In light of the pandemic recovery plan, the EU has emphasised both the need for a sustainable, green recovery and the importance of supporting the most vulnerable people, who will be most badly affected by the effects of climate change and transition policies. This commitment is captured in the slogan, "No-one left behind."
Taking account of climate risks, together with their social consequences, UIA projects demonstrate the importance of testing new solutions for a new socio-ecological pact. In this context, it is crucial to bring forward practical interventions and results that could inspire and foster locally-based transitions in EU cities. The session will therefore focus on practical experiences and will use online tools to gather participants' inputs and address the following question: how can the new EU budget help pave the way to a just and green recovery at city level?
Moderator:
- Eddy Addams – UIA expert, Eddy Adams Consultants
Speakers:
- Silvia Ganzerla – Policy Director, EUROCITIES
- Karin Reichert - Partnership on Jobs and Skills in the Local Economy of the Urban Agenda for the EU, Senate of Berlin
- Nuala Morgan – Head of Unit for Capitalisation and Communication
- Vildan Ekiz – Bridge project manager, City of Rotterdam
- Andrea Patruco – Project Administrator OpenAgri UIA, City of Milan
- Pia Laurila – Coordinator of the UAEU PS on climate adaptation, European Commision DG REGIO
- When
- Thu 14, October 2021
11:30 - 13:00 CET - Moderator
- Eddy Adams, UIA expert, Eddy Adams Consultants.
- Speakers
- Vildan Ekiz, BRIDGE project manager, City of Rotterdam.
Silvia Ganzerla, Policy Director, EUROCITIES.
Nuala Morgan, Head of Unit for Capitalisation and Communication, Urbact.
Karin Reichert, Partnership on Jobs and Skills in the Local Economy of the Urban Agenda for the EU, Senate of Berlin. - Video Testimonials
- Tim Caulfield, Director, UIA Permanent Secretariat.
Pia Laurila, Policy officer - Urban policy, EC Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.
Andrea Patrucco, Project Administrator OpenAgri - UIA, City of Milan. - Code
- 14WS21406
- Format
- Workshop
- Theme
- Green Transition
- Partner
- Urban Innovative Actions Initiative (UIA)
- Language
- English (EN)
- Replay – English
- https://vimeo.com/637371702
Session summary
UIA – the Urban Innovation Actions Initiative – brought together EU experts and urban practitioners to discuss how cities can deliver on a just and green transition across the EU and to launch its flagship knowledge activity on Just Transitions. Contributions from URBACT, Eurocities, and the Partnership on Jobs and Skills in the Local Economy of the Urban Agenda for the EU focused on the main challenges ahead for cities. They highlighted the way cities can play a key role EU-wide in activating local stakeholders from different sectors to build strong local ecosystems and deliver activities on skill forecasting as well as up-skilling and re-skilling, thus making local economies fit for the future. The focus then moved onto UIA projects, with OpenAgri in Milan and BRIDGE in Rotterdam presenting their innovative solutions for jobs and skills at local level. From diverse points of view, the projects underlined that a wide process of local stakeholder reach-out and engagement is the starting point for job creation and skills development. The closing remarks made by European Commission - DG REGIO - emphasised the key role played by cities, as they are on the frontline of profound changes in our societies. The importance was also stressed of the “next generation of UIA”, i.e. the European Urban Initiative (EUI), which will support cities in the main transformations ahead of us.
Take away message
One of the key missions of urban authorities is to help local stakeholders across sectors to work together in anticipating the main transformations ahead and develop supporting measures accordingly. This will make it possible to ensure locally-based transitions across EU cities that will include and value all the territorial resources and actors in local ecosystems. Many UIA solutions contribute to Just Transitions. This activity will enable EU cities to apply good practices and lessons learnt across Europe.
Quotes
One of the key innovative aspects of the project is the strong integration between the jobs and skills perspective and the territorial dimension. In fact, by creating new businesses we aim to have a positive impact on the wider ecosystem, also including different aspects of local urban development.
Andrea Patrucco, city of Milan – OpenAgri UIA project.
Training and educational institutions need to have a sense of ownership for the relevant programmes, designed to guide a successful transition from school to work in order to tackle youth unemployment in the future.
Vildan Ekiz, city of Rotterdam – BRIDGE UIA project.
