May 2012

A Vita Europe selection of civil society events around Europe.

di Cristina Barbetta

Listed events (for further descriptions of events and links scroll down):

2 May – 3 June 2012, Regensburg, Germany, Living Parks: Dynamic and innovative places to inspire your fantasy

2-5 May 2012, Bologna, Italy, Green Social Festival 2012

3 May 2012, Milan, Italy, Our Future Is Now: Singularity University

8 May 2012, Dublin, Ireland, Creating A New Old 

8 May 2012, Murcia, Spain, Conference: “The cooperative enterprise as a social economy actor towards social and economic development in the Mediterranean”

8-10 May 2012, Malmö, Sweden, ‘SOCAP: Designing The Future’

8-11 May 2012, Castrocaro, Italy, Italian Fundraising Festival 

9-10 May 2012,Warsaw, Poland, 6th International Conference of Fundraising in Poland

9-20 May 2012, Europe, Transeuropa Festival

11 May 2012, Fontainebleau  (Paris) France, Marketing and Sustainability: New Challenges and New Opportunities

11-13 May 2012, Naples, Italy, Startup Weekend Naples

14 May 2012, Leuven, Belgium, Social Innovation for Active Inclusion: Lifelong Learning Contribution for Better Tomorrow

16 May-21 June 2012, Rome, Italy, Letterature-Rome’s International Festival

17-19 May 2012, Berlin and Potsdam, Vision Summit 2012

18-19 May 2012, Bucharest, Romania, International Symposium “Advancing socio-economic research”

23-24 May 2012, Brussels, Belgium, European Open Innovation Summit

24 May 2012, Europe, European Day of Parks

 

2 May – 3 June 2012, Regensburg, Germany

“Living Parks: Dynamic and innovative places to inspire your fantasy“

EUROPARC takes you on a journey across the iconic landscapes of Europe. A beautiful picture exhibition brings to Regensburg the green jewels of Europe’s national parks. Over 4 weeks, interesting presentations will explore the natural wonders across Germany, and then discover nature close to Regensburg culminating in a celebration from all over Europe.

The EUROPARC Federation is the representative organization for the national parks of Europe, whose international headquarters are now based in Regensburg.

To read more: http://www.europarc.org/home

 

2-5 May 2012, Bologna, Italy
Green Social Festival 2012

Each year, the Green Social Festival wants to contribute in creating knowledge as to how to create a better world. This year’s program emphasizes all that involves helping us stay better: understanding our rights, overcoming difficulties, applying good laws, and acknowledging the need to be curious about our particular planet which evolves, but at the same time, unfortunately, is still full of painful situations and small or large daily insults.

With a wide range of experience in the field of agriculture, Professor Andrea Segrè will lead the scientific direction of the Festival. He holds many titles such as Full Professor of International and Comparative Agriculture Politics; President of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Bologna; President of the Academic Spin-Off of Last Minute Market; Scientific Director of the East-West Interdisciplinary Journal of Studies on European Integration; Coordinator of the Curriculum on International Cooperation and Sustainable Development.

To read more: http://www.greensocialfestival.it/modelli/english.aspx

 

 3 May 2012, Milan, Italy

Our Future Is Now: Singularity University

Intesa Sanpaolo established a partnership at the cutting edge of innovation and frontier technologies with Singularity University, founded in 2008 in the heart of Silicon Valley. The mission of the partnership is to assemble, educate and inspire a new generation of leaders who strive to understand and utilize exponentially advancing technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges.

To read more: http://socialinnovationeurope.eu/node/3093

8 May 2012, Dublin, Ireland

Creating A New Old 

Creating a New Old  is a major global conference taking place in Dublin and one of the Irish flagship events celebrating EY2012: the EU Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. The conference will bring together specialists in health, culture, arts, science, education, gerontology, social policy and tourism.   Creating a New Old  will showcase international best practice, innovation and opportunities relating to ageing from the arts and culture sectors. 

