The 4th COLOR CIRCLE interregional learning event was organised by RDA Centru on 15-16 June 2021. Taking into account the existing travel restrictions, in order to achieve higher levels of engagement from regional stakeholders but also in order to create valuable networking opportunities among them and the COLOR CIRCLE PPs and their stakeholders, this event was organized in a hybrid format: both on Zoom and at the Principia Museum – the former headquarters of the Roman legion ”Legio XIII Gemina Apulum” in Alba Iulia.
During this two-days meeting, all participants discussed the current challenges regarding implementing the circular economy strategies in their regions.
The first day of the event was dedicated to strategies and regional approaches on circular economy. This day included discussions & debates regarding the status quo of CE in Centru Region and short presentations of the regional mapping exercise conducted in other COLOR CIRCLE regions, including discussions with the project partners and their stakeholders on the results and proposed approaches to improve the current policy instruments.
The first session of Day 1 started with an introductory session from Mr. Simion Cretu the General Manager of RDA Centru and key actors in drafting the regional policies: Mr. Csaba Borboly, President of Harghita County & President of Regional Development Council of Centru Region, Mr. Ion Dumitrel, President of Alba County and Mr. Gabriel Plesa, Mayor of Alba Iulia. This session also included a short presentation of Centru Region.
After this introductory session, the National Strategy on Circular Economy and the existing regional policy framework to support CE initiatives were presented.
During the second session of the day, the COLOR CIRCLE PPs presented the results of their regional mapping exercises and the existing strategies/ proposals for improving CE in each COLOR CIRCLE region including the actions proposed to be included in the regional actions plans.
The second day of the event was dedicated to regional good practices on CE and networking with peers from the COLOR CIRCLE regions.
The first session of the day included video presentations of eight regional good practices (GPs). These GPs were grouped into 3 topics:
• TOPIC 1 – Wool - from waste to resource - GPs/ challenges and possible improvements.
Video available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja7PHpbwnSA
• TOPIC 2 – Urban Regeneration and Circular economy in cities – GPs/ challenges and possible improvements.
Video available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6uvwA3gnaU
• TOPIC 3. Energy and biomass – GPs/ challenges and possible improvements. Video available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrH2qOoMczM
After each video, discussion and debates with the good practices’ promoters, regional universities/ research centres, and representatives of local authorities and communities were conducted. The main question addressed was How can we mobilize knowledge in local communities. Each speaker discussed how this mobilization is addressed locally and how can be improved, including which are the existing possibilities for developing the cooperation between local authorities and academia.
The second session of the day included a peer-to-peer networking session. During this session, all attendees both online and offline were invited to share their contact details in order to create new connections with peers and to identify possible partners for other collaborative projects related to CE solutions. This session also included discussions and debates regarding the challenges and the solutions presented during the 1st session. Representatives from Granada Provinces presented other solutions/ approaches used for similar challenges.
The COLOR CIRCLE PPs and their stakeholders were invited to present how cooperation between academia and the public network is supported in their region and how can we support the development of this cooperation, including the involvement of private entities.
To ensure more engagement from all attendees both online and onsite, during this interregional learning event PP5 used Sli.do. Also, this event broadcasted online and can be watched on YouTube here:
Day 1 - COLOR CIRCLE - 4th Interregional learning event, Centru Region, Romania (Day 1)
Day 2 - COLOR CIRCLE - 4th Interregional learning event, Centru Region, Romania (Day 2)
