Projects

In this section you find an overview of our current and concluded projects.

Green Cities of YOUth                                                                    

„Increasing the role of young people in the development of sustainable cities“

Programm: ERASMUS +

Dauer: April 2022 – March 2024

Partner: Lead partner Asociación Pokhara (Spain), GROUP OF THE EUROPEAN YOUTH FOR CHANGE – GEYC (Romania), aiforia – ecoculture e.V.

A methodological guide will be developed to help towns with less than 15,000 inhabitants to implement low-threshold but effective projects to reduce their ecological footprint. In all three partner countries, we will conduct participatory workshops with young people to raise awareness and involve this generation, which is particularly affected by the future impacts of climate change, in project development. Selected projects will be implemented in the Spanish partner community Miguelturra.

Additionally a website including the methodological guide and a comprehensive list of projects will be developped.

Project website: www.greencitiesofyouth.eu

Fast Art – Slow Fashion

Programme: Erasmus+
Duration: April 2021 – September 2022
Partners: lead partner EKO – Association for Creative Education (HUN), partner institutions MASZK (HUN), IDEC (GRE), and aiforia GmbH (GER)

Interested in the topics of fast fashion and sustainable development? The Fast Art – Slow Fashion project puts fast fashion into the context of the triad of sustainable development (environment, society, economy). The project aims to cultivate awareness of youngsters about the contribution of fashion to climate change and social justice by using creativity and building on learning by doing, learning by design, learning by feeling and action-based learning. 

We put emphasis on providing interactive and creative elements so that young adults would be attracted to the topic and sensitized in a playful and positive way. Creativity and art are used to face a social challenge. Under the framework of the current project, we create creative digital contents including video series (showing different decision-making situations), animated videos, podcasts, infographics in relation with fast fashion with the engagement of the youth and with the participants of the project partners. 

Moreover, the project partners organize a four-round long, online creative competition for the youth about fast fashion. National rounds are organized in each participating country and the best participating youth groups qualify for the international final. Solving the tasks of the competition needs creativity from the participating groups.

The Fast Art – Slow Fashion project is implemented in the cooperation of 4 partners from 3 countries of the EU and led by the Hungarian EKO. The partners have experience in making digital materials, approaching a topic in a creative way, and they represent each pillars of sustainable development according to which fast fashion is approached: MASZK (HUN) represents the social pillar and is responsible for the creativity and artistic approach in the project, EKO (HUN) represents the social and economic pillar, while IDEC (GRE) and aiforia (GER) are responsible for environment. These synergies contribute to exploiting our resources.

The project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

NABI – Nature-Based Innovations for Urban Forest and Rainwater Management

Programme: Erasmus+
Duration: September 2020 – August 2023
Partners: Reflex Enviromental Association (Hungary), Cospe -Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo dei Pesi Emergenti Onlus (Italy), Klimabundis Osterreich Gemeinnutzige Forderungs- und Beratungs GmbH (Austria), Focus Eco Center (Romania), Istarska Razvojna Agencija (Croatia), Aiforia Gmbh (Germany)

The overall goal of the project is to help communities of European municipalities to prepare for climate change by sustainably maintaining and developing urban biodiversity and green spaces.

In the „NABI – Nature-Based Innovations for Urban Forest and Rainwater Management” project, experts in 6 countries will collect – innovative, already implemented – nature-based solutions (NBS) that can be a good example for European municipalities in their climate adaptation work. In a second step the collected case studies will be available via online materials.

During the project period, the partners will also review national regulations concerning urban green space management, which will also provide a model for national decision-makers in the form of an online learning manual.

The objective of NABI is to provide easy-to-use materials for the municipal staff, stakeholders, and experts on NBS topics and to help in disseminating and implementing the best practices on national level. 