To read more: http://bealtaine.com/conference

 

8 May 2012, Murcia, Spain

Conference: “The cooperative enterprise as a social economy actor towards social and economic development in the Mediterranean”

This conference is organized in the framework of the UN International Year of Cooperatives 2012 by the Spanish Business Confederation of Social Economy (CEPES) and the members of the Euro-Mediterranean Network of Social Economy (ESMED), with the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

Cooperatives account for 1 billion members and more than 100 million workers worldwide. In the seven countries covered by the ESMED Network (Algeria, France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia), more than 138,000 cooperatives are generating 2 million jobs and associating more than 43 million people. Therefore cooperatives are an unquestionable economic and social reality and have become a priority of the European Commission’s Euro Mediterranean Program of Industrial Cooperation 2011-2012.

General objectives:

– Increase the visibility of the cooperative movement within the social and economic development of the Mediterranean, in countries working in partnership with the Spanish cooperative movement (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritania, Syria, Palestine Territories, Tunisia and

Turkey) – and therefore making the most of the International Year of Cooperatives in 2012.

– Identify work priorities to support the development of cooperatives in the partners ’ countries and the Mediterranean as a whole.

To read more: http://www.socialeconomy.eu.org/spip.php?article1732

 

8-10 May 2012, Malmö, Sweden

‘SOCAP:Designing The Future’

SOCAP: Designing the Future gathers the world’s pioneering Impact Investors, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, government and civic leaders, and innovators to design a world that’s better for all. Together, we will create the intersections where you will meet not just the people you know, but valuable strangers with whom you will create new models, form partnerships and drive capital to support the enterprises that will shape the future we want. We are convening at Malmö University, in Malmö, Sweden. In total, more than  pioneering individuals will speak on global innovations happening within the event’s four core themes – Scaling Social Enterprise, Public Private Partnerships, Inclusion and Biosphere Economy. Collaborative formats at the event will include keynotes, problem-solving sessions, in depth conversations, and explorations of new models mixed with practical lessons from the field on what’s working and what’s not.

What makes SOCAP different? SOCAP brings together more world-changing entrepreneurs and more impact investors than any other conference. SOCAP’s collaborative format includes keynotes, in depth conversations, problem-solving sessions and explorations of new models mixed with practical lessons from the field on what’s working and what’s not. Impact Investors – who want a mix of financial return along with positive social and environmental impact – will come from around the world to be part of the market at the intersection of money and meaning.intersection of money and meaning.

To read more: http://designingthefuturemalmo.socialcapitalmarkets.net/

 

8-11 May 2012, Castrocaro, Italy 

Italian Fundraising Festival

The Italian Fundraising Festival is the only event in Italy dedicated to the Italian fundraising and nonprofit world. During the event fundraisers of the most important non profit organizaziotions in Italy, fundraising consultants, enterprises providing services and public officials  meet for three days of training and  networking.

The Festival, created by Valerio Melandri and promoted by the Master in Fundraising of the University  of Bologna, is aimed at all those who work- employed or on a voluntary basis – for the nonprofit sector. The aim is to creat e a community, a space that fosters confrontation and sharing of knowledges and experiences, in order to develop a a continuouslyevolving professional sector. The Festival has  the double ojective to spread the culture of donation and fundraising in Italy – a country which is still not aware about these issues – and to favor circulation of fundraising practices and techniques tested at internationaol level.

To read more: http://www.festivaldelfundraising.it/

 

May 9-10  2012,Warsaw, Poland

6th International Conference of Fundraising in Poland

The 6th International Conference of Fundraising in Poland is organized by  the Swedish Fundraising Council and by the Polish Fundraising Association. It  aims at bridging the gap between West and East, North and South, regarding fundraising expertise and smart sustainability strategies.

