With the City of Aalborg as host, the ICLEI European Secretariat is once again organising the European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns (ESCT) - and this year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of this event!
Aalborg | Denmark | 1-3 October 2024
NetworkNature, an official event partner, invites you to take part in this conference! For Nature-based Solutions (NbS) experts, multiple workshops delve into stakeholder buy-in for mainstreaming NbS.
- Are you ready to learn more about the innovative spirit of today's youth and create a sustainable future together? Then come to our interactive session jointly organised by NBS EduWORLD and NetworkNature, entitled "Empower Youth, Transform Tomorrow: Releasing the Power of Youth for Climate Change." The session aims to break down the barriers between local authorities and young people.
- Committed to furthering the Nature Positive Economy? Check out the NetworkNature and GoNaturePositive! session "Unfolding Plausible Futures: Towards a Nature Positive Economy." The focus of the session is to explore the socio-economic potential, challenges, and opportunities of the Nature Positive Economy (NPE) concept to achieve sustainable, just, and innovative urban and regional transformations.
- Curious about Urban Nature Plans? Don't miss the interactive workshop "Urban Nature: From Plan to Action." Here Mannheim, Porto (pending), Matosinhos, Paris, and Barcelona will share the role that the innovative Urban Nature Plan framework plays in their renaturing work.
- For those interested in the links between resilience and the food system, the workshop jointly organised by FoodCLIC and FoodPathS on the question "How can inclusivity in food system transformation create resilience?" will be a clear highlight of the conference. Food (system) experts and representatives from the Cities of Mannheim, Aarhus, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and the Cologne Food Policy Council will be present to provide insights and drive discussions.
- Do you learn best from onsite visits? Check out the mobile workshop "Using Nature to Support Climate Goals." This visit will explore nature conservation and climate mitigation work taking place in the bogs and willow fields of Aalborg.
The ESCT conference series seeks to challenge local governments to shape a new urban reality, one which is sustainable, resilient, and just. This will be Aalborg's third time hosting an ESCT conference; their first times led to the ground breaking Aalborg Charter (1994) and Aalborg Commitments (2004), both of which have been recognised as local sustainability milestones. This edition will build on the legacy of previous events including, most recently, the 2020 conference that led to the Mannheim Message.
#Aalborg2024 will continue to call for core systemic changes and key policy shifts needed to bring a European transformation, addressing the most pressing issues urban sustainability experts are facing today. The conference will dive deep into the big topics - more bottom-up and consistent shared governance, more efficient and private integrated finance, and a more inclusive and cohesive transition.
Join over 1000 participants from local and regional governments, European and international institutions, multilateral organisations, the research community, businesses, and civil society to be part of the movement for transformational change.
Learn more about #Aalborg2024 here.