SEE ME IN – Social Entrepreneurship as enabling Environment for Migrants’ Employment and Integration

Programme: Interreg Central Europe
Duration: April 2019 – March 2022
Partners: Fondazione Politecnico di Milano (Italy), Gruppo Cooperativo CGM (Italy), Comune di Milano (Italy), Fakulteta za Uporabne Družbene Študije v Novi Gorici (Slovenia), ACT Grupa (Croatia), Združenje Socialna ekonomija Slovenije (Slovenia), Nyugat-Pannon Terület-és Gazdaságfejl esztési Szolgáltató Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft. (Hungary), Mestna Občina Nova Gorica (Slovenia), Budapesti Kereskedelmi és Iparkamara (Hungary), Aiforia GmbH (Germany)

The project’s objective is to enhance migrants’ integration in Central Europe (CE) regions by strenghen their enterprise to become financially secure and independent. Entrepreneurship is a powerful driver of economic growth and job creation: it creates new companies and jobs, opens up new markets, and nurtures new skills and capabilities.

The SEE ME IN project aims to support an environment attractive to all forms of migrant entrepreneurship, where also business support services reach all potential entrepreneurs, with the aim to make CE in its entity stronger and more cohesive. Within the CE, migrants represent, mainly in the urban context, an important pool of entrepreneurs, but can face specific legal, cultural and linguistic obstacles. These issues need to be addressed in full to give support equitable to that received by all other entrepreneurial groups.

The main objective is to promote immigrants’ entrepreneurship to make them more competitive on the market as well as a tool to create a social cohesion environments.

D.C.3.3_leaflet_gen2020

More info: www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/SEE-ME-IN-.html

Facebook: www.facebook.com/interregseemein/

Project co-funded by the European Union funds (ERDF).

Attractive Danube – Improving Capacities for Enhancing Territorial Attractiveness of the Danube Region

Programme: Interreg Danube Transnational Programme
Duration: Jan 2017 – June 2019
PartnersGeodetic Institute of Slovenia (Slovenia), URBASOFIA, Town and regional planning company (Romania), Bulgaria Economic Forum (Bulgaria), Institute for Spatial Planning of the Koprivnica-Križevci County (Croatia), CENIA, Czech Environmental Information Agency (Czech Republic), Lechner Non-profit Ltd. (Hungary), First Hungarian Responsible Innovation Association (Hungary), aiforia GmbH (Germany), Technical University of Kosice (Slovakia), Federal Ministry of Physical Planning (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Institute for Strategic Studies and Prognoses (Montenegro), Institute of Architecture and Urban & Spatial Planning of Serbia (Serbia) and 7 Associated Partners.

Territorial attractiveness (TA) is reflected in the set of specific economic, environmental and social potentials of a territory which make it competitive in comparison to other territories. Through good governance, policies can maximise these potentials to increase attractiveness of the regions for residents, visitors and investors.

The main project objective is to strengthen multilevel and transnational governance and institutional capacities of policy planners involved in territorial development of the Danube Region, which will result in more harmonised governance system of the area.

This will be achieved by:

  • establishing 11 national and one common transnational territorial attractiveness platform;
  • implementing an intensive capacity building programme for empowering multilevel public authorities and civil society in 11 countries related to development planning.
  • the policy integration process, including transnational workshops, policy recommendations and memorandum of understanding, capitalizing the results and assuring the long-term impact and leverage effect in the society.

www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/attractive-danube
Facebook page: facebook.com/InterregCENIA/

Project co-funded by the European Union funds (ERDF, IPA).

IDENTITIES – Much More than Cards (IMMCs)

Programme: ERASMUS+
Duration: Oct 2016 – Sept 2018
PartnersDobele Training Centre (Latvia), Agrupamento de Escolas D. Sancho I (Portugal), aiforia GmbH (Germany), Club Senior Nordstad (Luxembourg), Magnesia Egitim ve Kültür Dernegi (Turkey), Cramars Societa cooperativa sociale (Italy).

Since the post-war period, numerous European countries have welcomed migrants into their societies. Even though previous integration approaches have provided valuable experiences there is no singular “migrant culture” but a combination of cultures, languages, traditions and religions.

