que se puede leer en La Ciudad Viva

SALTO TOOL: Climate Change Working with Youth in an Intercultural Context

2012-02-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

The aim of this tool is to present the methods used to work on Climate Change in an intercultural context, from the viewpoint of non-formal education and energizing young people. This SALTO tool can be used as an example for the simulation game SUDPOLIS that TONETA wants to create.

Por ti, para ti, Guimarães

2012-02-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

"Guimarães é, a partir de hoje, Capital Europeia da Cultura. É bonito, merecido e faz bem ao ego. Mas Guimarães já era, antes dessa medalha, uma referência. Cultural, comunitária, associativa, identitária."

Um artigo sobre a Capital Cultural Guimarães 2012, de Miguel Carvalho, jornalista, que pode ser lido aqui.

SALTO TOOL: (young) Debate for Sustainable Development

2012-02-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

By exercise Debate for Sustainable Development can be open session focus on issue of sustainable development or other related topics. The exercise is based on active communication and participation of the participants. This SALTO tool can be used as an example for the simulation game SUDPOLIS that TONETA wants to create.

Aims of the tool

To increase knowledge of the participants in the field of sustainable development;
To discuss most actual questions connected with the issue of sustainable development and support sharing and exchanging ideas and opinions;
To develop communication and presentation skills of the participants and support their active in involvement in the project.

Description of the tool

The participants are divided in teams (It can be created up to 8 teams. It depends how many questions should be discussed and how much time is preferable that the participants will spend by this activity). The number of the participants should not be more than four to support active involvement of all participants.

Carbonn Cities Climate Registry

2012-02-07T14:17:00.000-08:00

At the World Mayors Summit on Climate in Mexico City on 21 November 2010, two groundbreaking initiatives were launched: Global Cities Covenant on Climate - "the Mexico City Pact", and the carbonn® Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) as the global mechanism for reporting local climate information.

The carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) is a global mechanism that encourages local governments to regularly and publicly report on their greenhouse gas reduction commitments, GHG emissions inventories and climate mitigation/adaptation actions. The cCCR was developed by local governments for local governments.

The cCCR enables cities and local governments to publicly register their greenhouse gas reduction commitments, report performance and showcase actions.

The cCCR ensures that local climate action is measurable, reportable and verifiable, and that data are consistent with the standards of the global climate regime.

The cCCR supports the global credibility of local climate action and ensures transparency, accountability and comparability.

To know more, please visit cCCr website

1st International Historical Congress – Cities in History

2012-02-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

The Guimarães European Capital of Culture programme is to incorporate the first ever International Historical Congress – Cities in History, Francisca Abreu, the city’s Culture Councillor, announced Thursday.

“The congress is an opportunity for historical reflection and debate combining different approaches,” explained Abreu.

The congress, taking place between 24 and 26 October, divides up into five historical periods: the city in classical civilisations, in the medieval, modern and industrial eras as well as the contemporary city.

Within the context of the latter theme, city-country and country-city mobility, the urban spatial distribution of immigrants, and the role of the city as an international migratory destination are among the themes to be discussed at the congress.

Source: Lusa News

Global Cities' Covenant on Climate: The Mexico City Pact

2012-01-31T14:02:00.000-08:00

By signing the Pact, Mayors and local authority representatives commit to:

Reduce their local greenhouse gas emissions voluntarily
Adopt and implement local climate mitigation measures designed to achieve their voluntary reduction target
Develop local adaptation strategies to address the local impact of climate change
Register their emission inventories, commitments, climate mitigation and adaptation measures and actions in a measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV) manner
Seek the creation of mechanisms that allow direct access to international funding for local climate actions
Establish the Mexico City Pact Secretariat
Promote the involvement of civil society in the fight against climate change
Advocate and seek partnerships with multilateral institutions and national governments on our local climate actions
Promote partnerships and city-to-city cooperation
Spread the message of the Mexico City Pact

Atlantic Cities like Brest Métropole Océane, Nantes Métropole and Lisbon are already part of it.

You can learn more on the Pact at its WEBSITE

Guimarães’ students exhibit “The Heart of Guimarães”

2012-01-26T14:14:00.001-08:00

The Heart of Guimarães” exhibition is exposed on the main waiting room of the Guimarães’ Private Hospital until the 4th of January. Guimarães 2012 and the Casa de Saúde de Guimarães are the responsible for the project.
The exhibition is composed by artistic pieces created by Primary School students, inspired on the logo of the Guimarães 2012 ECoC. "The Heart of Guimarães" challenged the school community and more than two hundred works were produced using materials like buttons, lines, gum, paper, crayons or doll clothes.

Climate Change Champions for Wales

2012-01-24T14:04:00.000-08:00

A Climate Change Champion spreads the word about how people can take simple steps to reduce their carbon footprints. They use their influence to persuade friends, families and the wider community to do their bit to tackle climate change.

Each year, champions are encouraged to speak to lots of people and groups throughout Wales about the small things that everyone can all do to reduce our carbon footprint.

They all regularly attend events, talk to the media and write columns in their local newspapers where they talk about what they've been doing to raise awareness of things we can do to reduce climate change.

To find out more about what the Climate Change Champions have been doing, please click HERE

Guimarães 2012: European Culture Capital twin cities sponsor joint initiatives

2012-01-19T07:23:00.000-08:00

Maribor launches its year-long European Capital of Culture programme Friday, while Guimarães kicks-off on 21 January.
The northern Portuguese city of Guimarães is committed to working closely with Slovenia’s Maribor in their twin hosting of the European Capital of Culture programme this year, according to city councilwoman Francisca Abreu.

“We will give our best to establish a lasting and consistent relationship with Maribor”, Slovenia’s second biggest city, and in carrying out “joint projects” throughout the year, Abreu told news agency Lusa.

She noted, however, that existing ties between Portugal and the eastern European nation were “more recent” and lacked the historic density that had linked Porto and Rotterdam in the twined cultural European event in 2001.

The programme coordinator for Maribor, Natasa Kos, told Lusa by telephone that the two cities would collaborate in a variety of paired cultural initiatives.

Kos listed some of the joint initiatives as youth travel exchanges, the publishing of two anthologies of Portuguese and Slovenian 20th century poetry, and a weekend dedicated to football and concerts.

Source: Lusa News

Town networking through the Atlantic

2012-01-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

TONETA is aproject funded under the EU for Ciizens programme. The European Union is made of its citizens and for its citizens! With this in mind, the Europe for Citizens Programme is funding projects and activities aimed at getting the EU’s 500 million inhabitants to play a greater part in the development of the EU.

By funding schemes and activities in which citizens can participate, the Programme is promoting Europe’s shared history and values, and fostering a sense of ownership for how the EU develops.

Projects funded under the Programme are run by local authorities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), think tanks, trade unions, universities or others. Projects bring people together to talk about the EU integration, policies and values, enhance mutual understanding between them, boost their awareness of the societal impact of EU policies and encourage them to participate in shaping the future of the EU.

Recently European Comission has issued a post on TONETA project that you can read HERE.

Sabine dos Reis was named Ambassadress of Guimarães 2012

2012-01-12T08:23:00.000-08:00

Sabine dos Reis was named official Ambassadress of Guimarães 2012 with the aim of establishing connections. The Councillor and President of “Amigos de Guimarães” had been honored in Portugal, last January, along with other ambassadors of the city.
Born in Tourcoing, Sabine dos Reis always lived surrounded by neighbors and friends from North of Portugal: "90% of the Tourcoing’s inhabitants which have Portuguese origins are from the north of Portugal." Her role as Ambassadress is an opportunity to make known a particular culture and wealth.

“Guimarães' Heart”
During the month of November, the population of Tourcoing was invited to create the logo Tourcoing / Guimarães 2012. Vincent Lannoo, deputy mayor said: "We launched this competition with the aim of involving all the artists in our city's cultural project. We got very creative graphic proposals”. The initiative was attended by about 80 people and the winner will win a trip to Guimarães.

Source: Guimaraes 2012

Green Cities: Faro and Gijón signed the Covenant of Mayors

2012-01-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

The signing ceremony of the Covenant of Mayors was held on Tuesday 29 November at the European Parliament, the scene where Carmen Moriyón, Mayor of Gijón, as the highest representative of the 3,000 th city to join the Covenant, took the floor to explain the obligation of the municipal representatives to "set new challenges" in the care of the environment such as reducing emissions in construction, through the implementation of energy efficiency in new buildings, and traffic, giving an impetus to electric and hybrid vehicles.
To Faro, represented by its mayor, Macario Correia, the future of a city depends in large part, of rationality and good management of resources. Faro is not left untouched by this mission, but works to achieve the objectives of a real energy policy and the production and use of cleaner energy.
CAAC members have also signed the Charter of San Sebastian that defines the environmental challenges in the Atlantic macro-region. Other cities in the CCAA that have signed the Covenant of Mayors are: Angouleme, Brest, Caen, Cardiff, Lisbon, Nantes Métropole, Niort, Rennes and Rennes Métropole, San Sebastian, Santander, Seville and Vigo.

