Networks and cities' news

SIBdev online transnational meetings - From Network to a Family

Transnational meetings are at the heart of all Networks, and SIBdev is no exception. The Covid pandemic has caused a great challenge in this regard which could only be overcome by introducing new tools for cooperation and socializing that contributed to both the effectiveness and the inspiring atmosphere of the gatherings from time to time.

Halfway on the Journey of Exploring Social Impact Bonds

'Are Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) going to be the new secret tool for providing adequate public services?' - asked eight European cities themselves in May 2020. Then they set out together on a journey to explore how SIBs can contribute to more efficient public services. Their joint trip promised to be a rough one from the start, which became even so due to Covid-19. The pandemic meant that the face-to-face meetings, which provided the basis for knowledge transfer and experience sharing, could only occur somewhere far in the unknown future. But the difficulties also brought new opportunities: the masterclasses enabled experts with extensive practical experience to join the cities in their collaborative work through online meetings. As a result, Aarhus (Denmark), Baia Mare (Romania), Fundão (Portugal), Heerlen (the Netherlands), Kecskemét (Hungary), Pordenone (Italy), Võru (Estonia) and Zaragoza (Spain) now have a solid knowledge base in the field of social impact bonds.

Celebrating World Bee Day 2022 under the motto “Bee Engaged: Celebrating the diversity of bees and beekeeping systems”

On the 20th of May we are celebrating the World Bee Day round the globe. It is taking place on international level at FAO and Apimondia with partners (see more), within 115 countries that, in addition to Slovenia, supported nomination of that day, and hopefully also in your city!

Five BeePathNet Reloaded partner cities are organising celebrations. Go to exhibitions, join workshops, take a walk or just plant a flower in your garden. See detailed programmes of inspiring activities that will take place:

Cross-generational training is a path to lasting green awareness

To act in an environment friendly manner is a key goal of modern cities. In order to instil ecological awareness in the mindset of each resident, it is a long and dynamic process. The first step is to follow the principle of “Primum non nocere” (First, to do no harm). For example, kindergartens, schools, NGOs, etc. use different teaching methods, such as workshops, trips, field games and more to achieve this goal. Cross-generational training is the most effective strategy to involve all parts of society in ecological awareness and education. The city of Bydgoszcz from Poland has developed several good practices in this field.

The RiConnect Archive

Welcome to the RiConnect Archive! You can download all our documents by clicking on each chapter

"Top Tips for a Tech Ecosystem"

 Top Tips for a Tech Ecosystem by Alison Partridge, Ad Hoc URBACT expert

How can cities support the development of a tech ecosystem? Ceri Batchelder, URBACT expert, shared ten tips of what cities can do. Read them all below!