Regional European Ideas Lab - Graz

INTRODUCTION

Following the success of the second European Ideas Lab in Brussels that gathered 500 changemakers from all over Europe on 1-3 March 2018, the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament and the European Green Party, together with the Austrian Green Party and the Grünen Bildungswerkstatt, are proud to invite you to the next European Ideas Lab – taking place in Graz, Austria, from July 5th, 17.00 until July 6th at 20.00. 

Located at the heart of Europe, the European Ideas Lab in Graz will offer changemakers from Central European Countries (Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia) the opportunity to meet with local and European Greens, to exchange, debate and learn from each other.

Civil society organisations, everyday activists, citizens' movements, artists, social entrepreneurs and ecopreneurs, your are all invited to shape this event, share your ideas and forge visions with us on ways to build a greener future for Europe.

While each of us has a different role to play, we believe that the European Ideas Lab can provide a space where changemakers and Greens from different parts of Europe can engage in a spirit of mutual trust, reflect on the common struggles we face, and exchange on the positive alternatives we want to bring in society. It is also a place for all of us to network and learn from each other, in a creative and inspirational atmosphere.

In Graz, we will focus on the topics of environment & ecology, democracy & media, and economy & the future of work.

Participation to the event is free of charge, but registration is necessary. Please also take note that English will be the only working language used during the event.

Interested to join us for this event? Send us an email to greens.changemakers@ep.europa.eu 

PROGRAMME

Thursday, 5th July 2018

16:30 Registration at the Venue (Steiermarkhof)
17:00 Welcome by Evelyne Huytebroeck (European Green Party) & Lara Köck (Die Grünen - Austrian Greens)
17:15 Part I: Connect & Exchange - Pitch your ideas for Europe!
19:00 Dinner
20:00 Transfer to the city center
20:45 Cultural programme

Friday, 6th July 2018

09:00 Registration at the Venue (Steiermarkhof)
09:30 Welcome by European Greens
09:50 Keynote; Werner Boote, Director of the movie The Green Lie / Die Grüne Lüge, and Leonore Gewessler, Political Director of Global2000
10:20 Be Inspired!
11:00 Coffee Break
11:30 Part III: Workshop Round 1 (6 parallel workshops on environment&ecology, democracy&media, economy&the future of work)

1.1 Economy and the Future of Work, Reinhard Buetikofer, MEP (Please note, this workshop will take place in German)

1.2 Zero Waste Initiatives are Spreading All Over Europe. Let's Share Them! Ursa Zgojznik & Katja Sres, Ecologists Without Borders

1.3 Community Food Project Vienna, Patrick Zoechling & Steffi Schmeiser

1.4 Judging the Judges: How Slovakia Opened its Judiciary to Unprecedented Public Control, Matej Simalcik, Transparency International Slovensko

1.5 Creating a Successful Circular Business, Máté Kriza, Foundation for Circular Economy

1.6 Youth Precarity, Federation of Young European Greens

13:00 Lunch Break & Networking
14:30 Part IV: Workshop Round 2 (6 parallel workshops on environment&ecology, democracy&media, economy&the future of work)

2.1 No Democracy Without Women's Rights: Supporting Women's Mobilisation in Europe, Monika Vana, MEP

2.2 New Biotechnologies: GMOs May Flood the EU By the Backdoor, Thomas Waitz, MEP & Juliette Leroux, Greens/EFA Campaigner on GMOs

2.3 Future Battles in EU Trade Policy: Learning from TTIP & CETA, Michel Reimon, MEP & Simon McKeagney, Greens/EFA Campaigner on Trade

2.4 Information as a public good? The Impacts of the New EU Copyright Directive, Julia Reda, MEP & Ruth Reichstein, Greens/EFA Head of Media and Communication

2.5 Greenwashing and 'The Green Lie', Werner Boote

2.6 Champions of Tax Avoidance: the Case of Central Europe and the Baltic States, Miroslavs Mitrofanovs, MEP & Frantisek Nejedly, Greens/EFA Campaigner on Tax Justice

16:00 Coffee Break
16:30 Part V: Wrap up
18:00 Dinner
19:30 Transfer to the city center
20:00 Film screening, Zeit für Utopien (Time for Utopia)