The MiT in Brussels

On the 20th of september 2018 the European Day of Sustainable Communities was celebrated in Brussels, co-hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European network for community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability (ECOLISE), in collaboration with Transition Network and the Committee of the Regions.

Citizen and community-led action on climate change and sustainability has spawned a dynamic, grassroots movement, with thousands of communities across Europe striving to redefine our relationship with the natural world by designing and testing new economic, social and environmental innovations that promote regeneration and sustainability.

There is growing evidence and recognition that these bottom-up approaches are an essential complement to top-down approaches in achieving the radical, structural and lasting lifestyle changes necessary for creating an equitable, sustainable and low-carbon society. Increasingly, these community initiatives are engaging in dialogue with municipal partners, helping to inspire and even reorient municipal activities, in line with longer term climate and sustainability goals.

The conference has facilitated a conversation in which participants were able to share experiences, and explore ways to encourage and support this type of collaboration, with also online participants, thanks to the internet streaming of most of the conference. The Municipalities in Transition (MiT) project was at the centre of the discussion topics and the whole MiT core team (Ana Huertas, Juan del Rio, Cristiano Bottone and Tommaso Brazzini) was attending the event.
People participating were from different background and from different type of organizations. According to the poll, 29% of participants were from NGOs, 26% from Municipalities or local government networks, 19% from Community/grassroots organisations, 12% individual interested in the event, 12% Other non specified type of organisation, 4% from Business, 4% from EU institution

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