A festival dedicated to the New European Bauhaus initiative started today and will continue until Sunday in Brussels and around the EU with over 200 side events organised in the member states.
The events include discussions about renewable resources, innovative technologies, urban farming, the evolution of buildings, and climate-friendly mobility as well as concerts, ideas labs and exhibitions. For the full program, click here.
The initiative (NEB) was launched by the European Commission in 2021 and adds a cultural dimension to the Green Deal. The concept refers to the German art school after the first world war which was banned by Nazi-Germany in 1933, forcing its architects and designers to go into exile.
Last April, the Commission announced that 20 innovative start-ups and scale-ups will receive financial support of € 50,000 each as part of the NEB initiative.
The festival is organised around three pillars, Forum, Fair and Fest, and based physically in Brussels at Gare Maritime and at the Mont des Arts, and equally online.
President Ursula von der Leyen opened the festival in Rome today at the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts.
“The New European Bauhaus enables tangible change on the ground – to achieve our climate targets and improve the quality of life in our cities, villages and regions,” she said. “The Festival is a wonderful opportunity to deepen discussions & meet those who build a sustainable, inclusive and beautiful future.”
The Forum is a conference that spans three days of participatory formats, from round table discussions to TED-style talks. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design and the talks are delivered without notes or slides. The Commission president and some of her commissioners will frame the discussions from the European perspective.
Speakers will also include prominent architects and several leading national politicians
During the Forum, on 11 June, the New European Bauhaus Prizes will be awarded in the four NEB categories: Reconnecting with nature; Regaining a sense of belonging; Prioritising the places and people that need it the most and Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking. The finalists will attend the ceremony.
The Fair part of the festival highlights NEB-style projects that include for example local citizen labs to pioneer research funded by EU programmes such as Horizon Europe, prototypes that will improve the sustainability, inclusiveness and quality of our daily experiences.
The Fair is co-created: out of the 316 applications received, 100 projects were selected to be displayed at NEB both on fixed and mobile supports (from e-bikes to electrical tuk-tuks) scattered across the Brussels city centre. Finally, the Fest is a celebration of the NEB for everyone.
Taking over the Mont des Arts in the city centre of Brussels from today to Sunday, the programme will appeal to various audiences with dance, installations, theatre, and music performances - such as Patsyki Z Franeka, a popular Ukrainian artist band, and Дeva, the 2022 winner of the Music Moves Europe Awards – as well as scientific experiments, upcycling workshops, and much more.
The Brussels Times
