On April 19 and 20, the second Impact Workshop of the EU Interreg project "CityZen" took place. "CityZen" aims to promote and raise awareness of urban agriculture as a driving force for social and economic transformation among policy makers in a total of five European regions.
While the project partners carry out their own local projects (in Germany, IfLS is working on an action plan together with the RhineMain Regionalpark), the continuous international exchange of experience and ideas is essential. This was also the case at the Impact Workshop, which focused on improving the dialogue between decision-makers and bottom-up demands, inclusive governance and multi-stakeholder engagement, and dealing with land and space scarcity in cities (all in the field of urban agriculture).
Experts from all over Europe and different backgrounds (EU Commission, startups, NGOs, regional and local authorities, international organizations) presented practical examples and initiatives from urban agriculture, such as rooftop or school gardens, aquaponics or hydroponic berry production. At the same time, there was input on funding opportunities, suitable methods and tools (such as living labs), as well as room for networking and further exchange of ideas.
All workshop presentations are available on YouTube.
Contact persons at IfLS: Simone Sterly (sterly[at]ifls.de) and Dr. Ulrich Gehrlein (gehrlein[at]ifls.de)
