Overview

On 2, 4 & 7 June: URBiNAT to host Online Seminar Series  on the role of the  Solidarity Economy to enhance the impact of NBS being implemented as part of urban regeneration programmes. Discussions will look at how the NBS concept can be expanded to take into account the social and solidarity economy NBS, and recognize the importance of the solidarity economy in times of crises and uncertainty.  
The conceptual foundation of the URBiNAT is based on active involvement of citizens in the development and implementation of Nature-based Solutions. Through participatory processes, the co-creation of NBS have a beneficial impact on the environment but also on the well-being and economic situation of citizens.

The solidarity economy, in its various forms, is viewed as a means to reduce economic inequalities. Solutions include solidarity markets, social currencies, short food supply chains, and solidarity purchase groups.

The Seminar Series will take place over three days, with debates and presentations made by URBiNAT partners, cities and researchers, with the Ecosol-CES partnership:
Part 1: Urban public space: commons, justice and social reproduction
Part 2: The socio-economy practices for neighbourhoods revitalisation
Part 3: The sustainability of nature-based solutions and solidarity economy

The Seminar will involve partners and cities working on socio-economic issues to share knowledge and experience; gather experts from university, research centres, international network and URBiNAT scientific commission; also, the sisters’ projects to dialogue with us, namely sharing their best practices in the solidarity economy dimensions. After the Seminar, the URBiNAT intends to organize a special edition of the CES context edition, periodical publication from CES to disseminate the reflection and debate results.

URBiNAT recognizes the social and solidarity economy as an opportunity to build a different urban space and to analyse its complexity. In fact, the project assumes it as one of the dimensions for the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS). The functionality of public spaces can expand with solidarity economy initiatives, diversifying the way citizens use the urban spaces. SE reveals a strong territoriality and connection to physical space – it may range from individual self-provisioning and informal small-scale economic circuits localized and operating within a limited territorial scope to networking on a larger area (region or national level). In some cases, territoriality is linked to culture, thus enabling community culture to develop territorial identity circuits.

The Online Seminar Series is organized in a multi-stakeholder and co-production perspective. Different audiences could participate and engage in this knowledge sharing space, citizens, technicians, political representatives, researchers, practitioners.

Registration is free, but mandatory | REGISTRATION FORM