The European Ecovillage Gathering, organised by GEN Europe, took place in Nature Community, in Bavaria, between the 13th and the 16th of July. It brought together over 800 participants from all corners of the world - ecovillagers, supporters of the movement, as well as people interested in joining or establishing ecovillage communities. The rich four-day program was based on the Work That Reconnects. Organised under the motto “Together in a changing world”, the aim of the gathering was to provide the context for collectively reflecting on questions such as: how can we live together harmoniously in community?; how can we live peacefully together on our common planet?, and how can we create a planetary community of care?. ECOLISE was present through team members (Laura, Tasia, Abdul and Tim), Council members (Mieke) and representatives of 17 member organisations, as well as friends from our extended network. The Gathering gave us the opportunity to make heartfelt and embodied connections with lovely souls from GEN, GEN Europe, ECOLISE, and the wider ecosystem of the regeneration movement of movements. It was an inspiring experience which provided us with numerous learning opportunities.

ECOLISE is looking for young activists (18-30 yrs old) that want to join another 120 people including new and seasoned activists, climate and gender experts and influencers. As a collective, you will travel from Paris to Barcelona, on October 11th, exchanging knowledge and perspectives to mobilise support for Climate Justice.

On the train you will meet and hear from leading activists working on climate justice issues in countries such as Kenya, Peru, Uganda, Fiji and the Philippines, and with organisations such as Fridays for Future and the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network. You will learn and exchange on gender and climate justice, activism, eco-anxiety and more. When the train arrives in Barcelona, participants will join the Fixing the Future festival. This activity is taking place within the SPARK project.

The Nature Restoration Law was approved in the European Parliament on July 12th 2023, after a very close and dramatic vote. The final vote was: 336 in favour, 300 against, with 13 abstentions. This swing was seen as a victory, due to “the tireless fight of climate activists, NGOs, scientists, civil society, and farmers”.

Irish Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan (Green Party) said that the votes of all 13 Irish MEPs were “critical” in passing a key European Union (EU) nature bill. All five Fine Gael MEPs rebelled against an attempt by their centre-right political group the European People’s Party (EPP) to kill the Nature Restoration Law. This came after Seán Kelly made the initial declaration the night before the vote. Seán spoke at the launch of Communities for Future in September 2020, we appreciate that he listened to community-led voices regarding this vote.

Although the bill won, due to amendments and wranglings the final draft is a weakened Nature Restoration Law. From ClientEarth’s press release:

• This win, however, came at a very high cost - to reach a compromise, MEPs sacrificed many critical obligations and targets, ending up with a position substantially weaker than the original Commission proposal. This flies in the face of the urgency of the climate and biodiversity crises.

ECOLISE is recruiting expert(s) to collaborate in the Climate Resilient and Inclusive Cities project in Indonesia. Request for expert(s) services in two areas: Water & Sanitation & Bioregional Governance. Apply before the 25th of August.

Notes by Juan del Rio from the ALTER NATIVAS film Portuguese tour 18-22nd July 2023 – An intense, transformative, and inspiring experience!

Last week I had the pleasure to travel for 5 days through Portugal showing my new documentary ALTER NATIVAS – Building Possible Futures. A collaborative film about transition initiatives and ecosocial regeneration that aims to inspire other possible futures. A film that I codirected with Agustí Corominas, that we started to promote this spring, and that is produced by Red de Transición – Transition Network Spain.

(Original post with images on LinkedIn and Facebook)

Resilience.Earth recent webinar series includes 3 amazing videos from the recent Iltir Festival in Olot, Catalonia (Spain), run by Balkar Earth, which is “a space to investigate, reflect and learn in community”.

• Johnnie Freeland's talk on the Maori approach to community and land stewardship (webinar in English)
• Daniel Wahl's talk on regenerative governance (webinar in Spanish).
• Eva Clayton mentions some interesting stuff on Councils of Elders, and Nisg'aa community gatherings in the last 15min (webinar in English)

Become a changemaker at the Festival of Permaculture!
22-24 September, Lambourne End Outdoor Activity Centre, Essex, England

A weekend of practical workshops, talks, activities and music to inspire change and find solutions using permaculture ethics, principles and design tools.

Join leading regenerative, permaculture and sustainability experts and find ways to support positive climate action and heal the Earth.

This year’s Festival of Permaculture programme is shaping up to be one of the most diverse, interesting and inspiring yet! We are putting together the programme schedule as we speak, but here is a taster of confirmed workshops and speakers.

Through the European Day of Sustainable Communities (EDSC) we aim to celebrate thousands of transformative community-led initiatives across Europe. 