The general aim of the IMMCs project will be to develop adapted training methodologies for adults to increase their motivation to learn and to counter their feelings of resignation and apathy. The methodological approach is learner and staff/trainer oriented. The project targets migrants arriving in Europe and their integration into society through education with a focus on entrepreneurship.

The results will mainly concern development of methods and techniques used in implementation of the training programmes for migrants with the aim to foster new local culture and through the training facilitate their communication with the members of the local communities.

Project co-funded by the European Union.

Regional potato instead of couch potato

Programme: “A Lucky Clover for Sustainability” BNE funds of the City of Freiburg
Duration: March 2018 – October 2018
Partners:Der Lindenbrunnenhof, Pro Specie Rara, Kantine Vauban

The project “Regional Potato instead of Couch Potato” gives young adults insight into sustainable regional supply in Freiburg and impetus for private or professional employment in cultivation, storage, processing and marketing. Using the potato as an example, topics such as nutrition and food sovereignty in the city are practically worked out, various occupational fields are presented, cultivation methods are placed in the context of sustainable development and climate protection and possible courses of action are tested.

On the tracks of the regional products

Programme: “A Lucky Clover for Sustainability” BNE funds of the City of Freiburg
Duration: Feb 2015 – Dec 2017
PartnersDie Agronauten, aiforia and Kantine Vauban

The project consists of four daily excursions to the places in Freiburg and its surrounding area where our food is produced. The aim of the project is to understand the strictly connected ecological, socio-cultural and economical consequences related to our food choices.
We will experience the “journey” of the food, from its origins to the market stands (such as fruit, veggies, cheese, honey, wine etc.), help the producers during the harvest and cook the food. At the end of the day we will have the chance to get together to think about what we’ve learnt and experienced during the day.

In collaboration with “Die Agronauten”, aiforia organizes the programme each year for 4 excursions and guides all the tours.

AQUAPATH

Funding programmeERASMUS+
Duration: Sept 2014 – August 2016
Partners: Eurocrea Merchant Srl (Italy), AREANATejo – Agência Regional de Energia e Ambiente do Norte Alentejano e Tejo (Portugal), Stichting Water Footprint Network (Netherlands), Knowledge Innovation Market S.L. (Spain), aiforia – Agency for Sustainability (Germany), Municipality of Monza (Italy), ENERGIEN 2050 (France)

When European citizens think about water shortage, the general feeling is that they have little to do with an issue, which is not really perceived as a problem for the developed world. There is indeed low awareness concerning the problem and how individuals may manage their everyday life to improve their water footprint , a consumption based indicator of water use.

The Aquapath project is aimed at fostering citizens’ awareness regarding water consumption, by developing various training materials and tools in relation to two different target groups (children and adults) to be addressed according to their specific communication channels.

Other than the project implementation and adaptation to the German target groups, aiforia is responsible for the development of common training methodologies for different EU regions, leaving room for adapting them to the regional context of each partner.

Facebook: AquaPath
aquapath-project.eu

Project co-funded by the European Union.

Water Explorer

Funding programmeHSBC Water Programme
Duration: Jan 2015 – Summer 2016
PartnersAgado (Germany), Global Action Plan Polska (Poland), InEuropa (Italy), WESSA (South Africa), WeAct (Switzerland), Global Action Plan (Ireland), Mikado Consulting (Turkey), Greenrock.org (Bermuda), of-FEEE (France), Programa GAP (Spain) and Global Action Plan UK (Great Britain)

Water Explorer is a fun, inspiring and educational programme that empowers thousands of students from 8 to 14 years old across the world to lead joint action on water issues for their schools and communities but also for our waterful world. Top Water Explorer teams earn the chance to represent their country in the International Food and Water Youth Awards in Milan 2015.

