Innovative climate citizen projects part of EIT Community New European Bauhaus Initiative 

THURSDAY 21 JULY 2022 – AMSTERDAM – EIT Climate-KIC is pleased to be directly working with six out of fourteen projects who have been selected as part of the EIT Community New European Bauhaus initiative. The projects will receive between €15,000 and €45,000 in funding, as well as tailored support to address local challenges to local solutions in a sustainable and inclusive way. 

In line with the mission and vision of the New European Bauhaus in building beautiful and sustainable experiences together, the EIT Community is supporting the development of innovative and collaborative models of local initiatives that increase citizen engagement and involve communities and local stakeholders in the design of sustainable public spaces that yield high impact for community members.

The fourteen projects were selected from a pool of over 100 proposals that applied to two different programmes launched by the EIT Community: New European Bauhaus Citizen Engagement Programme aimed at identifying and co-creating community solutions with citizens, and New European Bauhaus co-creation of public spaces aimed at resolving challenges and redesigning public spaces in cities, peri-urban and rural areas.

The selected teams are working across a range of challenging issues, from supporting refugees to integrate into communities through art, co-developing projects to transform urban spaces, or deepening the power of harbour spaces through citizen workshops. Find the full list of selected projects here.

The six climate-based projects are:

• Porto Think Tank (Portugal) – working to transform historical washhouses into useful spaces for the community.
• Imagine Your City (Slovakia) – bringing together local citizens of Kosice and refugees from Ukraine living in Kosice to co-create specific sustainable interventions that will improve the area around the temporary refugee shelter.
• CONNECT, Community for Timisoara (Romania) – helping to integrate Ukrainian refugees, particularly women, into the development of the city through artistic gatherings and the sharing of history.
• Harbor Highlight Actions (France) – organising summer workshops and learning explorations on the Seine to explore the shared heritage of the area and how it can be useful for the future.
• Adáma: community togetherness for a sustainable future (Greece) – helping to understand local issues in Elusis through participatory methods and co-designing these with sustainable solutions.
• ASD-Publics (Spain) – exploring nature-based solutions to improve playing areas for children with autism and their families.

Natalia Vera, Cities Advisor and Project lead, EIT Climate-KIC: “We’re excited to be supporting inspiring and diverse projects that exemplify the values and principles of a New European Bauhaus future, namely inclusivity, beauty and sustainability. Each initiative is working on a unique way to encourage more climate-friendly habits, empowering citizens to implement new solutions to local problems, and creating sustainable practices that can transform cities and communities.”

Nektarios Tavernarakis, Chair of the EIT Governing Board: “In order to address the environmental and societal challenges Europe is facing, we need solutions that reflect the diversity of voices within our communities. We need to engage citizens at a local level and co-create solutions that work. The initiatives awarded through this project each bring a unique approach to tackling problems with community members – demonstrating the real power of the New European Bauhaus at work.”

Press Contact  

Media@climate-kic.org  

EIT Climate-KIC

EIT Climate-KIC is the EU’s climate innovation initiative, working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon and resilient world by enabling systems transformation. Headquartered in Amsterdam, it operates from 13 hubs across Europe and is active in 39 countries. EIT Climate-KIC was established in 2010 and is predominately funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

As a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), it brings together more than 400 partners from business, academia, the public and non-profit sectors to create networks of expertise, through which innovative products, services and systems are developed, brought to market and scaled-up for impact.

EIT Community New European Bauhaus initiative

The EIT Community New European Bauhaus initiative was launched in 2021 with a budget of EUR 5 million to support innovators and businesses in New European Bauhaus related topics through community led projects, and business growth and acceleration support. This initiative is led by EIT Climate-KIC and includes EIT Digital, EIT Food, EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility.