On the last day of a two-week long summit characterised by many encounters and an awareness that pressure to move towards a 1.5 degree planet must increase, I was overcome by an uncertainty about what COP24 had really achieved. Tired faces and hurried bodies, as well as extended negotiations, would suggest not much. Indeed, the changes so desperately needed were not clearly agreed upon and so it seems the regenerative world we have the potential to create remains a distant utopia. I left with a … Read more
News
Training for Youth Leaders in Ecovillages An update from the NextGEN Europe project - Yes to Sustainability
Thoughts and Words by: Ciska van Stuijvenberg, Pascal Gelling, Stalla Mavr, and Fanni SallIn the middle of October on a forested mountainside in Euskal Herria, in the Spanish state, a group of young people met. They came together in the ecovillage Lakabe to follow a training to become Youth Leaders for EU funded Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges. This training was part of the Yes to Sustainability project, which is an international programme that aims to share knowledge amongst and bring together … Read more
Discovering the Ecovillage Movement Insights from the Youth - Part of a series of curated blog posts and articles written for, by, or shared with the NextGEN Europe team on this years GEN Europe Conference.
Thoughts and Words by: Ciska van Stuijvenberg - Photo Credits: Grace McGade & Thomas HeuserI felt really new to this whole ecovillage movement having only discovered it in March 2018 so I attended the Ecovillage Conference as a way for me to get to know it a bit better and to get to know GEN better.Although I (was and still) am currently working on Communications for GEN Europe in their Office through the European Voluntary Servies, this was the first time that I met so … Read more
Brazilian students learn about Ecovillages at Instituto Biorregional do Cerrado GEN Ambassador Rebeca Roysen shares about recent visit to site of ECCO Conference 2017
On October 11, 2018, thirteen undergraduate students from University of Brasilia visited Instituto Biorregional do Cerrado (IBC) for a day of activities. The students are attending “Interdisciplinary Studies of Cerrado” and came from varied courses: biology, economy, psychology, environmental sciences, and chemistry, among others. They were all very excited with the experience. It was the first time they visited an ecovillage.In the morning, they learned a little about the concept of … Read more
2018 Hildur Jackson Award Extraordinary Project: Nashira Ecovillage Colombian women-led Ecovillage receives annual award honouring GEN's co-founder
[Spanish version follows below]Nashira Ecovillage in Colombia is the winner of the 2018 Hildur Jackson Award for Extraordinary Project. Together with Gaia Trust, GEN developed the Hildur Jackson Award, a €3,000 annual prize that supports and honours projects around the world that demonstrate regenerative best-practices in all dimensions of sustainability. The prize is awarded to projects bringing the most impactful inspiration about ecovillages/ecovillage lifestyles to a broad audience, and … Read more
When NextGEN Europe plays the game of the Talanoa Dialogue Initiated and edited by Marc Domingos
Photo credit: Ciska van StuijvenbergFor the article at its original source, please visit Marc's blog @ https://eco-villages.eu/en/2018/10/03/when-the-next-generation-of-the-ecovillages-play-the-game-of-the-talanoa-dialogue/ Intro: Jake, Clara, Lara, Lars, and Riccardo are members of the core group of NextGEN Europe, the youth arm of the Global Ecovillage Network in Europe (GEN Europe). They recently took the time to experiment a Talanoa Dialogue, a method based on the Pacific concept of … Read more
Finding Consensus Through Storytelling A Reflection from GEN's Talanoa Dialogue for the European Day of Sustainable Communities
A night of storytelling to share thoughts, knowledge and experiences related to climate change. The aim of the Talanoa Dialogue organised by the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) and the Findhorn Foundation, held in coordination with the European Day of Sustainable Communities, was to build consensus and unfold the complexity of a global situation that requires absolute openness and cannot be avoided. As highlighted in a recent speech by the UN Secretary General António Guterres, when thinking … Read more
Empowering the Next Generation Children in Permaculture Consortium grows in Europe
"How would your life be now if you were introduced to Permaculture as a child?"The question posed to participants at the Children in Permaculture (CiP) conference in May invited emotional responses:“I’d be farther along at implementing my work [in ecological and social restoration];”“I’d be less anxious as an adult;”“I would be more connected to nature and have a clearer framework for my life.”The undeniable social and ecological challenges of the present and future … Read more
New Ecovillage Development pilot in Europe seeks to reverse rural exodus A partnership between the Iberian Ecovillage Network and Spanish region of Navarra aims to regenerate depopulated rural communities
The Framework by Alfonso Flaquer Carreras, Ecovillage resident and GEN ElderOne of the biggest problems facing governments in many European countries is rural exodus, with the majority of the world's population dreaming of life in cities. In opposition to this trend, certain ecovillages and communities, mostly established in degraded or abandoned rural areas, have reversed downward population trends in certain municipalities and their peculiar development style is reflected in increased … Read more
Guede Chantier, ecovillage principles in partnership Center of West African REDES ecovillage network practices sustainability in collaboration
A lot has taken place in and around the eco-community of Guede lately, including at least three partnership programmes made possible with the financial and technical support of Damanhur and coordinated with REDES (French acronym for Network for Ecovillage Emergence and Development in the Sahel). Some of the work includes planting an orchard with a women's association in Madina Fresbe village (a community of herders), training over a hundred women from 15 villages in food processing, and … Read more