Source: CAAC

La responsabilidad social de las autoridades locales ante el cambio climático

2012-01-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

La Revista de Responsabilidad Social de la Empresa de la Fundacion Luis Vives incluye en su numero 8 un interesante trabajo, llevado a cabo por Tamara Guirao Espiñeira, Coordinadora de la Conferencia de las Ciudades del Arco Atlántico, sobre “La responsabilidad social de las autoridades locales ante el cambio climático” a través del análisis de un programa integrado elaborado por las Autoridades locales de la ciudad de Cardiff. El programa incluye todos los ejes de acción del Consejo Municipal, tanto como proveedor de servicios, como planificador de la ciudad y como representante elegido democráticamente. El objetivo es lograr una reducción sustancial de las emisiones, a través del impulso de la participación ciudadana. También se pretendo implicar al sector privado, que en Cardiff es responsable de casi el 50% de las emisiones.

Puedes leer el articulo aqui

AIRE 198: Forum Changement climatique, agir global, agir local

2012-01-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

Le 5 décembre, ID a organisé le forum Changement climatique, Agir global Agir Local en partenariat avec Aire 198, à Poitiers. Durant toute l’après-midi, grâce aux interventions autour des tables rondes, il a été discuté un certain nombre de dispositifs et moyens de réduire en région les émissions de gaz à effet de serre et de compenser les émissions qu’on ne peut pas réduire. L’assistance était composée d’entreprises, de collectivités territoriales, d’associations et de particuliers.Les présentations des différents intervenants sont également disponibles sur le site www.id-ong.org/er et sur le site de AIRE 198

Birmingham: Urban Solutions Seminar

2011-12-22T08:08:00.000-08:00

Bringing different stakeholders together for the reality check and to reflect upon the social challenges in urban areas and how to overcome those.
Aim:
To reflect upon social challenges in urban areas and the role of the youth work in addressing/preventing them.
Main Objectives:
•To discus and reflect upon the main challenges in urban areas
•To reflect on recent riots (their causes and consequences) in big European cities
•To bring together different stakeholders and see how we can cooperate better and offer possible solutions
•Getting to know local reality and sharing best practices
•Analysing the role of youth work in urban areas and what youth workers can do
•New forms of youth work in urban areas
The discussions at the seminar will feed in to the publication/research, which will give an overview of current situation, policy documents, best practices and recommendations for ways forward.
Questions addressed:
•What are the main social challenges for young people in (sub)urban areas (poverty, unemployment, migration, ghettoization) and how can we overcome those.
•What are the possible causes/consequences of the recent raids in London, Paris, etcetera. How can we prevent this in the future.
•Has youth work an answer to urban challenges? Are we ready to deal with the situation? Whose problem is it?
•What youth work interventions have been tried and what can we learn from them?
•What can youth work do? And what are its limits?
Eligibility
•Policy makers – representatives of the cities and statutory authorities of the municipality’s youth services
•Youth workers directly working with youth in disadvantaged (sub)urban areas
•Police – community officers from disadvantaged (sub)urban areas
•Researchers working on topic of youth in urban areas
•National Agencies’ staff with experience and motivation to work on a topic
Costs
Hosting costs will be covered by the UK NA. In case your are selected, the sending costs for participants will be reimbursed by the sending NAs. Please check the financial conditions with your sending National Agency.

Should you wish to apply, please click here

Energy Cities Annual Rendezvous 9-11 May 2012, Guimarães (Portugal)

2011-12-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

Europe is undergoing a major economic and socio-political crisis. What if, instead of just being shocked and passive, we were to come up with new ambitions and new ways of thinking – above all, in the energy field ? The more we base our activities on local assets, the more cities and regions will benefit in terms of job creation, financial savings, a stronger autonomy, citizen empowerment and a higher quality of life for all.

The 2012 Annual Rendezvous will demonstrate how local authorities can steer a new energy culture and make territories grow from the inside.

The 2012 European Culture Capital, Guimarães (Portugal), is the ideal place for meeting other “changemakers” as well as presenting, discussing and adopting mind-boggling ideas for innovative energy practices in cities.

More information in the site of Energy Cities

Gijon acogerá la Plataforma de Cooperación de EUROCITIES

2011-12-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

Gijón acogerá en el 2012 la Plataforma de Cooperación de EUROCITIES. El pasado noviembre, el comité ejecutivo de la red europea votó las candidaturas y Gijón ganó a Munich

Gijón ha sido elegida para acoger en el año 2012 la Plataforma de Cooperación de la red europea de ciudades EUROCITIES. La elección, en la cual Gijón logró ponerse por delante de Munich, tuvo lugar en el transcurso de la Asamblea General Anual de la red celebrada en Génova esta semana.

Esta elección supone un éxito más para nuestra ciudad en un año importante para la red EUROCITIES, el 2011, en el que celebra su 25 aniversario.

La Plataforma de Cooperación de EUROCITIES es un espacio de encuentro para todas las ciudades socias que les permite conocerse, intercambiar opiniones y buenas prácticas, así como ponerse al día en las actividades que está desarrollando su oficina en Bruselas. Este año, la Plataforma de Cooperación de EUROCITIES se ha celebrado en Burdeos los días 19 y 20 de mayo.

Mas en la web de gijon.es

Climate Change - Carbon Lite Cardiff

2011-12-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to environmental, social and economic sustainability facing the world today. Rising global temperatures will bring changes in weather patterns, rising sea levels and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

The effects will be felt here in Cardiff and across Wales and the UK. Globally there may be severe problems in regions that are particularly vulnerable. We need to act now to adapt to climate change and to reduce the risk by reducing our contribution to greenhouses gas emissions.

Cardiff Council, in partnership with other major employers and organizations in the city, is committed to developing and implementing a Carbon Lite Cardiff Action Plan, with the aspiration of becoming a Carbon Lite City.

The Action Plan includes both mitigation measures (reducing our emissions) and adaptation actions (preparing for likely changes). The purpose of this Plan is to ensure that all those who play a part in the city are aware of the challenges afforded by climate change and are galvanized into action by means of a central guiding plan.

The future Cohesion Policy: towards a better association of local stakeholders

2011-12-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Affirming the importance of territorial co-operation when implementing European policies, supporting the consideration of the urban dimension in the different structural fund programmes, debating on the future of

the Cohesion Policy; these were the main challenges at the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities General Assembly, to held on 30 June and 1 July in Niort (France). This year the General Assembly was being organised by the AIRE 198 network, a player and tool at the service of sustainable development which includes the project coordinating cities and urban agglomerations of Poitou-Charentes. This partnership will be a chance to show the mushroom effect and the importance of cooperations and networks, above all in the

implementation of European policies and the affirmation of the urban dimension as a true factor of development of EU.

Bringing forward together a common vision on EU challenges is even more important when the European Commission has launched, after publishing its fifth report, a dialogue about the Cohesion Policy and its future in the period from 2014 to 2020. The report concludes on the proven efficiency of the policy, concerning job creation and improving of environment and life quality in related territories. There are, however, also notes about necessary improvements in the field of collaboration among local players, the involvement and association of regional and local entities, the concentration of investment in more environmentally-friendly transport and the reform of the assessment system.

As elected representatives, we must seize the opportunity to manifest our support for maintaining a European cohesion policy and the awareness on Atlantic Arc as a whole. In a context of world economic crisis, social and territorial cohesion topics become main issues for Europe. Means to be used should be developed, especially structural funds as they enable an undoubted leverage in the application of local policies. Social cohesion and proximity, territorial cooperation and local partnership, Atlantic Arc and urban dynamics are vital topics that we should defend together to build the future European Cohesion Policy.

Philippe LAVAUD
Chairman of AIRE 198
City Council of Angoulême -Chairman of Grand Angoulême

For reading the common policy position on Cohesion Policy, please click here (IN FRENCH)

TONETA presented in Zamora

2011-12-06T07:48:00.000-08:00

El pasado 27 de octubre de 2011, el Punto Europeo de Ciudadanía organizó una jornada informativa sobre el Programa “Europa con los Ciudadanos 2007 - 2013”. Esta jornada estaba orientada a organismos y entidades sin ánimo de lucro del sector público y privado: administraciones públicas, organizaciones de la sociedad civil, fundaciones, asociaciones, empresas, consultoras y productoras que promuevan la ciudadanía europea activa.

El objetivo de las jornadas se centró en ofrecer información general sobre las prioridades y las novedades del programa. También proporcionarán recomendaciones prácticas relativas a la preparación y solicitud de candidaturas.

Para presentar las "Redes de Ciudades Hermanadas", Enrique Rodríguez, responsable del área de Asuntos Europeos de la Ciudad de Gijón, presentó TONETA a los asistentes.

