Networks and cities' news

TUNE IN! An experiment to create a digital tool to turn an old shortwave radio station into a driver of city development during the pandemic

Niilo Rinne & Ville Kirjanen June 2020

The URBACT project Come In! Talking Houses, Shared Stories faced existential challenges when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring 2020. ULGs are not able to meet face-to-face, events can not be organized, everything is uncertain. During the time span of the project, it will be hard to plan anything that would include social interaction with physical proximity.

Grigny: keeping the link, continuing to teach music and inventing the next day

A Zicadanse in lockdown, a sudden adaptation of the teaching methods to the times of Covid-19 and a lot of enthusiasm and volunteering spirit: here is Grigny's latest update on how the URBACT OnStage project is progressing in the town!

How to manage networks? Lessons from COVID-19

Health & Greenspace Action Planning Network had its Phase II Kick-off meeting on June 16-17th. This means that 9 EU cities embark on a 2-year long journey on involving local stakeholders and planning actions together on improving urban greenspaces. Our topics remained the same from greenspace design and management related to mental and physical health, urban heat islands, air pollution, social inclusion but the context changed largely: after finishing Phase I, COVID-19 stroke and created massive crisis all over the world including our partner countries. 

"Spheres Of Influence"

Mantova's reflection of delivering carbon literacy training in their own city. 

The Mantova carbon literacy training gave some basic information on the science of climate change, using interactive activities and videos with experts speaking. The second part of the session focussed on the role of arts and culture and what can be achieved within cultural organisations and through their "spheres of influences

"All is not lost when it comes to climate change"

Carbon Literacy: “An awareness of the carbon dioxide costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis.”

Today, over 14,000 individuals and more than 40 organisations are Carbon Literate. We can now include the C-Change network and some of their city staff to this list. 
 

As part of the Manchester study visit in October last year,  a bespoke carbon literacy training course was delivered to the network. 
The original content of the course was updated to respond to the climate emergency and delivered to project partners including representatives from their arts and culture sector. 

The training was then to be replicated in their own cities and we can hear from Agueda who have already done this successfully. 

Murcia Pilot Action

Murcia City Hall, ≈450k inhabitants, south-east of Spain, as partner in the Urbact Innovator Transfer Network, is using bottom-up innovation in the public administration originating from Civil Servants, operating under the working concept of Capacity Building and Empowerment of Municipal Employees through Innovative Idea and Solution Generation.