The Power of Civic Ecosystems

NGOs and civic initiatives are proving to be a key link to overcome the growing mistrust between public administrations and the citizens. In cities across Europe, various forms of cooperation between cities and civil society are therefore becoming increasingly important for the quality of life and services in cities. Only strong and connected local communities are able to adapt effectively to the constant changes in society and the wider environment. Join us in Ljubljana on 8th and 9th of November 2022 for the international conference The Power of Civic Ecosystems: How community spaces and their networks make our cities more cooperative, fair and resilient On the first day of the conference, we will learn about the different cases of European cities working together with NGOs and civic initiatives as well as about examples from Slovenian municipalities. Levente Polyak from Eutropian will join us at the conference with a presentation of a broader European picture of city-civil society cooperation, Irina Vasiljeva from Riga with NGO House Riga, Petra Marčinko with the story of Lazareti complex in Dubrovnik and Jan Franjul with a presentation of the Rojc Community Centre from Pula. We will also find out how Slovenian cities have taken the good practice of the Towns Living Room from Idrija and adapted it to suit their local context. The second day is aimed at exchange of experience and networking of civil society organisations active in the field of urban development. Together with invited representatives of organisations and communities from across Europe we will discuss and explore how to facilitate networking and sharing of experiences between organisations and initiatives from European cities. REGISTER (The event will be in a physical format. Registration is required.) The conference will be held in Slovenian and English with simultaneous translation.

Agenda

Day 1

Day 2

(for invited organizations only) A 2 day AGENDA

Guests

LEVENTE POLYAK, Eutropian Levente Polyak is an urban planner, researcher, community advocate and policy adviser. He studied architecture at Budapest University of Technology, urbanism at the Institut d’Urbanisme de Paris and sociology at ELTE Budapest, and EHESS Paris. With his organisation Eutropian (Vienna-Rome-Budapest), he supports public administrations and citizen initiatives across Europe in creating new partnerships, cooperation processes, spatial development projects and new governance models. SOPHIE BOD, Eutropian Sophie Bod is a project manager with expertise in communication in the civic and cultural sectors. She holds a BSc in Communications & Media Studies from the University of London and an MA from SOAS. She has worked with several UK cultural institutions, NGOs, and some of the UK’s largest charities, managing communications, advocacy and fundraising campaigns. She has a background in activism as well as human rights research and monitoring. She is the editor of Eutropian’s Cooperative City Magazine and co-editor of the book “The Power of Civic Ecosystems”. The Power of Civic Ecosystems: Methods and practices of building stronger local networks Well-functioning civic networks make our cities more cooperative, fair and resilient. To explore how we can strengthen local networks with shared resources and joint objectives, the presentation by Levente Polyak and Sophie Bod examines methods and practices of ecosystem-building from a variety of European cities. WESSEL BADENHORST, lead expert in the URBACT Programme Wessel Badenhorst is experienced faciliator of collaborative urban development using a placemaking approach. He has experience in APN Networks such as the iPlace Project and the City Centre Doctor Project. He is also the national expert for URBACT’s NPTI Good Practice Transfer Initiative in Ireland. Previously the economic development officer in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (Dublin), Mr. Badenhorst is now a full-time facilitator assisting local authorities and business organisations in Ireland with developing place strategies and with training in placemaking. Wessel Badenhorst will be moderator at the Conference. IRINA VASILJEVA, Riga NGO House Irina Vasiljeva currently works in Riga City Neighbourhood Residents Centre. She has more than 20 years of experience in government and municipal institutions and NGOs. She has Master’s degree in Politics, Security and Integration from University College London. Her area of expertise includes integration, non-discrimination, national minority protection and migration issues. She has been involved in drafting of multiple state and municipal policy planning documents in these areas and she was responsible for their supervision and implementation. She has long experience in managing local and international projects in the areas of migration, integration, voluntary work and participation. She has also been a project coordinator of Riga as a Lead Partner of the URBACT action planning network ACTive NGOs. Riga NGO House: success of cooperation between NGOs and municipality Since its establishment in 2013 Riga NGO House has managed to get recognition both on local and international level as a successful model of cooperation between NGOs and Riga municipality. Established by municipality and driven forward by the needs of NGOs, Riga NGO House serves as a cradle for new NGOs and acts as a reliable partner for experienced NGOs. Irina Vasiljeva will present Riga NGO House – a place where NGOs come together to meet, work, learn, cooperate, and make our world better. PETRA MARČINKO, Art Workshop Lazareti Petra Marčinko holds an MA in Ethnology, Cultural Anthropology, and Sociology. Main fields of her academic interest are, among others, urban space development, participatory governance and democracy and civil society. As one of the researchers and authors, she worked on the UNESCO Management plan of the Old Town of Dubrovnik (2016-2021). For the last decade she has been working in the fields of cultural management and production. She is currently employed at the NGO Art Workshop Lazareti as an associate expert for cultural policies research, programme, and projects implementation (Kultura Nova, ESF, URBACT) and as a coordinator of the Platform for Lazareti. Currently also serving as a Dubrovnik City Councilwoman. Story of the Lazareti: social-cultural centre in a heritage complex Social–cultural centre Lazareti is a phenomenon on its own. Located in front of the Old Town of Dubrovnik, protected by UNESCO as a part of the World Heritage, in a context of a city strategically developing as a destination, burdened with the tourism monoculture and the ever-growing trends of commercialization of the public spaces. Behind this phenomenon stand more than thirty years of negotiations, projects, expertise, and continuous efforts of building and strengthening public-civil partnerships, especially the trust and collaboration between the public and civil actors. But most importantly, dedication to preserving this place as a place for the cultural, artistic, and social needs of the local community. Petra Marčinko will present NGO’s collaboration through organic growth and a bottom-up approach, enabling Lazareti preservation. JAN FRANJUL, Rojc Associations Alliance Jan Franjul works as a part of the project team for the Rojc Associations Alliance, a network of 26 associations housed in the Rojc Community Centre, a 16.739 square meters former naval school and military barracks. He has experience working in the independent cultural sector as an organizer and producer of cultural events both on a larger and a smaller scale. He works as communication manager in Rojc New Plan of Governance for Rojc Community Centre The “New Plan of Governance for Rojc Community Centre” is a new model of participatory governance of the Rojc Community Centre. It was realized as a part of the European Social Fund project “GRAD(imo) ROJC”. Green Istria (Zelena Istra) as a project partner leads the development of a new model of governance for the Rojc Community Centre. It was developed by the Institute for political ecology, through a participatory process involving the organizations and individuals working in Rojc, the members of general public who use the Centre, and the services offered by the organizations housed in Rojc, and the stakeholders in the local government. Jan Franjul will present the process behind the the “New Plan of Governance for Rojc Community Centre” and the focal points of the Plan itself. — The conference will be accompanied by a publication of the same name, published by IPoP and Eutropian, which will summarise and build on the 2021 publication The Power of Civic Ecosystems. The conference is organised by IPoP – Institute for Spatial Policies, acting as the National URBACT Point and Coordinator of the Mreža za prostor, Slovenian network of NGOs in the field of sustainable urban planning. The first day of the event is co-financed by the URBACT Programme, while the second day is organised under the Climate Programme of Mreža za prostor. The Climate Programme is funded by the EcoFund and the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning from the Climate Change Fund. The opinions expressed at this event are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, the EcoFund or the project partners. Graphic: Darja Klančar, Darka, updated after the original.