Launch and Thrive – Awakening the networks: Project update and Webinar!
We are thrilled to announce that the strategic partnership ‘Launch and Thrive – Awakening the networks’ is successfully coming to an end! This partnership between GEN Europe, GEN Ukraine, BEN, RIVE, LØS and APTES bore many fruits and the time has come to celebrate the accomplishments and the launch of the final results. For that reason, a webinar was held on the 10th of June at 5 pm CEST to share some of the achievements, results and tools we have been developing!
The Launch and Thrive project, funded by the Erasmus+ KA1 program, was designed to assist national ecovillage networks throughout Europe to start and flourish. It also aimed at strengthening European cooperation in the field of ecovillage development, bringing the Sustainable Development Goals to life locally (in accordance with community priorities through collaboration with stakeholders), and advocacy capacity through coordinated, legitimate and representative ecovillage networks.
Multiplier event in Arterra Bizimodu, Spain, 2023
The project thus pursued the following immediate objectives and goals:
- The creation of a qualitative framework for setting up functional and thriving national ecovillage networks, through a guidebook to aid the process.
- The development of a mentorship scheme, piloting twinning and exchange schemes between national ecovillage networks.
- To set up an ICT platform to systematize the provision of information, tools, knowledge exchange and problem-solving to strengthen cooperation.
- To showcase ecovillage networks on a national scale through short videos promoting networking activities for active citizenship.
- To set up an OLP (Online Learning Package) fusing the different educational resources and training materials made available through the project, showing the current state of the art and innovation that the already thriving ecovillage networks have to offer.
Several multiplier events were held in each partner country: to promote the project results and assess the benefits of its methodology in the non-formal sector, also outside the ecovillage networks. They served as a particularly important moment to disseminate and exploit the project’s results locally and involve national stakeholders/actors that would not have the chance to be involved otherwise.
Multiplier event in Ängsbacka, Sweden, 2023
Furthermore, we held a Training of Trainers in Torri Superiore (Italy). It formed a key part of the project as it directly contributed to the achievement of the partnership’s objective, which was to assist networks of ecovillages in launching and thriving, equipping participants with additional skills to develop their networks.
Training of Trainers in Torri Superiore, Italy, 2023
The Twinning programme involved close collaboration between Sweden/Spain and Ukraine/Denmark. Representatives travelled abroad to deepen their connections with other national networks and bring new insights to their own networks. This proved to be yet another efficient method of collaboration and networking.
Twinning programme in Ukraine, 2024
Here at GEN Europe, we provide CLIPS – a solution-oriented programme to guide community-led projects in their initial step. As of now, we also have the Launch and Thrive resources created specifically to assist national networks – to Launch and Thrive. In light of this, we continue to strive to enhance civil society action, at all levels, to fulfil the vision and mission of GEN Europe.
We look forward to further sharing the tools and methods we developed and supporting communities implementing them!
