The 9th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns – Mannheim2020, takes place online from 30 September to 2 October. It will address the socio-economic and socio-cultural challenges associated with accelerating the transformation to sustainability and climate neutrality. Co-hosted by the city of Mannheim, Germany, the 2020 conference will take a decentralised and bottom-up perspective that begins by identifying cities and regions as key actors towards urban transformation processes. The conference will also call for increased ambition of European and global frameworks for sustainability and climate change, with a particular focus this year on the European Green Deal.
The three-day conference, which Innovators Magazine is media partners with, will provide a platform for local leaders to share their knowledge and interact with other stakeholders working on creating a better urban future in Europe. The interactive online platform allows for more connection and networking opportunities than ever.
How can Europe achieve an inclusive and just
sustainability transition through the new European Green Deal? During the three-day
conference, participants will learn about where Europe stands in the fight
against climate change. They will hear from pioneering sustainable cities, and explore
alternative economic models and discuss digitalisations ever-increasing role.
The practical and actionable focus of the conference will result in the
Mannheim Message, outlining next steps for European cities and towns on
implementing the European Green Deal.
Plenary
and Policy Panel sessions will explore topics from a broader level with
engaging discussion among experts. Confirmed speakers include Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner, President of
the German Environmental Agency; Lilyana
Pavlova, Vice President of the European Investment Bank, and Anne Katrin Bohle, State Secretary of
the Federal Ministry for the Interior, Building and Community (Germany). Some
of the topics of these sessions include climate justice and resilience, the
role of digitalisation for a sustainable future, the tension between economic
systems, and the role of Climate Pacts as a tool in the sustainable transition
process.
Conference
attendees will have an opportunity for more hands-on learning through Solution
and Toolbox sessions, where they will gain concrete tools to help face
sustainability challenges in their cities. Among other topics, attendees can
expect to learn about clean urban mobility; the development of policy for
sustainable energy transition; socially responsible public procurement, and how
to tackle plastic, construction and bio-waste from a circular perspective.
Inspiring
contributions to the conference will come from speakers like Bernice Notenboom, Polar explorer, climate
journalist and filmmaker, and Lamia
Kamal-Chaoui, Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs,
Regions and Cities. City leaders like Peter Kurz, Mayor of Mannheim; Erion Veliaj, Mayor of Tirana; Thomas Kastrup-Larsen, Mayor of Aalborg, and Martin Horn, Mayor of Freiburg, will provide a localised
perspective, by speaking about the sustainability transformations taking place
in their cities.
“The need for accelerated transformation causes anxieties. These mainly concern people’s economic and social security and living culture. We urgently need to discuss and act upon necessary changes in our society in order to support cohesion and acceptance of change. The chances for this are better from a local and community perspective than from a global, European or national level,” highlighted Wolfgang Teubner, Regional Director, ICLEI Europe.
The Mannheim commitment to taking transformation
forward
The City of Mannheim Mayor, Peter Kurz, strongly believes that global changes are most effective when they are rooted at the neighbourhood level, close to inhabitants. Thus, the City of Mannheim is taking responsibility to localise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to put the European Green Deal into action. Mannheim2020 will be an important political occasion for the city to discuss urban development and derive political scope for action.
For further information, visit the event website.
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The City of Mannheim will co-host the 9th European Conference on Sustainable Towns & Cities, co-organised by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, with the support of the German Federal Minister for Environment, the European Investment Bank, European Committee of Regions, Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and Energy Sector, Aalborg Municipality and Urban Europe.
