This was the event held in Brdo, Slovenia on 3 July, organized by the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, Development Policies Division, of the Slovenian Ministry within the framework of the Interreg Europe RETRACE project.
The theme was enriched by the numerous speeches that took place during the day. Speakers included: Iztok Purič (Slovenian Minister of Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion), Paolo Trichilo (Ambassador of the Italian Republic to Slovenia), Samo Hribar Milič (Executive Director, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia) and Erwin Siweris (Director of the Interreg Europe Programme).
What is the trend of the policy for the Circular Economy in Europe? What role do the regions play in achieving the ambitious goals of the EU 2030 in the Circular Economy? What ideas can regional policy experiences with the circular economy offer? These are some of the questions at the heart of the debate at the event. The speakers shared their experience and expertise to try to answer these questions; Iztok Purič, (Slovenian Minister for Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion) opened the debate by stating: "The transition to a new economic model integrating all the pillars of sustainability should be the focus of our attention". To do this we need to better understand the existing systems and the interactions that occur in this plays an important role the Systemic Design that Erwin Siweris (director of the Interreg Europe programme) commented as follows: "The systemic approach to the circular economy has proved very interesting because it has taken into account the holistic nature of the circular economy".
Among the experts who followed on the stage, Alessandro Rancati of the EU Policy Lab stressed how European projects could practically contribute to the transition toward the Circular Economy. Harry Lehmann, the German Environment Agency, also participated, setting an example of Germany's commitment to carbon neutrality and resource efficiency. Dr Rebeka Lukman Kovačič, University of Maribor, speaking about the Cicerone H2020 project, said that companies are the real architects of change, to help them it is necessary first to create a market for new services and products in the field of Circular Economy.
The last interregional dissemination event showed, thanks to the results achieved and the intervention of the experts, the adoption of a Systemic Approach as a tool for the elaboration of local policies can concretely support the transition towards a Circular Economy.
Silvia Barbero, Politecnico di Torino, project coordinator, presented the overall results of the project from 2016 to date, with a focus on the second phase of the project dedicated to the implementation and monitoring of the results obtained by the Regional Action Plans with their policy recommendations in the Circular Economy.
For each region involved in the project, a representative showed an example of an implemented policy action. Among the activities: Bioeconomy of Piedmont by Tiziana dell'Olmo (Piedmont Region), Ikos Project by Marion Besse (Nouvelle Aquitaine), Circular and creative by Mika Cimolini (Slovenia), Circular Bilbao Bizkaia by Ander Muñoz (Biscay) and Improving funding schemes for fostering Circular Economy by Gabriela Bobeanu (North-East Romania).
In the second part of the event, Alessandro Rancati Eu Policy Lab involved the participants in an in-depth workshop on The social economy canvas, a complex systems approach that saw the participants collaborate on a co-design of solutions generated by the intersection of social innovation and paradigms of the Circular Economy.
Finally, a summary of the two-day workshop "Systemic Design for Circular Innovation", the collateral event of the Interregional Dissemination Event organized by the Politecnico di Torino in collaboration with the University of Ljubljana and Lavazza SpA, in which a group of students used the Systemic Design Toolkit to develop systemic proposals on the coffee industry and learn how to apply systemic methodology.
You can download the presentations of the event here