This year, we would like to raise awareness by bringing the campaign to the digital landscape and we are preparing a video collage to be shared on September 23rd. To join the campaign, take a picture of a community celebration around a table and upload it on our website before September 17th. We also encourage you to share the photo/s on your social media accounts, tagging @communitiesforfuture and using the hashtag #JoinTheBigTable, letting the world know what achievements you are celebrating this year. 

If your organization is part of the ECOLISE network, you are eligible to be awarded free access to Greg William’s “Candid Photography Skills” Masterclass! 

Click below to watch the pre-campaign video, read the toolkit on how to participate and upload your pictures. We’re very excited to receive as many photos as possible to celebrate the 7th edition of the EDSC together!

The Arkbound Foundation (ECOLISE member) has partnered with other funders to deliver a brand new fund for organisations with a focus on tackling the climate emergency.

The fund is open to UK, European and internationally based organisations and intended to support community based, grassroots, lived experience and localised type methods of delivery. Maximum funding is £30,000, though most applicants will likely receive under £10,000.

Please note, the fund is brand new so further details are likely to come out in the following weeks. Though it is expected demand will be high and to some extent there are benefits in applying sooner rather than later.

If you are a passionate storyteller, graphic designer, filmmaker, writer or artist of any kind, we’d love to hear from you!

This year’s Advocacy campaign will be launched in November and we’re already working on its design & strategy and we would like to invite you to participate in its execution. There are many opportunities to get involved in this year’s campaign whether it’s through writing, photography, videography, performing, storytelling or creating any other type of content, including social media.

Volunteers are welcome and paid content will be considered on a case-by-case basis. To participate, send an email to info@ecolise.eu with the subject “PULL OF CREATIVES” before September 30th, 2023 and share with us a brief description of your talent within 100 words, along with any relevant links or attachments that highlight examples of your work.

Desde a edição de Primavera do Caracol decorreram várias actividades organizadas (ou co-organizadas) pela Rede ou com a participação de alguns dos seus membros. Destacamos os eventos co-organizados pelo NL-Lisboa e pelo NL-Santarém para assinalar o Dia Global do Decrescimento (3 de Junho), assim como os encontros presenciais mensais promovidos pelo NL-Lisboa em Maio, Junho e Julho. A nível interno teve lugar uma Reunião Periódica de Coordenação online, a 15 de Junho. A nível internacional, destacamos a conferência Beyond Growth 2023 que decorreu no Parlamento Europeu em Bruxelas de 15 a 17 de Maio, a qual foi acompanhada por alguns membros da Rede (presencialmente ou online). Em termos de eventos futuros, destacamos, por cá, o Encontro Nacional da Rede que decorrerá entre 13 e 15 de Outubro em Mértola, e, fora do país, a 9ª Conferência Internacional sobre Decrescimento que acontecerá em Zagreb de 29 de Agosto a 2 de Setembro. Confiram tudo nesta edição estival muito bem recheada do Caracol. Boas leituras e reencontramo-nos em Setembro!

The Startup Village Forum is a space for collaboration and meeting of the rural areas of the European Union, whose main objective is the promotion of innovative entrepreneurship initiatives as a dynamic element of the rural world. It is part of the package of actions of the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas 2040, launched by the European Commission in 2021. 

One of the most important activities being carried out is the mapping of villages or small towns or groups of villages/towns that have relevant initiatives in this field of innovative rural entrepreneurship. Their map that is being built will allow them to better understand what kind of projects, solutions or proposals are being carried out in European rural areas.

As part of this process, they have asked ECOLISE partners and other relevant networks to identify European villages or small towns that have innovative entrepreneurship initiatives and ask them to fill in the survey.

The Community Climate Coaches Project has ended and we will celebrate this with a Communities for Future Session on October 25^th, 16:00 - 17:30 CET.

Are you a community catalyst, facilitator, coach or trainer working on community climate action or empowering people in local places to build resilience through community-led initiatives? 

We would like to invite you to an online session introducing the tools, resources and training opportunities from the recently completed Community Climate Coach project. This was an ERASMUS + project led by a consortium of ECOLISE members who are pioneers in European Permaculture, Ecovillage, Transition Towns, National village movements and Regenerative Design networks. 

This session will cover: 

• Introducing the 2 Wave and 6 Phase Approach to Community Climate Coaching
• Exploring the Competency Framework and other outputs of the CCC project
• Opportunities for Blended Training and getting involved in the next stage of this initiative. 

Speakers 

• Davie Philip - Cultivate The Sustainable Ireland Coop, Ireland 
• Erica Zárate - Resilience Earth, Catalonia, Spain
• Steve Charter - The Permaculture Association of Britain, UK 

We invite you to visit the resources section of our website, where you will find very valuable information and learning materials. From publications and webinars to podcasts and courses, these resources will keep you up-to-date and will be useful for your ongoing development.