Twenty-four representatives of civil society organizations (CSO) from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine gathered from April 19th to 21st, 2024, in Tbilisi for the final phase of the ‘Events for Future’ seminar. Using a hands-on approach within the Blended Learning Course on Sustainable Event Management, the participants were able to make the theoretical knowledge more applicable to their practical their work.
Interesting presentations were consistently interspersed with discussions.
The seminar addressed how to proactively plan events to be accessible and waste-reducing. In a role-playing game on palm oil, participants assumed the roles of various stakeholders, such as palm oil producers, environmental activists, EU representatives, and consumers, to understand typical conflict lines. They also assessed whether the hotel they were staying at met inclusion and sustainability criteria. Additionally, they conducted a taste test comparing dairy and plant-based milk alternatives, accompanied by information on the environmental impact of each type.
The in-person seminar provided CSO representatives with valuable insights into effective practices for sustainable event management. They exchanged both professional and personal experiences, discussing their situations and those of civil society actors in their countries. This personal exchange between civil society actors from the Eastern Partnership and Germany is particularly valuable, especially in these challenging times.
“It was important for us to convey to participants that they cannot always consider all aspects of sustainability but that they can achieve a lot even with the first steps,”
said Hanna Perfetti, Agenda 2030 HUB consultant at IBB gGmbH Dortmund.
The qualified 24 representatives will now apply their skills in practice by advising and training other CSOs and developing strategic plans for sustainable event management for their organizations. They will receive a toolkit with customizable checklist templates for their organizations. In October, they are expected to be certified as “Events for Future” multipliers.
The participants after informative learning sessions in the “Events for Future” seminar 2024.
The eight-module “Events for Future” course spanned six months, including online self-study modules, practical assignments, interactive online workshops, and in-person workshops. The course aimed to equip participants with the expertise needed to promote environmentally conscious, socially inclusive, and economically sustainable events.
The “Events for Future” course is organized by IBB Dortmund (IBB gGmbH) as part of the regional project “Strengthening Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Countries,” funded by the BMZ, co-financed by the European Union, and implemented by GIZ.
