Inclusion is Fusion!

Would you be an upcycler? The project StartUpcycling promotes youth employability through upcycling. 8 international partners worldwide developed methods and tools to show that upcycling can be a great tool to entrepreneurial learning, startup creation and waste reduction. Check out this VIDEO to get to know a few upcyclers. The partners developed a free online course that is available here: www.actione-learn.eu/startupcycling

Here is a constellation of methods we implemented in a workshop with youth on "Sustainability": INTRODUCING SUSTAINABLE TOPICS The project group gets introduced to the different definitions and the meaning of sustainability. After a presentation about the definition of sustainability, the group will get to know challenges of sustainability and understand why it is so important to strive for sustainability. WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY? Among many ways that sustainability has been defined, the simplest and most fundamental is: “the ability to sustain” or, in another way, “the capacity to endure.” [1] More than that, sustainability implies responsible and proactive decision-making and innovation that minimizes negative impact and maintains balance between ecological resilience, economic prosperity, political justice and cultural vibrancy to ensure a desirable planet for all species now and in the future. [2] It means, to be a sustainable has not just limited environm...

The Earth Week aims to educate and offer inspirational ideas for possible behavioral change through workshops on ecological topics, lectures and meetings. Last year (2017) we celebrated the 5th edition of Earth Week with workshops on up-cycling, gardening, natural remedies, bird walks, fair trade dinner, natural cosmetics, herbal remedies, action bound (discover your green city), eco cinema, green book corner. During the workshops, we discussed various environmental topics such as sustainable living, conscious consumerism, local fauna, importance of plants in everyday use and more. Apart from the activities organized on the Castle hill and in our Herbaciarnia Laja, we cooperated with different schools around our city, bringing environmental education right into the classroom. Throughout the week, we arranged a special designated place for donating clothes and other products for refugees and people in need. These activities were summed up in a newspaper where article...

 "Every Saturday we stand and fight!" Anita Kramarczyk is a s ociologist, educator, traveler, mom, promoter of creative recycling and living in harmony with the laws of Nature, close to Pachamama. She has worked and lived with our partner organization "Fundacja Laja" and is actively involved in the Earth Week and Tea Festival in Cieszyn.  She shares the story of the Bioferia in Mendoca, Argentina:    There are many forms of fighting for your own rights, demonstrating your position, showing your values and visions of a better world, just as there are many ways to have a more balanced life. One of them is living in respect with the laws of Nature, in harmony with its natural cycles, cultivating the earth and ensuring a healthy nourishment. Argentina is a country of contrasts. On one hand, as many as 3.2 million hectares of land are covered by organic farms. On the other hand, transgenic soybean plantations are getting bigger year by year. Initially cov...

The world is full of explorers, and full of things to be explored. The "Map of Tomorrow"´(German: Karte von morgen) helps us to discover places from an inspiring point of view: you can find forward-thinking projects, companies and soon  also events in your area. Everyone can be part of it and contribute. The map is an open resource that is based on the open street map. It is easy to make entries. Try it out: https://www.kartevonmorgen.org/# The map has been initiated by Ideen³   together with slowtec . It is successfully implemented in Germany and is now aiming at internationalizing the map more and more. Your benefits: It is made by people for people and based on voluntary basis. Support the map by adding new points on the map! You can embed the map on your website.  The labels function like filters. Using specific hashtags in the search bar can help you to find the right things and to embed just a selection of points to your embeded map. You will expl...

SOLIDARITY, SOCIAL INCLUSION and NO WASTE – “Raccolta dell’invenduto” “Invenduto” – the non-sold weekly portions of vegetables and fruits thrown away every week in the local markets of Italy – was reborn in 2012, when Associazione Eufemia started collecting it directly from the market sellers, with the involvement of the local community. 3 years later, the project is now known in Torino (Italy) as “Pane in Comune”. Eufemia is working in 3 different markets and involving more than 30 families that meet every Saturday afternoon in the collection of goods, before the closing of the markets. Why is this a sustainable project? “Pane in Comune” puts different aspects together: it aims to decrease local food waste by involving people in need of economical support from the local community. The key is that the different families and individuals take an active role in the process and they manage a big part of it in autonomy. They become managers of a fundamental resource ...

There are not too many project examples that merge the three pillars of the concept of Inclusion is Fusion.  Here is another project that is also aiming at young entrepreneurship, sustainability and social inclusion: PRESET The project “Preset“ strives for long-term future prospects of youth: It is about discovering and reinforcing the potential that especially lies in the field of ecology and development of sustainable projects. Young people shall be empowered and promoted so they are able to build up an independent economical future. The project “Preset“ strives for long-term future prospects of youth: It is about discovering and reinforcing the potential that especially lies in the field of ecology and development of sustainable projects. Young people shall be empowered and promoted so they are able to build up an independent economical future. Side benefits of this initiative are the improvement of transnational relations between participating youth organizat...

Upcycling Waste is the result of non-sustainable modes of production and consumption. Society is now forced to find new ways to combat waste, climate change, and further consequences of non-ecological living. Upcycling is the process of converting material no longer needed into something useful. It has become a simple and innovative concept in the area of waste management that needs more recognition from society.  In this context, upcycling can be a solution to make a change. The project StartUpcycling trains young and disadvantaged citizens to regard waste as a resource for creative upcycling production and start-up ideas. There is a high potential for more jobs in the field of sorting materials and creating goods to re-enter the economy. Background  When related to social innovation and entrepreneurship, the notion of sustainability must be conceptualized in a new way to be meaningful. Banerjee (2011) defines sustainability along three integrated dimensi...