On the 11th of December, the Speak Up consortium organizes a conference in Mechelen. As many cities and regions are currently involved in pilots around climate transition – this is the central theme for this event.
Join us at the beautiful Lamot in Mechelen for an inspiring keynote by Teun Gautier, a talkshow and several break-out rooms where international partners (Malmö, Skive and Mechelen) will demonstrate their climate pilots during interactive workshops. Besides, there is ample room for discussion, thinking together, practical experiences and meeting with experts and talks with your peers!
You can get a (free) ticket by clicking on the button below!
See you there!
Information on the break-out sessions
There are 3 different break-out sessions, each with different challenge. You can attend to 2 of the 3 sessions. You sign-up to these 2 sessions in a form when you register for the event here.
Break-out 1 - Mechelen: Voice of nature: a unique experiment on how to engage non-humans in public debate
Break-out 2 - Malmö: Recruiting of participants; who gets a voice in climate councils and citizen dialogues?
Break-out 3 - Skive: Our role as public sector professionals and competencies for citizen engagement in the green transition
Programme
12.30 hours Venue open – coffee – meet & greet
13.00 hours Keynote speaker Teun Gautier
Theme: ''How to interact on Climate Transition''
13.30 hours Talkshow: ''The relation between participation and the climate transition''
Host: Otto Thors
Guests: Monika Mansson, Signe Bak Jorgensen, Mark Van der Veken, Teun Gautier
14.00 hours Intro on break-out sessions
14.20 hours Break-out session I
15.20 hours Break
15.35 hours Break Out Session II
16.40 hours Wrap up and Conclusions with drinks
17.00 End
Keynote speaker: Teun Gautier
Teun Gautier is the co-author of Een Wereld van Gemeenschappen (A World of Communities) that he wrote with his partner, well known Dutch citymaker Floor Ziegler. The book shows, with a long list of anecdotes from their work, how active citizens and local communities can become connected and involved in a wide variety of challenges of today. Its holds specific examples of how civil initiatives on climate and energy created strong progress. Teun will share many examples and will explain how the enourmous capacity of citizen-initiatives can help and how much fun it is to work from what is already there, in cities, villages and neughbourhoods.
Moderator: Otto Thors
Otto Thors will be the host of the Speak Up event ‘Lost in Transition?’. He is a Dutch professional with expertise and experience in the areas of digitalization, public service, and organizational change. As a strategic advisor, he supports national, regional and local governments in various societal challenges. As the host of the podcast ‘De Publieke Ruimte’ (‘The Public Space’), he makes complex topics within the government more accessible. With his energetic presence and inspiring delivery, Otto is a well-known speaker and moderator at (inter)national conferences and online events. Otto challenges you in an engaging and thought-provoking way to think differently than usual, act faster than expected, and let go when needed.
Workshop leader: Monika Månsson (City of Malmö)
Monika Månsson is a project manager at the Environment Department, City of Malmö. She is mainly working on the climate transition, in projects with a focus on knowledge and learning, participatory processes, and behavioural change. She is currently the local lead in two projects co-funded by Interreg NSR: Speak up and DISCO, Digital solutions for climate adaptation. Her background is in communication and journalism.
Workshop leader: Signe Bak Jørgensen (Skive)
Signe Bak Jørgensen is a Danish professional with a background in experience economy, focusing on citizen engagement in the green transition. Since 2021, she has been involved in implementing Skive Municipality's Climate Action Plan, emphasizing collaborative and entrepreneurial approaches to sustainability. In her role as project manager at Energy City Skive, the municipality's project and development department, she works to co-create solutions with citizens, fostering value creation and lasting change through active community involvement.
Workshop leader: Mark Van der Veken (Mechelen)
After obtaining a master's degree in Communication Sciences and Journalism, Mark Van der Veken was active in various sectors: from adventurous nature tourism, healthcare to business consultancy. In a living lab project on participation, he found a professional calling: reaching underexposed audiences and breaking into existing policies. As a political consultant and grants advisor, he helped to design frameworks that create opportunities to stretch the bandwith of involvement. Today, he works within the Strategy Department and Climate Team of the City of Mechelen.