Se puede consultar la dicha presentación AQUI

Associação A MURALHA

2011-11-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

A MURALHA é uma Associação de Guimarães para a defesa do Património, com sede na cidade de Guimarães, constituída em 26 de Março de 1981, por escritura pública (Diário da Republica, III Série, n.º 189, de 19.08.81).

É seu objectivo “contribuir para a defesa, estudo e divulgação do património cultural e natural, sua conservação e recuperação, bem como a prática de quaisquer outras actividades de índole cultural, e agirá com isenção e independência face a todos os órgãos de poder e ideologias” (Estatutos, art. 2.º).

A associação é criada em 1981 através de uma Comissão Instaladora de que faziam parte Joaquim Fernandes, Manuel António Martins da Silva, Margarida Maria Rebelo, Maria João Vasconcelos e Miguel Frazão.

Em 1982 são eleitos os seus órgão directivos com Maria Adelaide Moraes (sócio nº1) como Presidente do Conselho Fiscal, Fernando Távora como Presidente da Direcção e Manuel Alves Oliveira a presidir à Assembleia Geral da instituição.

¿Cómo serán las ciudades del futuro?

2011-11-22T03:03:00.000-08:00

La densidad de población en las ciudades requiere acciones para un crecimiento sostenible económica y medioambientalmente, que mejore la calidad de vida de sus habitantes. Este es el principal reto y la razón por la cual la sociedad reclama ciudades más inteligentes o Smart Cities. Cimientos sólidos para el futuro más urbano. Fira de Barcelona crea Smart City Expo para pensar hoy las ciudades de mañana.La Fira de Barcelona se convertirá durante cuatro días (del 29 de noviembre al 2 de diciembre) en el centro neurálgico para convertir las ciudades más sostenibles. Cuatro días en los que se hablará de ciudades más habitables, ciudades sostenibles, visión integrada y movilidad urbana. El evento tratará los retos de futuro a los que se enfrentan las ciudades: ¿cómo combinar crecimiento urbano y desarrollo sostenible? ¿Cómo promover sistemas de transporte ecológicos en un contexto de rápido crecimiento de la población? ¿Cómo financiar e implementar proyectos eficaces en el actual contexto de restricciones presupuestarias?

MAS INFORMACION

El Rol de las ciudades en la lucha contra el cambio climático.

2011-11-17T03:05:00.000-08:00

ARTICULO DE Cesar Galarza

En los últimos años han surgido en el mundo entero multitud de iniciativas públicas y privadas para movilizar la lucha contra el cambio climático desde, por, y en los centros urbanos. Éstas no aspiran sólo a provocar una movilización y concientización ciudadana, sino también a constituirse en una fuente de presión para la incorporación de la temática local en los próximos acuerdos globales sobe el cambio climático. Las esperanzas de los entes locales en este sentido tienen su fundamento en la necesidad de contar con mayores recursos económicos de origen nacional e internacional a fin de lograr el cumplimiento de sus respectivas agendas 21.

SEGUIR LEYENDO

TONETA NEWS I is online

2011-11-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

Please read the first newsletter of TOWN NETWORKING THROUGH THE ATLANTIC, an EU project funded under Europe for Citizens programme, leaded by Gijon City Council and whose partners are AIRE 198, CARDIFF and Vale do Ave, associated with the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities.

NEWSLETTER 1

Understanding Urban Risk:An Approach for Assessing Disaster & Climate Risk in Cities

2011-11-10T01:48:00.000-08:00

This report was prepared as part of a broader program of work addressing cities and climate change undertaken by the Urban Development and Local Government Unit of the World Bank. The development of the urban risk assessment is part of a Memorandum of Understanding on a joint Cities and Climate Change work program between UN-Habitat, UNEP, and the World Bank, supported by Cities Alliance.

The rapid and often unplanned expansion of cities is exposing a greater number of people and economic assets to the risk of disasters and the effects of climate change. For city governments, increased climate variability imposes additional challenges to effective urban management and the delivery of key services, while for residents it increasingly affects their lives and livelihoods due to a greater frequency floods, landslides, heat waves, droughts or fires.

There is an urgent need for cities to consider the issues of disaster and climate change by streamlining assessments of related risks in their planning and management processes and delivery of services.

This paper proposes a framework for carrying out urban risk assessment, and seeks to strengthen coherence and consensus in how cities can plan for natural disasters and climate change. The Atlantic city of Legazpi is one of the case studies.

You can read the report here

URBACT projects: Building on past experiences

2011-11-08T01:41:00.000-08:00

URBACT enables European cities to work together in projects to share and capitalise on experience.

It enables the development of solutions to urban challenges that other cities can then adapt to their own context. It also has the role of analysing and capitalising on learning.

And when we speak of learning, it is both the actual knowledge developed by cities on integrated urban development, but also experience developed by cities while developing URBACT Projects!

Here you can read on a few ‘learning points’ that cities can pass to each other before new projects start next year!

Source: URBACT

Citizens' Energy Forum

2011-11-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

The Third Energy Package is focussed on improving the operation of retail markets so as to yield real benefits for both electricity and gas consumers. As already announced in its Communication of 19 September 2007 and in order to drive these issues forward, the Commission established the Citizens' Energy Forum as a new regulatory platform based on the experience gained in the Florence and Madrid Forums. The aim of the Forum is the implementation of competitive, energy efficient and fair retail markets for consumers.

Please visit the Citizen's Energy Forum for more info

CARDIFF: Social responsibility of Local authorities

2011-11-03T03:05:00.000-07:00

With the recent focus on economic matters, the failure of national governments to reach an accord in Copenhagen and the media-scandals around climate science, tackling Climate Change appears to have slipped down ‘things to do’ list over the last 18 months. In 2000 Cardiff Council adopted a 5 year Local Sustainability Strategy to respond to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the growing agenda on sustainable development. In 2005, both a Wales Audit Office Review of the Local Sustainability Strategy and an Environmental Scrutiny Committee task and finish group concluded that despite notable successes, the Council’s strategic approach to sustainable development needed to be redrawn. The main recommendations were to develop a high level Sustainable Development Policy with a SMART Action Plan underneath this.

Thus, the Council’s Sustainable Development Policy Statement was adopted in 2006 along with the first Sustainable Development Action Programme for 2006-09. The second version of the Sustainable Development Action Programme for 2009-12 has been developed during 2008 (section 5). The Action Programme is structured around the following topics:
Policy and Plans
Performance and Projects
Appraisal and Evidence
Physical Developments
Communication and Capacity Building

Targets may be set at an international level, but they will be delivered at a local level. Cardiff Council has recognised that it can make a difference in a number of key areas, as a deliverer of services, for instance by reducing carbon emissions from the Council’s buildings, street lighting and municipal waste by 60% by 2018; as democratically elected city leaders, signing up to the ‘10:10’ campaign to reduce carbon emissions by 10% in 2010 and the European Commission’s Covenant of Mayors; as city developers through a sustainable planning approach, particularly relating to the impact of flooding and extreme weather events.

But also with an European dimension. Cardiff, who is twinned with Nantes among other cities currently holds the UK vice presidency of the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities. Cities that decided to actively tackle climate change. In this context, Cardiff is coordinating a working group in Climate Change that not only allows Atlantic Cities to have an exchange forum, but also provides for innovative solutions, building on Cardiff’s successful experience.

For Atlantic Cities like Nantes or Vitoria Gasteiz, green urban strategies have been recognised with a “Green Capital” label, whose requirements can be found here.

The energy of Youth : Mairi McIness

2011-11-01T02:26:00.000-07:00

SOURCE : CSE (center for sustainable energy)

Our research found three things:

The accuracy with which young people can collect data about their home is comparable with that collected by adults using a self-completion home energy survey.

The influence of children as quoted by their parents/ guardians is far higher in the school group than in the adult group.

The involvement of young people, together with the provision of written energy advice, as part of a school-based project can significantly influence energy efficiency improvements within the home. This influence increases substantially over time. Householders involved by their children carry out levels of energy efficiency improvements comparable with adults contacting an EEAC direct.

SOURCE : EUROPEAN BUSINESS

Where have you seen young people take the lead in the organization of major conferences with over 900 attendees from all over the world? How often do you see young people sharing their ideas and debating with their peers on stage at international events?

In other words, to recruit the best young talent the industry needs to act, as it says.

Attracting young talent, however, is not enough: these young people also need to be prepared to face the challenges of the oil and gas industry. This is especially true at a time where recovering hydrocarbons has become more difficult than ever before, as companies move into deeper waters and arctic regions. Hence, companies have to avoid a massive drain of knowledge and make sure it is passed on to the next generation. As this young talent is likely to come from different countries and regions than in the past, the industry should also prepare for an important cultural shift and support this diversity. young people working in the oil & gas industry from all over the world can form a true global youth platform.

The main goal is that these young leaders select the key discussion points, choose the speakers and interact with their seniors on stage at youth events. This means that the brightest minds in the oil & gas industry get the chance to exchange and discuss their views and concerns on the topics of their interest.

