The Positive Impact of Community-Led Action on Sustainability and Climate Change for Rural Towns and Villages throughout Ireland and the EU.

Davie Philip: Co-President, ECOLISE Community Resilience Manager - cultivate.ie

www.ecolise.eu

WHAT IS ECOLISE?

• International association (NGO), Est. 2014

• 46 member orgs registered in 18 countries (active in EU28)

• A platform of organisations pioneering new approaches to sustainable living at local community level

• Goal: support wider mainstreaming of community-led action on climate and sustainability

• Inspiration

• Enabling (advocacy, knowledge sharing)

ECOLISE INITIATIVES

• COMMUNICATIONS

• POLICY

• KNOWLEDGE & LEARNING

• NETWORKING

• RESEARCH

CONTEXT: CLIMATE & ECOLOGICAL EMERGENCY

Recent reports underline need for Transformative change, not greening!

Shift away from current economic model - ‘business as usual not an

option’

Localisation an essential part of this (distributed wealth creation)

The challenge of transitioning the country to a Low Carbon Climate Resilient Society

requires not just action at national and international levels but, most importantly, it

requires ongoing, long-term, deep engagement at local community level.

POLICY SHIFT STEPS UP

Climate Action Plan published

Increasing ambition (informed by research and public

pressure)

Strong emphasis in all EU programmes for 2021-2027

Including CLLD/Smart Villages

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PROGRAMME

• ECOLISE has been inputting to CLLD, Smart Villages, etc..

• Now shifting focus to also support implementation

• Working with members like Cultivate/ Cloughjordan EV, to support mainstreaming/upscaling, working with LAGs, networks, LAs, others.

• Wealth of experience across the EU: Living in Sustainable Communities (DE), Climate Challenge Fund (UK), Eco-neighbourhoods (B), Climate Coaches, Wallonia…

Support envisaged:

• EU/national: programme design, support material, training..

• Local level: capacity building for intermediaries, communities

Awareness raising

Facilitation

Training

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PROGRAMME

Integrates with Cloughjordan

Fostering Rural Regeneration

AN ECO-SYSTEM OF INNOVATION

A Living & Working Community

A Learning Destination

An Environment for Research

Modelling the Transition to a Resilient & Low Carbon Society

Climate Action

Community Resilience

Biodiversity - Ecosystem Regeneration

High Performance Housing

Renewable Energy - DHS

Sustainable Urban Drainage

Community Woodlands

Biodiversity Trail

Green Enterprise Centre

Co-Working Space

FabLab - Digital Fabrication Lab

Community Amphitheatre

Research Gardens

Community Supported Agriculture

Wood Fired Bakery

Edible Landscapes

Composting Demonstration Area

Labyrinth

Car Club

Live/ Work Units

Eco-Hostel

www.thevillage.ie

ACCELERATING THE TRANSITION TO A RESILIENT & SUSTAINABLE IRELAND

SUSTAINABLE IRELAND CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD.

www.cultivate.ie

CIVIC DIALOGUE I TRANSFORMATIVE SOCIAL INNOVATION

COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT I GROUP FACILITATION

LEARNING JOURNEYS I TRAINING I COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

ENGAGING CITIZENS IN COMMUNITY-LED TRANSITIONS SINCE 2000

FROM SILOS TO SYSTEMSFriday 31st May 2019 I 10.30 - 16.30 I WeCreate Workspace I Cloughjordan Ecovillage I Tipperary Connecting Stakeholders Researching or Facilitating Citizen Engagement in Climate Action and the Sustainable Development Goals

Supported by the EPA as part of the Government's National Dialogue on Climate Action

In the context of Sustainable Development Goal 17 - Partnership for the Goals - this structured discussion, hosted by Cultivate in Cloughjordan

Ecovillage, will provide a safe space for productive conversations that help to build alignment and cohesion between diverse stakeholders.

RURAL DIALOGUE - LAND CARE

Facilitating Conversations between Farmers, Environmentalists and Rural Development Workers

Friday 7th June 2019 I WeCreate Workspace I Cloughjordan Ecovillage I Tipperary

Hosted by Cultivate, Sonairte, the Organic Centre and Irish Seed Savers as part of its work with IEN/ Environmental Pillar

DESIRA Digitization: Economic and Social Impacts in Rural Areas

H2020: Research & Innovation Actions (RIA)

Cultivate are partners in a new H2020 project called DESIRA. This will develop a participatory, indicator-based method for impact assessment of past, current and future digitization trends based upon the concepts of Sustainable Development.

A Pilot Training Programme “Climate Change and Your Community”

`

WeCreate Workspace

CO-WORKING

FAB LAB

LEARNING

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES LAB

CONCLUSION

Community-led action on climate change and sustainability offers real solutions to

unprecedented global challenges as well as rural regeneration and local resilience

“Every home, every community, every workplace and every farm, must be mobilised to get

involved”. Climate Action Plan 2019

• Climate & biodiversity emergency is real

• Societal transformation needs local community renaissance

• Cultivate and Cloughjordan Ecovillage have pioneered bottom-up responses 

• ECOLISE network showcases sustainable communities and enabling strategies

• ECOLISE + LAGs/others = partnership to bring transition to all communities

Please get in touch davie@cultivate.ie