Networks and cities' news

Catch up on the latest updates from cities working together in URBACT Networks. The articles and news that are showcased below are published directly by URBACT’s beneficiaries and do not necessarily reflect the programme’s position.

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    Tiny Practical Steps for change: TransNational Meeting in Wroclaw, Poland

    The 2nd Meeting of the BioCanteens#2 Transfer Network took place in Wroclaw, from the 22nd  to the 25th of November, under the theme "Micro Good Practices". The meeting gathered the four project staff of the four Cities (Mouans-Sartoux, Liège, Gavà and Wroclaw),  their respective kitchen staff, and local stakeholders.

    Clara Garrone

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  • Why should we all eat organic?

    Why should we all consume more organic products? Together with the French researcher and expert Denis Lairon, we have discussed the main benefits of organic on human health as well as its impact on climate and environment 

    Clara Garrone

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  • Mouans-Sartoux and its Food Project - Interview to Gilles Perole

    "Every region, every city, every department, every household should be able to define its own food sovereignty." (Gilles Perole, Deputy Mayor of Mouans Sartoux)

    Clara Garrone

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  • How BioCanteens accelerated local food initiatives in Liège? 

    The particularity of the Transfer of Good Practices, promoted in the URBACT Transfer Networks, is that they play a different role depending on the Partner City. In some cases, it kicks starts a transformation process and helps  set the basis of a resilient project. In other cases, it is an accelerator of a local dynamic with a long history behind it. This is the case of Liège, the civil society and political panorama was already shaping a food policy framework at the local level. "BioCanteens#2 arrived at the perfect moment for us, because we were ready to quickly learn and react to innovation", says the Coordinator of BioCanteens#2 from the City of Liège. 

    Clara Garrone

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  • We all have a good reason to distrust organic certification!

    The visits to the 4 initial BioCanteens partner cities revealed different forms of reluctance towards organic certification... which is a bit strange for cities that have just embarked on a process of transferring a Good Practice whose main issue is to to emphasise local and organic food! Beyond this apparent contradiction, local actors are faced with critical difficulties. We take them seriously and have produced two sets of facilitation cards: one entitled "We all have a good reason to distrust organic certification", which brings together all the possible counter-arguments heard in the BioCanteens cities and other network partners.

    And a second set of cards entitled "Everything we know about certification that we don't want to see!" providing all the knowledge and arguments that we have been able to gather to to combat stakeholders' distrust of certification. From webinars organised by BioCanteens #2 with 2 leading experts experts in the field, Denis Lairon, Director of Research at INSERN in biochemistry and nutrition and Lise Pujos from Ecocert for the certification process and an active teaching exercise with the students of students of the University Diploma in Sustainable Food Project Management from the University of Nice-Côte d'Azur have enabled to enrich and consolidate the two sets of cards.

    Ready to challenge your colleagues and friends on beliefs and fears about organic food?

    Clara Garrone

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  • Local governmental committees (LGC) as a flagship of a democracy Our planned small-scale action with a long-term impact

    There is an ongoing discussion of how to encourage people to take care about their town, neighborhoods or park, which they use every day while walking to the job. On that account one has to ask: Why do we not care about public spaces in the same way we tend to care about our flats or gardens? This question points to the very important fact, which is our sense for a common world, the one we all share together, and where “I and they” merge into one. Thus, the key role of Active citizens I see in advocating for this sense of common. To understand this will help us to build a stronger sense for participative principles and democracy. Who I perceive as a useful ally in this task are local governmental committees (Komise místní samosprávy in Czech). In response to that, our ULG sets as one of our long-term goals, to create a strong partnership with LGC in Hradec Králové. In the following lines, I would like to describe our tactics of how to involve members of LGC in Active citizens’projects and what pros we see in this cooperation.

    Barbara Gautherie

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