Because young people are, after all, our energy leaders of tomorrow.

Mairi Mc Innes analized the energy of youth and the main goals needed to be considered so that young people get involved into the future of energy. You can see her presentation here.

You can also consult a video that takles this subject :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWR7xBMI_As

CECICN works on Territorial Cohesion

2011-10-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, October 20th, CECICN experts met at Eixo Atlantico headquarters in Vigo. The Executive Bureau of the Conference of European border and interregional networks, CECICN, met in Galicia in a session chaired by Jean Peyrony, CEO and Xoan V. Mao, general secretary of the network. The meeting was attended by representatives of the 6 networks within the organization, CECICN, Mission Operationnelle Transfrontaliere (MOT), Iberian Cross Border Network (RIET), Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities (CAAC), Forum of Adriatic and Ionian Cities ( FAIC) MedCities, and Union of Baltic Cities (UBC). These organizations represent more than 500 cities in the border territories, and over 37% of the European population. The main topic of the discussion was the profiling of the latest draft White Paper on Cooperation, whose work, which began in Paris last July, will be completed for discussion and subsequent delivery to the European Commission, on December. The document provides the vision of cities and territories of the European borders on the development of cross-border and transnational cooperation for the next period 2014-2020. Among other things, states that in the distribution of European funds are contemplated not only the criterion of population but also the dispersion of the population. The paper also raises the need for financial and political momentum in transport, health, education and business policy in the field of border and peripheral territories and the disappearance of issues that hamper the development of these territories, such as obstacles to mobility problems or communications.
The CECICN Committee has noted with great satisfaction that some of the proposals already raised in this year and a half of existence, have been collected by the European Commission in the draft regulation that has been submitted to the European Parliament and the Council on October 6.

European Citizenship on the March

2011-10-24T03:12:00.000-07:00

by Florent Guénard
In 2005, French and Dutch citizens unequivocally rejected the constitutional treaty that was to lay the foundation for a common political space in Europe. They were not alone in criticizing the institutions of the Union: political leaders quickly took the opportunity to question the role played by universal suffrage; the massive disinterest of European citizens was diagnosed; and bureaucrats bore the brunt of the massive attacks against political Europe as it functions today.
Yet, the very fact that such a political space already exists has been obfuscated by these accusations. There is more: as Étienne Pataut shows in his analysis of the role of the European Court of Justice, European citizenship has little by little been given firm legal foundations, and can now rely on a coherent body of recognized and guaranteed rights (The Invention of the European Citizen).

Ist Atlantic Forum on Sustainable Development

2011-10-20T04:34:00.000-07:00

Last September 30th, Vigo City Council held a major conference on the diverse issues of the Sustainable development on the Atlantic Area. The session was opened by M. Abel Caballero, Vigo Mayor, who described the protection of the environment as a protection of the future. He insisted on the importance of networks such as the Spanish Network of Cities for Climate, and the aim for a “human” city, which is sustainable and attractive.
M. Parajó explained the enormous influence of transport on the climate and proposed a “walking city” that privileges non-polluting transport means feeded by renewable sources. Custom and opinion barriers should be removed. M. García explained how the electric vehicle system is implemented in Vigo city, with 100 charging points and a important fleet of vehicles that allow real car-sharing; progressing from the “stop-auto” to a real “mobile-auto”.
Enrique Roca, from the USC and Emérito Freire, INEGA, presented practical multi-criteria and multi-stage tools for enterprises to measure and, reduce carbon impact and even give value-added concerning eco-design. Biomass should be counted on as renewable source of energy.
Other sessions focused on the reliable resources to be implemented concerning ecological tagging (APROEMA) and observatories (BIC Galicia), as well as the installations of wind energy and the limits of the current economic system.
The session was closed by Ms. Rosa Leis (ADTERRA) and Tamara Guirao (CAAC) that introduced the context of the Atlantic Arc Cities so as to present the short delivery chain managed by local authorities and the experiences of ANATOLE project as an appropiate scheme to ensure a more respectful market system concerning food supply.

19 cities have applied to become the European Green Capital 2014

2011-10-18T01:53:00.000-07:00

The European Commission’s European Green Capital Award (EGCA) recognises and rewards local efforts to improve the environment, the economy and the quality of life in cities. The EGCA is given each year to a city, not necessarily a capital, which is leading the way in environmentally friendly urban living and which can act as a role-model for other cities.

Some 19 cities from 14 European countries have applied for the 2014 award. Among them are Atlantic Area cities like Newcastle, Stoke-on-Trent and Bristol.

The deadline for submissions is now closed and the applications will now be evaluated by an expert panel. This will include qualitative evaluations and a peer review of each application based on 12 indicator areas. Following these evaluations, 3-4 cities will be shortlisted for the 2014 title. The shortlisted cities will be invited to present their action plans and communication strategies to a Jury, which will deliberate and then make a final decision.

Europe’s first Green Capital in 2010 was Stockholm. Hamburg is the current holder of the title with the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz taking over in 2012. In 2013, the crown will be passed to Nantes in France.

A hand-over ceremony of the title of European Green Capital from the Mayor of Hamburg (2011) to the Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz (2012), will take place during the next CoR plenary session in December in the presence of European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potočnik and CoR President, Mercedes Bresso.

For more information please visit the European Green Capital website.

The external action of local governments: the internationalization of cities II

2011-10-11T04:42:00.000-07:00

Meeting in Madrid at the invitation of the FEMP, a large and successful group of panelists from both the private and public sectors and within the representatives of both political and technical level, reviewed the main issues revolving around the internationalization of cities , as the political leadership in the external strategy of local governments, the use of it in the promotion and development of cities, the so-called city marketing, the socio-cultural dimension of the international projection of cities, development cooperation, multilevel governance, European level as focus of external action outside; all of them enclosed in the mainstream of globalization as a framework.
Regarding the development of an internationalization strategy, the key is the need to observe the external action of the city as another public policy. awareness should, therefore, be raised among all stakeholders while ensuring the implementation of their planning, management and evaluation. For example, through local councils, specific master plans or being included in the strategic plans of the city. A strengthening of political leadership has also been proposed. The external strategy should pivot on the Mayor of the city in order to achieve transversality.
The growing importance that the "urban agenda" is having on European and international fora has been also discussed, so that the international strategy of local governments must have a multidimensional approach. Determining factor when designing the strategy of the city, the European level should not be limited solely to the receipt of funds, but go a step further and utilize the full potential of Europe when internationalizing the city.
As another instrument, development cooperation must also be configured as public policy. In a context of crisis, the thought must come to giving entry to new players and small and medium enterprises and to explore public-private partnerships for development. In this regard, the need to seize all assets of cities, including networks was stressed
Another cross-cutting issue was the need to well communicate the city's international strategy. In this sense there was a consensus on the hitherto existing deficits that call for a significant improvement in both aspects related to European issues as in development cooperation.
As a suggestion to the organizers of the conference, the usefulness of this tool leads to propose this exchange to be repeated with the required regularity.
Enrique Rodríguez Martín
Técnico Superior especialista en iniciativas Internacionales
Ayuntamiento de Gijón (España)

Lifelong learning

2011-10-04T01:33:00.000-07:00

SOURCE : INFED

The idea of lifelong education was first fully articulated in this century by Basil Yeaxlee (1929). He along with Eduard Lindeman (1926) provided an intellectual basis for a comprehensive understanding of education as a continuing aspect of everyday life. In this they touched upon various continental traditions such as the French notion of education permanente and drew upon developments within adult education within Britain and North America. In more recent years we have seen a shift into discussion of lifelong learning and the more problematic notion of informal learning. Here we examine the development of thinking about lifelong education and learning - and highlight some issues with the interest shown by policymakers in the notions.

'Lifelong learning' is a problematic notion. So is it worth pursuing? There are three main reasons why we should continue to speak and write about it :

It is important to retain the aspirations it contains. Learning continually throughout life is vital if we are to make informed choices about our lives and the societies in which we live
Despite the weaknesses and confusions of current policies something new is happening. There have been significant shifts in policies and these require interrogation; and there have been major changes in the ways in which we approach learning
Lifelong learning is now a mechanism for exclusion and control. As well as facilitating development it has created new and powerful inequalities. There are issues around access to knowledge; and individualization. In knowledge-based economy, those who have the lowest levels of skill and the weakest capacity for constant updating are lees and less likely to find paid employment. Individualization has also meant that access to social support mechanisms has weakened.

There are all sorts of debates around these questions aand the term has entered discourse in such a way that it would be foolish to ignore it. Furthermore, the idea that learning has to be supported and encouraged throughout the life course, as Yeaxlee (1921, 1929) recognized, is of fundamental importance.

SOURCE : EC.EUROPE

The European Commission takes mesures in the lifelong learning development. The European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme enables people at all stages of their lives to take part in stimulating learning experiences, as well as helping to develop the education and training sector across Europe.

