From 9 to 12 June, FoodE and its project partners participated in the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Festival and introduced European citizens into the world of local food initiatives and sustainable urban agriculture. During the Festival, FoodE directly engaged with visitors, informed them about examples of sustainable City/Region Food Systems and organised several workshops.
The Festival
Brussels and many other locations across Europe hosted the NEB Festival and brought together the innovative and vibrant projects that shape the sustainable, aesthetic, and inclusive future of Europe. The Festival consisted of virtual and live artistic performances, conferences, exhibitions, and seminars. Together they embodied the New European Bauhaus values of beauty, sustainability and togetherness, and their power to address societal challenges.
The programme of the Festival revolved around three formats: the Fair, the Fest, and the Forum.
The Fair entailed a live exhibition across Brussels that showcased current and future projects, along with opportunities to meet, interact and exchange ideas, bringing together different actors who are enthusiastic about getting involved.
The Fest consisted of a live cultural programme with a range of performances.
The Forum included a series of debates building on key themes of the NEB (green transition, architecture, R&I, culture, education, regional development, etc.), ensuring a well-balanced mix of policy discussions and innovative participatory formats.
FoodE’s mobile booth and workshops
As part of a fleet of 60 Mobile Exhibition booths, FoodE was able to directly engage with the public in Brussels at four different locations: Place de la Musique, Mont des Arts, Place de Brouckère, Marche aux Poissons. Visitors were able to learn more about sustainable food production systems and FoodE pilots from across the EU. In addition, two FoodE partners – the University of Bologna and the University of Naples – organised workshops:
On Friday 10 June and Saturday 11 June, Michele D’Ostuni from the University of Bologna, hosted a workshop “A New Policy Framework for the Development of Integrated Urban Agriculture (UA) Planning”. In this workshop, FoodE explained how a new policy framework can help municipalities and regions to foster UA planning process in EU cities.
On Sunday 12 June, Giuseppe Carlo Modarelli from the University of Naples held a workshop “Aquaponics as a means to produce food in urban environment”. Aquaponics is a sustainable production technique getting traction worldwide. It relies on the fish feed as the only input to produce both fish and vegetables thanks to bacteria’s beneficial action. In the workshop, the main features (system components, species use) regarding aquaponics were discussed, as well as the main implication for our City/Regions Food Systems.
The New European Bauhaus
The NEB initiative was initiated by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union speech. Inspired by the German Bauhaus movement of the interwar period, which combined functionality with aesthetic in its quest for design, the NEB aims to connect the European Green Deal to people’s living spaces and experiences. By creating bridges between different backgrounds, cutting across disciplines, and building on participation at all levels, the NEB inspires a movement to facilitate and steer the transformation of our societies along with sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion.
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