The conference will  cover a wide range of topics led by 30 trainers including Paulette Maehara, CAE, CFRE (USA), Christine von Sydow, Swedish Fundraising Council (Sweden), Mette Holm – President of the EFA (Denmark), Tony Myers, Myers & Associates (Canada) Janina Ochojska (Polish Humanitarian Action), etc., but only from one perspective:how to make effective and ethical fundraising a reality? A range of experienced Polish trainers and speakers will give way to practical skillshare about setting up online-campaigns, donor analytics, organizing fundraising events and challenges, offering all-round, efficient solutions to grassroots and mainstream, local and international organizations and initiatives. How to lead an internet campaign? What do the donors need? How to build the image of the organization? How to match responsible businesses and your fundraising? How to create and develop a database in small and large organizations? How to manage your campaigns? From strategy to ’Thank you.’

Conference participants will get an insight into the advantages of cultivating this profession strategically and the importance of building a community of professional fundraisers for the financial sustainability of the whole of the non-profit sector. The event is under the auspices of the European Fundraising Association.

To read more: http://konferencja6.fundraising.org.pl/en/main-page.html

 

9-20 May 2012, 14 European cities

Transeuropa Festival

Transeuropa Festival is a unique transnational festival of culture, arts and politics, taking place in 14 cities all over Europe from the 9th to the 20th  May (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin, Bologna, Bratislava, Cluj-Napoca, London, Lublin, Paris, Prague, Rome, Sofia, Warsaw), including an outreach event in Cardiff and with a closing forum in Rome on the 2nd and 3rd of June. It is a collaborative open and public space for the emergence of an alternative Europe.

Transeuropa Festival promotes political and cultural exchange across Europe and collective action for alternative visions on the economic crisis, migrations and democratic participation. It is organized by European Alternatives and by the Transeuropa Network.

To read more: www.transeuropafestival.eu

 

11 May 2012, Fontainebleau  (Paris),France

Marketing and Sustainability: New Challenges and New Opportunities

On Friday 11 May 2012, the INSEAD Social Innovation Centre will host at INSEAD Europe Campus in Fontainebleau. The central theme will be “Marcom 3.0? Marketing and Sustainability: New Challenges and New Opportunities”.

The 27th INSEAD Sustainability Roundtable will examine the implications of sustainability for marketing and communications leaders. Potentially there is a major role for marketing and communications professionals to play in the development of new business models and market-based mechanisms that deliver sustainable economic, environmental and social prosperity. Yet there is also an increasing risk that marketers either ignore or fail to understand the implications of sustainability for business and for marketing and communications practice more specifically.

To read more: http://www.insead.edu/alumni/newsletter/articles/Marcom3.0.html

 

11-13 May 2012, Naples, Italy

Startup Weekend Naples

The Startup Weekend is a global network of entrepreneurs who inspire, educate and empower individuals, groups and communities, sharing ideas, networking innovators and developing activities. The network has created an international format, an event of 54 hours where different skills are put together to create new projects: during the creative marathon, developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts , marketing gurus, graphic artists and scholars, will form teams, working to develop a real project by the end of the weekend.

From 11th to 13th May 2012,  Naples will host  the new edition of Startup Weekend, which will be focused on the creation of social enterprises,  from the presentation of business ideas addressed to face unmeet social needs,  to the confrontation with investors and speech of experts. It will be the first “Social Startup Weekend” made in Italy and we invite all who make social innovation their own passion.

To read more: http://naples.startupweekend.org/

 

14 May 2012, Leuven, Belgium

Social Innovation for Active Inclusion: Lifelong Learning Contribution for Better Tomorrow


The European Civil Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL) is delivering its Annual Conference on Social Innovation for Active Inclusion: Lifelong Learning Contribution for better Tomorrow on 14 May 2012.

This conference will gather actors coming from the various sectors of education and training all around Europe. It will tackle and propose innovative ways to combat educational disadvantage and fight youth unemployment. The conference will also provide a specific insight on the opportunities of intergenerational learning, in the context of the current European Year 2012 on Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. Keynote speakers include Androulla Vassiliou (European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Youth and Sport) and  Ramon Flecha (Professor of Sociology at the University of Barcelone).

