EU’s smart villages should also be sustainable, says ECOLISE

(19 December 2017) – EU efforts to support digital and social innovation in rural communities must ensure that such communities become both smart and sustainable, according to Eamon O’Hara, executive director of ECOLISE. Eamon was speaking at a meeting of policy makers in Brussels focused on social innovation initiatives and

ECOLISE 2018 General Assembly registration opens, Luxembourg, 26-28 March

(18 December 2017) – Registration for the 2018 Ecolise General Assembly which is being hosted this year by ECOLISE founder member, the Centre for Ecological Learning Luxembourg (CELL), is now open and closes on 31st January. Please register here. Ana Huertas, ECOLISE vice-president and GA organiser would like to invite

ECOLISE is recruiting for the position of Policy Coordinator!

(23 Nov 2017) – ECOLISE is now at an exciting stage in its development and is currently recruiting for the post of Policy Coordinator. The Policy Coordinator will join an existing team, comprising an ECOLISE Executive Director, Communications Coordinator, Knowledge and Learning Coordinator, and two Research Advisers. Together, this team

Reflection on COP23: Recognition for the role of local communities gains momentum

By Eamon O’Hara, Executive Director, ECOLISE. (23 Nov 2017) – COP23 has drawn to a close and while there are clearly concerns in relation to the overall pace of progress, there are also reasons for optimism, especially in relation to the role of Non State Actors, including local communities. As

EU’s Community Led Local Development needs reform, says ECOLISE

(8 Nov 2017) – The European Union’s main way of financially supporting bottom-up local development needs to be altered so to make it more accessible to grassroots initiatives, ECOLISE has told the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee. Community Led Local Development (CLLD) is the EU’s main

Italian parliamentarian hosts conference on the legal rights of cohousing and ecovillage communities

(9 Nov 2017) – ECOLISE representative Riccardo De Amici recently joined Italian MP Mirko Busto, RIVE Rete Italiana Villaggi Ecologici co-president Andrea Stagliano and others for a conference about proposed legislation on the rights of cohousing and ecovillage communities. A docufilm entiled Abitare Sostenibile – Corto made by Prof Isabelle

ECOLISE joins call for citizens to co-create next EU Research Framework Programme

(3 November 2017) – ECOLISE has joined with 17 other civil society organisations in calling for citizens’ and civil society’s involvement in co-creating the structure and mission of the EU’s next Research Framework Programme (FP9). In a briefing entitled ‘Engaging​ ​citizens​ ​&​ ​civil​ ​society​ ​in defining​ ​FP9’s​ ​missions​ ​and​ ​maximising

Call for contributions to urban resilience trade-offs database

(24 October 2017) – In response to the growing number of research papers addressing the issue of urban resilience trade-offs, the Urban Resilience Research Network is calling for contributions to a new database. A resilience trade-off refers to actions, policies or projects that enhance the capacity to adapt to a

Invitation: Transformative learning educators gather to plan online portal

(19 October 2017) – In mid November the prospect of a European portal for transformative education will be discussed at a two-hour online colloquium hosted by IFIS, the Institute for Integral Studies. The idea for the portal emerged at the co-creative gathering ‘Education for Sustainable Communities’ that was held last

ECOLISE joins Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe & SDG Watch Europe

(19 October 2017) – ECOLISE recently joined two important climate and sustainability networks based in Europe and internationally – Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and Sustainable Development Goal Watch Europe. CAN Europe members’ assembly approved ECOLISE membership on 13th October 2017. It is Europe’s largest NGO coalition working on climate