You can see more about it here.

Cecilia Cañedo-Argüelles also has her opinion on lifelong learning which she exposed at the International Meeting of Youth in Gijón. You can see her presentation here.

Why does the EU need macro-regions? : Monika Bogacz

2011-09-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

After introducing the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region macro-regions have gained the international attention. At first sight, this Strategy seemed to draw inspiration from other types of the EU policies. Although, the closer look suggests that the Strategy and the macro-regional concept as such have some unique features.
The purpose of this thesis was to contribute to the current debate on the European integration by identifying the aim of the new EU’s Strategies for the macro-regions. In order to do that, the author focused on both, theoretical and practical sides of emerged EU’s Strategies for the Baltic Sea Region and for the Danube Region. The author have argued that the creation of the strategies represents the new way of working in terms of the European cooperation.
Both, qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this thesis. Dividing the thesis into the theoretical consideration and the practical analysis have allowed to present the whole spectrum of the macro-regional strategies, to understand why they have appeared and to define what role they are playing in the EU.
Essential for this case study was to investigate why the macro-regional strategies have been created within the EU structure.

You can read Ms. Bogacz study here

Some notes on resilience

2011-09-26T02:53:00.000-07:00

During the meeting in Cabuenhes, Catalina Silva made a presentation based on Resilience Thinking.You can see it here.

Many questions were then raised concerning the concept of Resilience, thus we would like to share with you some reflections of Bioneers. Please do not hesitate to leave your comments:

"We stand at the threshold of a singular opportunity in the human experiment: to re-imagine how to live on Earth in a good way that lasts. The name of the game is resilience. It means the capacity of both human and ecological systems to absorb disturbance and still retain their basic function and structure. Resilience does not mean just bouncing back to business-as-usual. It means assuring the very ability to get back. But if regime change happens, resilience means having sufficient capacity to transform to meet the new management.

The first principle of resilience thinking is systems thinking: It's all connected, from the web of life to human systems. "You can only solve the whole problem," says Huey Johnson of the Resource Renewal Institute. Manage environmental and human systems as one system. Taking care of nature means taking care of people, and taking care of people means taking care of nature. Look for systemic solutions that address multiple problems at once. Watch for seeds of new solutions that emerge with changing conditions.

Resilience thinking means abandoning command-and-control approaches. We're not remotely in control of the big wheels of ecological governance or complex human systems. Greater decentralization can provide backup against the inevitable failure of centralized command-and-control structures. Think decentralized power grids, more localized food systems, and the Internet. Redundancies are good failsafe mechanisms, not the waste portrayed by industrial efficiency-think.

The heart of resilience is diversity. Damaged ecosystems rebound to health when they have sufficient diversity. So do societies. It's not just a diversity of players; it's the diversity of how they respond to myriad challenges. Each one does it slightly differently with specialized traits that can win the day, depending which curve ball comes at you. Diverse approaches improve the odds. Diverse cultures and ideas enrich society's capacity to survive and thrive."

Kenny Ausubel, Founder, Bioneers
Opening Keynote (extracts) Bioneers Conference October 19, 2007

Source: The Huffington Post

European Commission: Ressource Efficiency Campaign

2011-09-22T03:13:00.000-07:00

Please visit the site dedicated to the Ressource Efficiency Campaign, with an special point on Youth participation: Generation awake

http://www.generationawake.eu/es

Conclusions of the Cabueñes meeting

2011-09-20T03:06:00.000-07:00

It is not a cyclical crisis but a structural change, similar to the transition to industrial society. Before uncertainty we must change the negative connotation of "change".
We must search for a concept of sustainability that corresponds to inter-generational and inter-territorial justice, threatened by the consumer society. Sustainability is not understood without the integration of the territories and the people who live in them.
Working with methodologies but also with the spaces. Recovering Public Space through a fair value-based and balanced shared management. Differentiate public from institutional. Tackling the importance of local involvement and the city as living environment.
Building through the cracks of the system.
Try to see reality as a whole, ie integrating the perspectives. Social, youth, gender, environment… and challenging the biased views. The same applies to the city, which must be planned as a whole, from land management policies to R + D + I
Rethink our consumption, not only when buying but also in the use and duration of objects. Get adapted to life cycle and its limitations. Exercise our right to demand sustainable products and truthful information about them
Alternative models, such as cities in transition, housing as good for use and not for ownership, the short delivery chain and models of resilience. There are also new threats, many on water.
Use the resources at our disposal and favour long-term thinking, avoiding discouragement. Need to provide easier access to funding.
Networking, both horizontally, as well as with institutions, enterprises and civil society, integrating the different staments. Group efforts: round tables. Find a line of dialogue between science and Youth.
Leverage and encourage informal and non formal education, small gestures, to induce a change in behavior.
A model of educational and social integration to be kept: the second chance schools that go beyond standard learning and that network at European level.
PARTICIPANTS RAISED A CALL FOR YOUTH EMPOWERMENT!

Guimarães é candidata a Cidade Europeia do Desporto em 2014

2011-09-15T03:07:00.000-07:00

Volvidos dez anos de existência, a Cidade Desportiva (Multiusos de Guimarães, Complexo de Piscinas e Pista de Atletismo) é um projecto consolidado e motivo de orgulho, sendo um caso de estudo por parte do meio universitário.
No encontro com os jornalistas realizado no Multiusos, em que também foi anunciada a candidatura de Guimarães a Cidade Europeia do Desporto em 2014, Amadeu Portilha afirmou que “a Cidade Desportiva - e nomeadamente o Multiusos de Guimarães - tem sido um elemento fundamental para promoção nacional e internacional de Guimarães, estando o projecto consolidado e ao nível das cidades europeias”.
Com “400 eventos e dois milhões de visitantes”, o Multiusos de Guimarães, teve “um papel importante para a promoção de uma imagem positiva e de notoriedade de Guimarães, no País e no mundo”, referiu ainda o autarca que também assume a presidência da Tempo Livre.
A candidatura de Guimarães a Cidade Europeia do Desporto em 2014 foi uma das novidades da conferência de imprensa de balanço de dez anos da Cidade Desportiva.
“O balanço apresentado hoje e aquilo que é o potencial das nossas instituições, sobretudo ao nível do associativismo local, permite-nos adiantar que vamos apresentar em Janeiro uma candidatura de Guimarães a Cidade Europeia do Desporto em 2014”, revelou António Magalhães.

FONTE: Guimarães

External Action of Local Governments: The Internationalization of Cities

2011-09-13T02:12:00.000-07:00

From 14 to September 16, three city members of the Executive Bureau of CAAC participate as speakers at the seminar "The External Action of Local Governments: The Internationalization of Cities", organized by the FEMP. This meeting aims to: analyze the external action of local governments as a phenomenon of growing interest in local government, study the work dynamics of cities already embarked on an international level, deepening on international strategies already implemented by cities and examining and disseminating different practices in international relations as they are currently developed by Spanish local governments.Avilés (Chairman of the Committee Attractive and Cohesive Cities) and Gijon (Vice President) will present their experiences and best practices on socio-cultural dimension of the international promotion of cities, while Sevilla (Vice President) will guide attendees on how to design internationalization strategies.

LIPDUP KBÑS 2011 de Acción en red

2011-09-08T03:20:00.000-07:00

LIPDUP grabado en el marco de los Encuentros de Cabueñes 2011 y promovido por Acción en Red dentro de la campaña "Por los buenos tratos".

Water pollution and Citizenship: Potamos River

2011-09-06T01:27:00.000-07:00

SOURCE: WATERWIKI

The Water Framework Directive creates a legal framework for the protection and restoration of clean waters across the European Union (the official title is Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy). The Directive, which entered into force in December 2000, provides common principles, approaches and requirements for water management in the European Union; it also leaves broad leeway for Member State individual approaches. The Directive addresses EU surface waters, including coastal waters, as well as groundwater. By 2015, Member States are to achieve "good water status", a term that incorporates both chemical parameters (i.e. low pollution levels) as well as ecological ones (healthy ecosystems).

Under the Directive, water management is based on River Basins. EU Member States set up river basin districts and designate the administrative unit for each district: in many Member States, these are water councils. Where a river basin includes more than one Member State or crosses from the EU to neighboring countries, the Directive calls for the creation of an international river basin district. Both national and international districts should prepare management plans by 2009, and these provide a form of IWRM planning.

