The “Slow Fashion Challenge” project was conceived by us together with Kleiderei with the idea of informing young people in Freiburg about alternatives to fast fashion and, above all, encouraging/motivating them to take personal action. This target group identifies particularly strongly with fashion and appearance, but is often not sufficiently informed about the consequences of their fashion consumption.
This year, we have already had the opportunity to take part in an interactive exhibition on the journey of a pair of jeans and to hold two workshops at the Montessori school. Each time, we first dealt with the topic of fast fashion in terms of content, then the pupils were allowed to get creative: Writing texts, making videos and, above all, getting hands-on. As soon as the fabrics, colors and yarns were on the table, they immediately started working on various upcycling projects with great enthusiasm.
The project is supported by local funds of the City of Freiburg.
After so many years of organising ERASMUS+ projects (see https://www.aiforia.eu/projects, it was finally time for us to get involved as participants as well! The opportunity occurred with the ERASMUS+ training course “A Clown’s Mind” which was organised by Terre de Nuages / France (https://www.terredenuages.fr/) and Teatro Invisibile / Italy (https://www.teatroinvisibile.it ) in May 2024, and Andrea was amongst the participants selected for this vocational training. It was aimed at developing the skills and confidence of for youth workers necessary to create safe, inclusive, and enjoyable learning environments for young people, building trust and rapport, and facilitate positive change in an entertaining and engaging manner. At the core was the discovery of our own “Clown’s mind,” an attitude of being, way before acting and doing, lightly in balance in the presence. Thus the trainers Antonio, Claire, Flore and Gemma were incorporating clowning, movement, and mindfulness practices into the schedule, employing diverse approaches and modalities, as methods for enhancing the social and emotional skills and abilities of youth workers. Over 10 days, 21 participants from 7 European countries embraced the opportunities, but also challenges that came with this intensive approach. And the location at eco-village Oasis des Ages (https://oasisdesages.fr/ ) in rural France just made the experience perfect, giving an authentic feel of community living, sharing and caring. An additional treasure for our work in sustainability projects!
Seven young people each from Germany, Romania and Spain responded to the call of our ‘Green Cities of YOUth’ project and came together for the second Youth Camp in Miguelturra, south of Madrid, Spain. And the location – a hostel with a surrounding animal enclosure and adventure farm – offered just the right atmosphere for the vision of the week-long workshop: getting active for local sustainability and raising awareness for sustainable urban development.
And the hosts, who are experienced in youth work, had prepared the perfect program: young shrubs and trees were planted in a landscaped park in collaboration with the Miguelturra municipal administration, and the appropriate explanatory panels were designed and set up at the same time. The same park is now also the new address for the self-made insect hotels, which provide a breeding ground for wild bees and other pollinators of perennials.
To draw attention to the actions and encourage passers-by to think about sustainability and possible courses of action, we recently threw stencils and legally marked the entrances to the park with graffiti. The Mayor of the Environment, who came to visit the park on the final day of action, was definitely impressed; we hope that the actions will also be well received by the rest of the population.
The supporting program, which was primarily dedicated to getting to know each other and cultural exchange, was of course very well received by the Youth Camp participants – with a tour of the farm, various games and sports activities, an excursion to Ciudad Real and a city rally in Miguelturra, etc. The absolute highlight was the ‘Cultural Nights’, which were organized by the young participants themselves to present their country of origin to the others – there were no limits to their creativity. And the feedback was clear: active sustainability in practice can be really fun, especially in a community…
The students from the IES Abroad spring term are highly motivated to understand how environmental friendly building, renewable energy, reliable and safe public transportation, community engagement, cooperative forms of housing, waste management, sustainable forest management as well as green and social business concepts can all come together in one place – while also having a lot of fun!
As part of our ERASMUS + project Green Cities of YOUth, we offer the opportunity to participate in an international work camp with young people between 18 and 30 years of age from Germany, Spain and Romania.
We want to explore with you the question of how our cities and municipalities can reduce their ecological footprint and how they can become more involved in climate protection. Your opinion is needed! Which projects should be implemented? And how can you get involved?
Join us and meet young people from Spain and Romania and learn together how you can work for a sustainable future in your city!
An exciting programme of lectures and interactive exercises awaits you, and you can get creative yourself. Of course, there will also be plenty of time for getting to know each other, for fun and culture in the lively metropolis of Bucharest.
The event will take place from 13-17 July in Bucharest. Arrival is planned for 12 July, departure for 18 July.
Travel and accommodation will be organised by us and the costs will be covered by the European ERASMUS+ programme.
A lovely sunny February day welcomed the two representatives of Tampere climate and environmental policy department (Finland), who came to Freiburg to analyze in a deeper way the sustainable mobility plan of the city and observe some of its best practices.
After an introduction of the city policies and decisions that earned Freiburg the reputation of Green City of Europe, we moved to the city center to discover first-hand some of the measures applied: the major redevelopment plans in Platz der alten Synagoge, the modification of the east side of the inner city ring initiated by a local association, pop-up urbanism projects in which public space is given back to citizens, the effects of a pedestrianised city centre, are just a few examples.
The morning ended with a visit to the famous eco-district of Vauban, where we talked about Spielstraßen (play streets), democratic mobility and the choices that led to the outcome of 17 car ownership per 100 inhabitants.
In the afternoon the two guests had a bicycle tour to experience the city cycling infrastructures – among the other the FR1 and FR2 cycle highways – while visiting the new town hall Rathaus im Stühlinger, the spot where the future district Dietenbach Nord is getting built and Rieselfeld, the second eco-district of Freiburg.
Aiforia organises tours on this and other topics related to sustainable urban development for administrations, schools, universities and professional associations.