Water Explorer was conceived by the NGO Global Action Plan. The programme is fully funded and supported in 11 countries by the HSBC Water Programme and is free to all schools taking part. All the teams will get a certificate of attendance from the UNEP.

In collaboration with the German partner Agado, aiforia’s task is to foster the programme, and to recruit and support the schools involved in Germany.www.waterexplorer.org

EnergizAIR² – Energy weather report

Funding programmeIntelligent Energy Europe
Duration: Feb 2013 – May 2015
PartnersAPERe Association pour la Promotion des Energies Renouvelables (Belgium), EALP Agenzia Energetica della Provincia di Livorno (Italy), SE-F Slovenski E-forum (Slovenia), Hespul Energies renouvables et efficacité énergétique (France), APREN Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (Portugal), SEWA Severn Wye Energy Agency (Great Britain), Reflex Reflex Environmental Association Hungary), Ecoserveis (Spain), GDE Gavle Dala Energy Agency (Sweden), Dialog Solutions (Belgium)

EnergizAIR connects two themes that are often regarded as separate: energy consumption in private homes and energy production due to renewable energy systems. The “Energy weather report” shows how much of the energy demand can be covered by solar and wind shares – both renewable energy sources which are strictly related to weather conditions. The coverage of the average demand of electricity and hot water is illustrated through the kind and number of household appliances which can be operated and also through a comparison with conventional energy sources, which can be thereby saved. The energy generated by wind power plants will be converted into the number of households which can be supplied by such amount of electricity, then this figure will be also conveyed to the public by comparing it to major corresponding cities.
The main goal of the project is to establish the “Energy weather report” in the current mainstream media, in order to inform as much audience as possible about the average energy demand of a household and its related coverage thanks to photovoltaic, solar thermal and wind power installations. The linkage between weather news broadcast and information about renewable energy can make a significant difference in promoting change in people’s opinion.

energizair.eu/

www.energie-wetter.de
Facebook page: facebook.com/energiewetter

Project co-funded by the European Union.

SUNYA – Towards Zero-Waste in South Asia

Funding Programme: EuropeAid
Duration: Oct 2011 – Sep 2014
Partners: Municipal Association of Nepal, Hetauda Municipality and Tansen Municipality (Nepal), ICLEI South Asia Secretariat, Shimla Municipal Corporation, Coimbatore Municipal Corporation (India), Dhaka City Corporation (Bangladesh), City of Phuentsholing (Bhutan), City of Matale (Sri Lanka), ARGE Abfallvermeidung GmbH (Austria), Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (Belgium)

The word sunya means zero in Sanskrit and other Indian languages. For this reason this partnership -which intends to run the project towards zero-waste- decided to name the action SUNYA. The consortium of pilot cities involved are of very different size, economic, cultural and geographical conditions: despite these differences, the zero-waste approach should be followed independently of the size and specific situation of each city. Thus, the consortium aims to develop and adopt an approach which can be replicated under very different conditions and that can be afterwards adapted to these different conditions. The project has the specific aim of demonstrating how, through a better management of natural resources and a more sustainable approach to land planning and nature protection, not only is environmental protection achieved, but all aspects of life quality can also be positively influenced. In fact, this project touches upon every single one of the eight Millennium Development Goals either directly or indirectly.

Aiforia conceived this SUNYA together with MuAN and ICLEI, and has taken on the role of supporting the management of the project, as well as coordinating the projects’ workshops.

sunyaproject.org

Project co-funded by the European Union.