However, as Thanos Kafkalidis explained in Gijon, sometimes it is better to take individual and direct action; even if the endeavour would take long. You can see his presentation here

CECICN: Bureau meeting

2011-08-23T04:36:00.000-07:00

CECICN’s political Bureau held its meeting last July 23th in Paris, at MOT headquarters. President Mr. Bugallo handed in his resignation, as he is not the Mayor of Santiago de Compostela any more; so there is opportunity for the other networks to present their candidates for the Presidency. After a short exchange between members there was an agreement about re-electing Mr. Bugallo as President of CECICN, so as to ensure current works until the next Bureau meeting. Regarding the General Secretariat, CECICN members agreed on the proposal of spliting it in two bodies:
- Executive Direction: MOT was elected for this position. Mr. Jean Perony will be the Executive Director of CECICN.
- General Secretariat: RIET was elected for this position. Mr. Xoan Vázquez Mao will be the Secretary General of CECICN.
Both bodies are at equal level and share responsibilities and tasks.
Due to the end of this year, CECICN is preparing a position paper on the importance of Territorial Cooperation, so as to prepare its future after 2013. All networks agreed on the importance of keeping the balance between cross-border and transnational experiences, as well as between all European areas.
The next October, the new secretary general is expected to hold a round of talks in Brussels with the President of the Commission on Regional Policy of European Parliament's, Danuta Hubner, the European director for Cooperation, José Palma Andrés and the new director General for Regional Policy, whose appointment is expected in the fourth quarter, following the retirement of the current postholder, Dirk Ahner.
Among priorities, the organizing a European Conference on Territorial Cooperation in Denmark, the country that will hold the rotating presidency of the Union during the first half of 2012. This conference aims to set priorities for cooperation policy in the period 2014-2020 and defending co-operation of second generation.

ANATOLE: The importance of local production in cities

2011-08-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

In comparison to an economy based on production exported abroad, a proximity economy seeks to produce and develop goods and services within a specific area, based on the needs of the people living within. AC3A, the association of agricultural chambers of commerce with the Atlantic Arc City Conference has set up a project under the title Atlantic Networks’ Abilities for Towns to Organise Local Economy (ANATOLE).
Co-financed by the European Union – ERDF, on the Atlantic Area Programme, ANATOLE Project seeks to analyse strengths and weaknesses of aspects relating to proximity economies in order to draw up, alter the appropriate diagnosis, proximity economy engineering under the auspices of the region’s cities. ANATOLE therefore seeks to grant cities a coordinating role, using new and innovative proximity economy organisational methods. The project brings together rural operators, organisations which mediate between producers and cities, and the cities or other regional bodies from the Atlantic Arc.

The project, which was also presented at the Niort meeting, has its own website and blog. Please visit, share and comment.

CIVINET, a new project of the CIVITAS

2011-08-16T04:07:00.000-07:00

This network, presented at the Niort meeting, is intended to creating national networks to:
• Overcome language and contextual barriers
• Reach out to more local authorities and organisations interested in urban sustainable mobility and innovation
• Offer a platform to exchange information, site visits and regular events to understand deeper how to replicate best practices
• Support the involvement in EU programs
• Engage with the European Union and national governments about transport policy issues, legislation, regulations and funding

Please see the presentation here

Cohesion Policy: An Urban Future II

2011-08-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

Ms. Bernadette Vergnaud and Ms. María Irigoyen, Members of the European Parliament put forward the work of the EP’s Regional Development Committee.
In a context of budgetary pressure, the 5th Cohesion report was published in November 2010. The proposed methodological guidelines would set the post 2013 stage; stressing the importance of governance and aiming to enhance the European added value of a simplified Cohesion Policy. Nevertheless, this report was focused on concentration, results and compliance; while regional policy is a tool of redistribution, but also a tool for development and flexible structuring. Conditions that would make cohesion policy a tool of punishment in respect of the Stability Pact (a single macroeconomic conditionality) could impose unfair burdens on local authorities. Same concerning the EU budget recently presented, austerity measures and financial restrictions should not fall upon cohesion policy and local authorities alone.
Corinne Hermant, from the European Commission – DG REGIO, presented the urban dimension of EU policies. Her presentation emphasized the urban governance of policies, in a new context that favours cities’ involvement, as set out in the Lisbon Treaty and the Leipzig Charter, among others. As first-level actors, cities should base their initiatives on an integrated approach to challenges.

You can see her presentation here

The debate focused on the conditionality issue, which was seen as threat against the spirit of cohesion policy. Also, the concept of “rurban” policies was discussed as a key element for more coherent cohesion policy.

*** This session was followed by a Press Conference where the political representatives introduced a motion on Cohesion Policy signed by AIRE 198 and the CAAC document on the Urban Dimension of Macro-Regions.

Cohesion Policy: An Urban Future I

2011-08-09T03:55:00.000-07:00

In the meeting in Niort, the second day and after a short introduction made by Mr Philippe Duron, CAAC President, Jean-Paul Carrière, from the University of Tours, expounded the challenges that concern the Atlantic Area, and which were described in the Atlantic Development Scheme. These challenges shape the framework of the future of this macro-region, especially concerning the Atlantic Arc Strategy. As for the urban dimension, he stressed polycentrism as a key for development, as shown by Cohesion Policy results.

Please see his presentation here.

Call for contributions: City Networks

2011-08-04T05:37:00.001-07:00

Within the TONETA project activities, the Plan of Action of the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities and the proposals for an integrated strategy on the Atlantic Arc, the Secretariat of the CAAC is preparing a position paper on the influence of networks of cities in cohesion policy.

We would like to hear from other city networks at local, regional, national, European or international levels. Do not hesitate to send your contributions to: coordinator@atlanticcities.eu or to answer to our POLL QUESTIONNAIRE.

Join INTEGRA to reinforce the attractiveness of your territory

2011-07-28T03:51:00.000-07:00

Within the framework of the START European project, co-funded by the transnational co-operation programme Atlantic Area, 13 participants from the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Portugal have undertaken to improve accessibility and intermodality in their territories. They have put together a common framework, “INTEGRA”, which aims to become a benchmark for travellers on journeys from one city to another, currently in the Atlantic Area and in the future for all Europe.
INTEGRA is a unique multimodal and multilingual information portal for preparing your trip (http://www.integra-travel.eu/). It is also, once on route, a guarantee that you will find clear, simple and quality information to move round effectively on public transport. The START project will be holding a transnational forum in Lisbon on 27 and 28 October 2011; an opportunity to address the difficulties encountered by travellers and practical solutions to facilitate travel on public transport, led by Integra. Come and join the Integra network!

START was presented at the Niort meeting, just click here to see

Climaatlantic

2011-07-26T02:02:00.000-07:00

CLIMATLANTIC aims at developing strategies at regional and local level towards the reduction of the carbon footprint in the European Atlantico Area. The project will focus in four essential issues: mobility, energy, territorial management and social behaviour; developing concrete strategies to be validated through pilot actions. As a final product, partners will create a common strategy for the Atlantic Area, based on the four thematic strategies.

The Climatlantic project, regional and local actions to reduce carbon emissions in the Atlantic Arc, is running until 2012 under the auspices of the Eixo Atlántico (Spain- Portugal) together with a further six partners (Spain, Portugal, Ireland, UK, France). It seeks two objectives: firstly, to draw up a long-term strategy to combat climate change within the Atlantic Arc, and secondly, to present and focus this strategy locally on four fundamental points: the organization of mobility, awareness of behavioural adjustments, energy management and town planning. This approach will be adapted to the five types of regions identified in the Atlantic Arc (from urban to rural areas).

After a presentation on progress during the General Assembly of the CAAC on 30 June 30 2011 in Niort, the partners are drawing up a comprehensive strategic document before the end of 2011, based on consultations with communities and university students. The partners will then launch pilot actions until March 2012 and afterwards present and disseminate the strategic document on the Atlantic Arc in April 2012, during the final meeting in Ourense.

Partners are:

Eixo Atlantico (Lead Partner)
Xunta de Galicia
Deputacion de Ourense
Grand Angoulême
Quimpeer Communauté
The South-East Regional Authority
Mersey Travel

More info at Climaatlantic website

The project was presented at the Niort meeting, please see here.

The CAAC's Urban Mobility Work Group

2011-07-21T03:45:00.000-07:00

The similarity between the challenges in the Atlantic Arc cities, the impulse provided by the network configuration, and the interest in the good practices of the CIVITAS actions, led Gran Poitiers to propose to the group the participation in the fourth call for CATALIST to offer its view on matters such as traffic, access management and reduction of vehicles. From 9 to 11 February 2011, Gran Poitiers in collaboration with Avilés (Spain) and Cardiff (United Kingdom), participated in the CATALIST workshop held in Graz (Austria), on "soft measures". The consortium took advantage of the opportunity to organise a workshop on soft measures initiated by the CIVITAS of Graz to host the project. The three cities were able to get to know and share the best practices of the CIVITAS measures with the cities of Graz, Ljubljana and Krakow, and with other cities that are eager to find solutions for sustainable transportation and tourism, such as Maribor (Slovenia) and Arenas de San Pedro (Spain).

This working group presented an update at the Niort meeting, that you can read here.

CAAC Commission on Sustainable Urban Development

2011-07-19T03:42:00.000-07:00

This Commission confronts the new constraints and disruptions to citizens’ lives (as well as those of future generations) brought about by climate change, cities have a decisive role to play, in particular by striving for environmental excellence.