To read more: http://www.eucis-lll.eu/pages/index.php/events/conferences/42-annual-conference-2012

 

16 May-21 June 2012, Rome, Italy

Letterature-Rome’s International Festival

Letterature-Rome’s International Festival, a very well known international literary event,  has come this year to its XI edition.  In  the previous editions it has hosted more than 200 among the most famous Italian and foreign authors, accompanied by actors, musicians and prestigious artists. The Festival is a historic and very popular event , produced by the Councillorship for Cultural Policies and Rome’s Historical Centre , created and curated by the Casa delle Letterature of Rome and organized by Zètema Progetto Cultura  thanks to the contribution of  Banche cotesoriere di Roma Capitale.

 As always, the festival will be held at the Basilica of Maxentius in the Roman Forum, a very evocative and symbolic location, where the authors will read original and previously unpublished texts for the audiences.

All the readings will be accompanied by live music performances of exceptional musicians.

The opening night, on the 16 May, will see the participation of  Michael Nyman, one of the most important contemporary musicians and composers.

Many leading  foreign and Italian authors will participate to the event.

To read the Festival’s program and know more about the event visit Letterature-Rome’s International Festival’s website: http://www.festivaldelleletterature.it

 

17-19 May 2012, Berlin and Potsdam

Vision Summit 2012

The VISION SUMMIT 2012 brings together no fewer than 150 leading pulse of the new scene as integrated speakers, workshop leaders and trainers in an unprecedented program. The total flow through these new activities in addition hundreds of millions in social innovation projects, large companies are developing almost standard, new services to support social entrepreneurs and much, much more.

This comprehensive program booklet for VISION SUMMIT 2012 (the highlight event for Social Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship, CSR, eco and social business) can be downloaded from the Summit homepage.

To read more: http://www.visionsummit.org

 

18-19 May 2012, Bucharest, Romania

International Symposium “Advancing socio-economic research”

The International Symposium “Advancing socio-economic research” will be held by Pro Global Science Association in Bucharest (Romania) on the 18th and 19th of May 2012.

The objective of the symposium is to provide a forum for  researchers and academics from all over the world to present their research results and achievements in the line of socioeconomic research. This symposium aims to promote the sharing of good practice and transnational cooperation in socio-economic research in the context of Europe 2020, and to provide opportunities for participants to exchange ideas face-to-face or virtually, to establish research relations and to find partners for future cooperation.

The symposium will also be an excellent opportunity for the presentation of  recent or current research projects, contributing to an in-depth understanding of the complex and interrelated socio-economic challenges facing Europe in these times of change.

To read more: http://www.reaser.eu/conference/index.php

 

23-24 May 2012, Brussels, Belgium

European Open Innovation Summit

As innovators search for more efficient ways to develop new ideas, many are taking advantage of the many benefits found in open innovation. Open innovation is allowing R&D and innovation departments to collaborate with external groups in an effort to discover innovation earlier, easier and cheaper. While there are many challenges associated with collaboration and the sharing of ideas and resources, the desire is there to continue these groundbreaking initiatives.

Some of the challenges in open innovation that will be addressed in this summit include: ownership issues, trust, driving ideas to launch and protecting IP. It is important to develop strategies to protect your innovative ideas given the new trend towards sharing resources. These hurdles and more will be analyzed by innovation leaders from Europe and abroad, who will provide successful strategies for effectively collaborating with innovators outside of your group and offer solutions to the current challenges surrounding open innovation. The two-day summit will consist of informative case studies and interactive panel discussions led by the world’s top open innovation champions.

To read more: http://worldrg.com/showConference.cfm?confcode=MW12003

 

24 May 2012, Europe

European Day of Parks

This commemorative event was launched by the EUROPARC Federation in 1999 to celebrate protected areas throughout Europe. It aims at bringing people closer to nature and raising public awareness on the importance of the natural beauty preserved in protected areas and the importance of conservation and sustainable management of those places.  

`See the sky. Touch a tree. Feel the air. Find yourself´. This year´s motto is simple and individualistic, and intends to inspire people to enjoy and appreciate the natural treasures in their own country and all over Europe.

To see what’s happening in your country on 24th of May 2012 and read more about the event visit: http://www.europarc.org/whats-on/european-day-of-park


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