Aware & Fair

Funding Programme: EuropeAid
Duration: Mar 2011 – Feb 2013
Other Partners: City of Hanover (Germany), City of Blantyre (Malawi), City of Poznan (Germany), City of Litomerice (Czech Republic), Transfair e, V., Polish Fairtrade Association

The UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) resulted from the Agenda 21 and are aiming for sustainable lifestyles as well as for responsible consumer behaviour worldwide. However, because of the goal’s complexity, their contents continue to be hard to mediate to the public. The total duration of the project is 2 years, during which the main goal is to create exemplary markets for fair trade products from Malawi (e.g. nuts, tea, rice) in the participating cities. Documentation, reports, pictures etc. are supposed to “give a face” to products, producers and methods of production in order to create transparency and to promote fair trade. The cooperation itself is supposed to strengthen and help improve the education as well as increase motivation. It is expected that intensified relationships between and within the participating cities will be the result of this project.
Aiforia conceived the project together with city of Hanover and has the role of supporting the management of the projects, as well as coordinating the projects workshops.

Project co-funded by the European Union.

GENUSS – Together for nature and environmental protection in the district

Funding Programme: Verbändeförderung des Umweltbundesamts
Duration: Mai 2012 – Okt 2013
Partners: Migranten für Agenda 21 e.V., Agenda-Büro der Stadt Hannover, FAIRburg e.V., Büro für Integration und Migration der Stadt Freiburg, Kommunikation für Mensch & Umwelt, aiforia – Agentur für Nachhaltigkeit, Projektberatung Andreas Joppich

The project aims to motivate citizens to add an ecological component to the current developments in districts of Freiburg (and Hannover) in Germany, thus contributing to environmental protection as well as ensuring the live quality in the neighbourhoods. In “activating interviews” people from different cultural backgrounds are encouraged to list their interests and individual references to sustainable practices in everyday life. These personal conversations reveal what – according to the interviewed person – makes up for a good life and a district worth living. Dialogue-workshops make sure these ideas can be discussed with other habitants of the district and put into practice together.aiforia developed the idea of the project together with project consultant Andreas Joppich and “Migranten für Agenda21 e.V.”, and supported the elaboration of a concept study for the activation of migrants for sustainable lifestyles (May 2011 – Sept 2011, funded by UBA). The implementation of the project involves aiforia as facilitator and coach of the activities in Freiburg.

RENREN

Funding Programme: INTERREG IVC
Duration: Mar 2010 – Sep 2012
Partners: Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Science, Economic Affairs and Transport (Germany), Welsh Assembly Government (United Kingdom), County Council of Jämtland, (Sweden), The Association of municipalities in the Westfjords (Iceland), Pays de la Loire Region (France), Ustí Region (Czech Republic), Cyprus Institute of Energy (Cyprus), Department of Innovation, Enterprise and employment of the government of Navarre (Spain), Regional energy agency of Castilla y León (Spain), Agency for Social and Economic Development of Timís County (Romania), Lodz Region (Poland), Region of Central Macedonia (Greece), Andalusia Energy Agency (Spain), Bay Zoltán Foundation for Applied Research, Institute for Logistics and Production Systems (Hungary)

The project RENREN aims to identify policy choices that will improve regional frameworks for renewable energy expansion. The 14 partners from across Europe are collaborating to this end, since regions will play a big part in helping the EU and its member states achieve their 2020 renewable energy targets and related greenhouse gas reduction targets. The ambitious EU energy agenda is based on the three pillars of energy security, competitiveness and sustainability. A minimum increase of 20% by 2020 in renewable energy generation compared to energy consumption is one key element of this. Independence from energy imports has also become a crucial and declared goal of EU energy policy. Last but not least, the renewable energy sector is one of the fastest growing, and has significant job creation potential.
Aiforia has been commissioned by the project leader to provide an external evaluation of the renewable energy potential in the partner regions.

renren-project.eu

Project co-funded by the European Union.

A.R.E.E. Mobili

Funding Programme: European Social Fund
Duration: May 2011 – Apr 2012
Partners: Agenzia per lo Sviluppo Empolese Valdelsa (Italy), ITKAM (German-Italian Chamber of Commerce)

The project aims to give to 48 young people from Italy the opportunity to have a short work experience in the sector of renewable energy and sustainable building in the area of Freiburg. Aiforia contacts the local firms ready to welcome the trainees and take care of them as a tutor.

Project co-funded by the European Union.