Undoubtedly, one of the specific characteristics of the Atlantic Arc is the quality of its environment that is evident in the majority of medium-sized cities mindful of maintaining the high quality of life in their territory which is recognized as one of the best in Europe. However, efforts must be intensified to catch up with the most cutting edge countries in terms of “sustainable” management of urban policies. Enhancing resources and policies in favour of environmental excellence through innovation, improving quality of life, protecting biodiversity etc, will also become a factor of attractiveness and therefore of development for Atlantic cities.

The Sustainable Urban Development Commission is led by Nantes Métropole.

The issues addressed by this Commission are voluntarily transversal so as to favour synergies between expert players and to encourage integrated approaches. The Sustainable Urban Development Commission bases its activities around the following themes:

Energy;
Transport;
Housing;
Coastal areas and ICZM;
Planning and urban sprawl;
Waste management;
Peri-urban agriculture.

This Commission presented an update at the Niort meeting that you can read here.

Atlantic citizenship meets in Aviles:

2011-07-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

During the European Year for Volunteers 2011 and within the Programme "Europe for Citizens", in early February Aviles hosted the Atlantic Citizens Meeting with the citizens of Saint-Nazaire, a city with which it was twinned in 2003. The get-together, promoted by the city of Aviles' Town Council Department for Citizen Participation and the Coordinator for European Programmes, includes the active participation of Aviles' associations, with a total of 22 entities that make up the organisation together with the school workshop COMUNIKA. The Saint-Nazaire delegation is made up of 30 people, including Town Hall representatives and technicians, members of neighbourhood councils, and different members of associations and federations. The aim of the Meeting was to exchange experiences regarding citizenship participation; promote the direct knowledge of the reality of both cities and propose initiatives to be carried within the framework of the European Year for Volunteers.

These and other joint activities were presented at the Niort meeting. You can consult the presentation here.

Further information: http://ciudadaniaavilesstnazaire.blogspot.com/

Meeting in Gijon in September: Young People and sustainability

2011-07-15T05:23:00.000-07:00

Sustainability is not just an environmental issue, it is a global concept that includes social issues such as full integration and coexistence of people, mobility and citizen participation, the commitment to responsible consumption or collective identity, among others.

The right to the city understood as "fair use and enjoyment of the cities within the principles of sustainability, democracy, equity and social justice", includes the right to public equipment, to public space, accessibility and mobility, and a sense of social belonging, etc... This seminar (September 5 to 7, 2011) will reflect, from an international and practical perspective, on the thematic areas that can influence the social sustainability of cities as inclusive spaces that promote personal and collective coexistence, equality, immigration, etc...

This seminar has the support of the European Commission under the Europe for Citizens program, in the activities of the TONETA project. Partners of TONETA (Gijon, Cardiff, AIRE 198 and Vale do Ave Municipalities) with the support of the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities want Atlantic and European youngsters to voice their views so as to integrate them in their strategies and in a simulation game called SUDPOLIS. To this end, at least 30 young people from Europe will attend this seminar and other activities of Cabueñes meeting.

Know Cities: Knowledge Cities in the Atlantic Area

2011-07-12T03:33:00.000-07:00

Currently underway, Know Cities is the result of a reflection process on the planned strategies and cooperation processes in the emerging global knowledge economy. Its objective is to complete an innovative methodology to stimulate and promote the access and passage to the economy of urban knowledge. This transition will facilitate transnational cooperation in common areas related to sustainable urban development, factor of attractiveness and marketing for the Atlantic medium size cities which could be in a situation of competitive disadvantage compared to other regions. The concept of a Knowledge City has come about this century in the world’s most advanced societies and seeks to study the relationship that exists between knowledge, innovation and development. A Knowledge City is a geographical area
in which there is a society organised around itself and its main economic and social agents with a common purpose: to take part in the development of an economy based on knowledge which is orientated toward interpreting what is happening beyond its own local frontiers in order to be able to observe and act in accordance with the transformations which take place on a national and international level so that clear directives and guidelines can be established with a view to creating wealth, employment and quality of life within the local setting.
Co-financed by the European Union – ERDF, on the Atlantic Area Programme, Know Cities project was the fruit of a period of reflection on common strategies and processes of cooperation within the new world stage of the knowledge economy, a process developed within the framework of the Atlantic Arc Cities Conference. The Know Cities initiative has a budget of some 2 million euros, and focuses on situating Atlantic cities at the cutting edge of the so-called Knowledge Cities.
The aim of the project is to establish an innovative methodology which will stimulate and facilitate access and transition to a knowledge economy in the medium-sized towns and cities taking part, as a strategy aimed at making transnational cooperation easier in common areas relating to sustainable urban development. The aim is also to promote the creation of a Knowledge and Innovation Network which makes it possible to transfer information regarding municipal management and technological / innovation material.

Know Cities was presented at the Niort meeting. Here you have the document.

The Atlantic Arc in pictures: IMAGINA ATLANTICA

2011-07-07T03:29:00.000-07:00

IMAGINA ATLANTICA is a European project (2010-2013) funded by INTERREG IVB Atlantic Area and led by Grand Angoulême, an emblematic territory of new technologies and image, with seven associated structures from Wales, Spain and Portugal. It aims at structuring a sustainable Atlantic image technology network through the creation of a European development agency. The project is based on three strategic areas: training, economic development and promotion of culture.
In 2011 there will be actions such as a project call to create a tourism product to assess heritage through new technologies, a European digital art competition, exchanges of interns and young professionals from
universities and companies, and a legal study on the movement of artists and their work.

If you wanna see the project's presentation at Niort meeting, please click here.

Attractive and Cohesive Cities Commission at CAAC

2011-07-05T03:27:00.000-07:00

Atlantic cities are characterised by a strong economic drive, good quality of life and cultural wealth which contribute to the attractiveness of their territory. Among these shared assets, the Atlantic Area benefits from numerous environmental resources which should of course be preserved but also enhanced, since they can significantly contribute to cities’ development (sustainable tourism, renewable energies, etc.).
The globalisation of trade heightens competition at international level and commands permanent efforts from the Atlantic Cities in order for them to remain competitive. Furthermore, the EU adopted very ambitious objectives in this sector with the EU 2020 strategy, aiming for « A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”which can only be met through an active role of the cities. Finally, these evolutions have a clear social impact which should be tackled through efforts in training, cohesion and intercultural dialogue.
The Attractive and Cohesive Cities Commission at CAAC is currently led by the city of Avilés.
The issues addressed by this Commission are voluntarily transversal so as to favour synergies between expert players and to encourage integrated approaches. The Attractive and Cohesive Cities Commission bases its activities around the following themes:
1. Economic development: knowledge economy, green activities, innovation;
2. Training;
3. Sustainable tourism;
4. Protection and promotion of the Atlantic natural heritage;
5. Promotion of Atlantic cultural identity.

At the meeting in Niort, Avilés presented an update of this Commission which you can visit HERE.

Niort: Cities in a network, the multiplier effect of urban networks

2011-07-02T05:10:00.000-07:00

End of June, during the General Assembly of CAAC in Niort an under the activities of TONETA project, special attention was paid to city networks. After the technical sessions and a session on the future of cohesion policy from an urban point of view, the last part of Friday focused on urban networking through the Atlantic.

M. Philippe Duron French MP, Caen Mayor and CAAC president, reflected the long tradition of cooperation in the Atlantic Area till nowadays. It is need to emphasize that already in 1296, the cities of Santander, Laredo, Castro, Bermeo, Guetaria, San Sebastian Fuenterrabía and Vitoria had signed a kind of twinning charter, creating a community of interests in the Atlantic trade. The Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities, established in 2000 at the initiative of Mr. Edmond Hervé, then Mayor of Rennes, currently represents over 100 local units and 7 million people in the cities of the European Atlantic seaboard which are mostly twinned among them. Similar initiatives breed in different areas that make up the European Union. Not to mention the CPMR Geographical Commissions of the regions, to urban scale we can call the Union of Baltic Cities, Medcités, the Adriatic Forum and the RIET and the MOT Cross-Border Networks. Together with these organisations, CAAC has created a network of networks in 2010, known as CECICN.

For Philippe Lavaud, president of AIRE 198, urban networks promote regional development and territorial cohesion. They are one of the relays for the implementation of EU programs, to bring down the European political area in the heart of territories. Cohesion policy should rely more on medium-sized cities exercising real polarities which are actually a driving force. The European Commission recognizes the urban fact and its role in the implementation of European policies. But the translation in the financial programs and structural funds is not very readable. All projects supported by the cities show that this level is appropriate to implement cohesion policy and allow the EU to have its main political developments. As a hint, he described the different projects AIRE 198 is involved in, such as TONETA, START, CLIMA ATLANTIC, IMAGINA ATLANTICA, etc…

Jean-François Retière, Vice-President of Nantes Métropole and President of the CIVINET French network presented this last one. CIVINET is a network of cities for cities which aims to find urban mobility solutions. It is also a new project of the CIVITAS Initiative that intends to build national networks of CIVITAS cities. As for the French brand, Newsletters and webplatform to exchange information are key activities.

General Assembly of MOT

2011-06-28T04:39:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT) took place on 16 June at Reims (France), on the invitation of the Champagne Ardenne Region, member of MOT for several years. Chaired by Michel DELEBARRE,a Conference-Debate was organized the day before, on 15 June 2011 focusing on the subject of cross-border cooperation: from national strategies to territorial projects.In this Conference, Marie Therese Sanchez Schmidt from The European Parliament, mentioned that Atlantic and Danube are macro-regions in the making. Although the structure EGTC may seem appropriate, it is not ready yet and is too heavy. The main aim to be achieved is to provide mechanisms for participation of civil society in these integrated strategies while symplifying procedures.

More Info: MOT

Buying social: Guidelines for Public Procurement

2011-06-23T04:16:00.000-07:00

A guide on taking account of social considerations in public procurement.The new guide is a very concrete tool to help public authorities to buy goods and services in a socially responsible way in line with EU rules. It also highlights the contribution public procurement can make to stimulate greater social inclusion.
Public procurement represents 17% of the GDP of EU Member States. While preserving competition and transparency, it may be used in a way to steer the market in a more socially responsible direction and thus contribute more generally to sustainable development.
The guide will allow public purchasers to integrate with greater confidence social considerations in public procurement, while ensuring equal access to all European interested bidders and guaranteeing an efficient use of public money. The exercise is in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy and the EU goals for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
The document is illustrated by a number of practical examples covering a broad range of social issues, such as promoting equal chances and employment opportunities, improving labour conditions, social inclusion of vulnerable persons, such as disabled persons, compliance in substance with the provisions of the fundamental ILO conventions, etc.
The Commission also published today another guide to help helps public authorities, especially at local level, to provide high quality and efficient services in line with the EU rules.

YOU CAN FIND THIS GUIDE HERE

Evidence on European Land Use

2011-06-21T04:17:00.000-07:00

The aim of the workshop was to share experiences, to transfer knowledge and to contribute to the debate on Land Use in Europe and ways in which its assessment can be approached. This facilitated a pan-European discussion and enabled the EU-LUPA project to present their perspective and progress, and discuss the validity of their results achieved so far.
The morning was divided in two sessions. The first session addressed the challenge of combining statistical and spatial information by looking into data sources and methodologies. Topics that have been addressed during this session are:
•Land Cover in Europe: lessons learned from CORINE land cover and new perspectives
•The grid approach: understanding Land Use patterns
•Urban Land Use: lessons learned from Urban Atlas development
•LUCAS: A multi-purpose European Land Use survey
The second session looked into the various approaches to Land Use by going into past and current relevant experiences. Topics that have been addressed during this session are:
•Visions of Land Use transitions in Europe: the VOLANTE project
•Where does the city start? Urban sprawl and compacity analysis (ESPON project FOCI)
•Understanding Land Use patterns in Europe: ESPON project EU-LUPA
The afternoon started with three parallel working groups, each of them focusing on a specific Land Use issue with regard to the EU-LUPA project. Due to having a carousel structure, the participants had the opportunity to debate each of the following issues addressed:
•Methodologies for an enhanced understanding of Land Use changes in EU: Indicators
•Typifying Land Use patterns: Regional typologies
•Identification of main drivers of Land Use changes in EU for a better definition of policy options
At the end of the workshop a concluding plenary debate discussed the main experiences and advises for the EU-LUPA project.

Please visit ESPON page for more info.

SPAA (Sustainable Promotion of the Atlantic Area)

2011-06-14T01:07:00.000-07:00

SPAA (Sustainable Promotion of the Atlantic Area) was a project supported by the European Regional Development Fund (INTERREG IIIB) seeking to promote the economic development of European towns and cities by testing the impact of an integrated marketing approach based on their local distinctiveness. Chester was a lead partner on the project, which was conceived by Chester City Centre Management. This catalyst enabled considerable growth in the resources applied to annual tactical marketing campaigns across a range of sectors. Between 2005 and 2008, the SPAA project aimed to take into account the economic disadvantages of peripheral regions of the Atlantic area and to study how an integrated promotion system could help to overcome regional imbalances of these areas. This systematic review of promotion strategies for the approximation of regions sought to strengthen the identity of the Atlantic area.

The aim of the European Union Sustainable Promotion of Atlantic Area (SPAA) programme was to improve sustainable economic development opportunities for areas on Europe’s Atlantic fringe. A practical guide was required by four European city partners working in the relatively new field of place-making under the SPAA programme. Its aim was to advise European Atlantic cities and regions - members of the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities - how to improve their economic competitiveness through an integrated place-making strategy.

Partners of SPAA were:

Deputación Provincial de Ourense (Galicia) (ESP)
Limerick Co-ordination Office (Limerick) T/A Lodis Limited Limerick (IRL)
Valima- Associação de Municipios do Vale do Lima (Ponte de Lima) (PT)
Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities Rennes (FR)
CHESTER CITY COUNCIL (RU)

Some interesting documents:

CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN CROSS-BORDER AND INTERREGIONAL CITY NETWORKS – CECICN

2011-06-09T02:47:00.000-07:00

In April 2010, six urban networks gathered in Santiago de Compostela, have created the CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN CROSS-BORDER AND INTERREGIONAL CITY NETWORKS – CECICN. CECICN is composed of cross –border and interregional city networks which develop cooperation actions between cities and other territories, as part of its general or specific work. Actually, the CECICN is a platform which groups the networks of cities from the Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, Adriatic, Iberian and MOT. The network is chaired by Xosé Antonio Sanchez Bugallo and Philippe Duron, President of the CAAC is the Vice-President. Xoam Mao (RIET) is the Secretary-General and Jean Perony (MOT) is the Director-General.

FOUNDING CHARTER

The member networks consider as a must that both the European Union and the European Commission promote a second generation cross-border cooperation that takes into account the major achievements of the cross-border cooperation processes boosted by the European Commission during the last fifteen years. Moreover, this second generation cross-border cooperation would define and undertake a new political initiative for the development of border and peripheral territories starting from 2014, as an instrument for the economic development of these territories.

Member networks

Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities

Mision Opérationelle Transfrontalière

Red Ibérica de Entidades Transfronterizas

Forum of Adriatic and Ionian Cities

Medcities

Union of Baltic Cities

REVITA: An Atlantic Urban project to recover industrial land

2011-06-07T00:56:00.000-07:00

Led by Seville, between 2003 and 2005, REVITA has established innovative schemes for territorial spatial planning and action in obsolete industrial areas of the Atlantic Arc. This project, funded by INTERREG IIIB Atlantic Area, had the objectives of economic revival and reuse of urban areas. The project offered innovative approaches through the delivery of three pilot projects (process, urban design and functional renovation) a methodology based on "action-research" which analyzed Atlantic experiences for industrial revival:

Pilot project on correct use of the process at the local, regional, and national levels.
·Pilot project in urban transformation of industrial space.
·Pilot project in functional renovation of industrial space (for companies, technology, and environmental management).
Each of these projects touches on the synergies generated in rural and urban areas, because analysis is done on experimental projects completed both in city centres and in their surrounding metropolitan environment.

Partners were:

Sevilla Global, Agencia Urbana de Promoción Económica del Ayuntamiento de Sevilla (ESP)
Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (PT)
Parque Expo, S.A. (Lisboa) (PT)
Communauté Urbaine de Brest (Bretagne) (FR)
Cardiff Council (RU)
Ayuntamiento de Gijón (Asturias) (ESP)
Ayuntamiento de Avilés (Asturias) (ESP)
Bordeaux Technowest (Mérignac). (Gironde – Aquitaine) (FR)
PRIMUS-Promoção e Desenvolvimento Regional, S.A. (Moreira da Maia) (PT)
Dublin City Council (IRL)
Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities (FR)

You can read the final report in this link

On TONETA project

2011-06-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

As experience shows, the twinning of cities has given rise to different urban networks worldwide. The origins of this project lie in the twinning agreement between Niort (France) and Gijón (Spain), cities which continue to co-operate through two city networks: AIRE 198 and the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities (CAAC), together with Cardiff (GB) and the Vale do Tejo association (PT).

City networks, especially those created by twinning links, are a natural re-grouping for the exchange of experiences and mutual learning. They are responsible for the dissemination of good practices and actions, not only their own but also those of their members. City networks have the necessary skills and resources to advise and support cities’ initiatives. Hence the impact and importance of city networks is crucial to make the most of twinning.

TONETA, with the support of the European Union “Europe for Citizens” programme, aims to reinforce and improve the networking of cities by improving, promoting and fomenting the different networks which work in the Atlantic area.