Western Balkans Circular Economy Week 2024: Sustainable Bridges – Unite -Uplift – Upcycle
The third annual Western Balkans Circular Economy Week took place on 27-31 May, 2024. This year’s theme was “Sustainable Bridges: Unite, Uplift, Upcycle”.
Organizations from the Western Balkan countries, members of the LogEx community, held a series of parallel activities that aim to boost promotion of good practices and knowledge, but also the challenges and prospects of the circular economy in the region.
The regional initiative of the LogEx community – founded by The Balkan Forum – has the aim to revolutionize the Western Balkans’ approach to sustainable development, by promoting circular economy practices. By bringing together different actors, including academia, civil society organizations, media, businesses and experts, we aim to foster cooperation and encourage meaningful changes in the region.
Build Green Group – Albania
On May 28th 2024 as part of the Circular Economy Week, Build Green Group organized a webinar on the topic of Waste Management in Valbona, Bajram Curri. With Oljam Dervishi, an experienced Environmental Expert and Young Researcher with a proven track record of successfully managing and coordinating projects.
On May 30th 2024 BGG organized an enlightening session of conversation with Cameron Price, an expert in sustainable development and sustainability.
During that session the participants had the the opportunity to:
· Discover the principles and practices of a circular economy.
· Think of new and innovative outlets of production, consumption, and resource management.
COD – Jajce
As part of the activities of the LogEx community, the Center for Education and Socialization (COD Jajce) organized a workshop for young entrepreneurs on May 28th titled “Promoting awareness of the importance of green entrepreneurship” – circular economy in entrepreneurship.
CIVIL
CIVIL hosted an online regional conference on “Circular Economy Perspectives in Times of War and Insecurities” on Friday, May 31, starting at 12:00 p.m.
Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Western Balkans, mainly members of the LogEx community, spoke at the conference. They shared insights on their activities and explored the perspectives of the circular economy within national, regional, and global contexts.
CENER 21
Cener 21 organized a workshop for media professionals, journalism students and experts for environmental protection advocacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of the workshop was to improve the understanding of the key principles of the circular economy and to strengthen the capacity to effectively communicate these ideas to the general public. Participants had the opportunity to acquire new knowledge, master terminology and explore numerous benefits and opportunities offered by the circular transition. In addition, through creative work, the participants engaged in the preparation of articles on topics from the circular economy.
UNIVERSUM
UNI-Universum International College, a partner and a part of the LogEx community where Fashion Design students organized the Festival of Sustainable Fashion.
The designs were modeled by UNI students using recyclable materials. Then a debate was organized with the students about the need for the textile industry in Kosovo to become part of the regional economy. And not only the textile and fashion industry, but also our own culture as citizens should rise to such a level that we understand our role to be part of protecting the environment by becoming part of the circular economy in our daily lives.
Western Balkans Circular Economy Week 2023: Partnership 4 Circularity
The Western Balkans Circular Economy is back! From 22 – 26 May 2023, under the theme “Partnership 4 Circularity” concurrent activities will happen across several WB countries.
As a one-of-a-kind regional initiative that brings together diverse actors – from academia to civil society organizations to media, businesses, experts and more – this event seeks to transform the Western Balkans’ approach towards sustainable development through promoting and implementing circular economy practices.
Organized by Logex Community, an initiative of Balkan Forum, the week-long event is a celebration of innovative ideas, creative solutions, and sustainable practices that will shape the future of the region. We have events, conferences, and initiatives planned throughout the week. At these various formats of activities, participants will connect, collaborate, and learn from each other. The goal is to join efforts to build a stronger circular economy that will lead to reduced unemployment and out-migration in the Western Balkans.
LogEx Community was established in December 2021. It is a partnership for circularity committed to bridging the gap between higher education and the employment marketplace in the Western Balkans. Their joint actions seeks to build human capital, strengthen the circular economy, and promote sustainable development, thus creating a better future for the region and beyond.
More information on the activities on the days to come.
LogEx COMMUNITY
LogEx Community has been established in December 2021. It is a partnership between universities and academics, civil society organizations and business actors from the Western Balkan region, and the region’s diaspora. As a diverse community, LogEx works to address the gap between higher education and the employment marketplace in the WB region. LogEx facilitates shared learning and collaboration and works to build human capital, strengthen a circular economy, reduce unemployment and out-migration.
LogEx’s Action Plan for 2022 prioritizes:
1) Joint research to promote research on circular economy, labor market and education;
2) Capacity building for young entrepreneurs with an emphasis on laying the foundations of a circular economy;
3) Education, awareness raising and advocacy;
4) Building relationship and working with regions diaspora, public and private sector;
5) Incubating innovative ideas for social entrepreneurship with a focus on waste reduction/management, environment protection and renewable technologies.
Circular Economy Week includes activities implemented by LogEx members during 23 – 27 May 2022 in the countries of the region:
Conference: Circular Economy: a way forward
The conference organized by Universum College will bring together distinguished panelists and participants from the six WB countries and EU to discuss Circular economy policies in the Western Balkans; how to bridge the gap between
theory and practice; and, how to move forward: circular economy implementation in practice. At the beginning of the conference, findings and recommendations of a research on Circular Economy in the Western Balkans will be shared. The research has been conducted by LogEx members between February and May 2022.
Circular Economy Days in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Center for Education and Socializing (COD) Jajce is organizing Circular Economy Days, the first of this kind in the city of Pliva and Vrbas. The city of Jajce, which proudly bears the epithet of “continental Dubrovnik” in addition to rich cultural and historical treasures, as well as many cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has a major problem of waste disposal, and its sorting and recycling and introduction of new purposes, unfortunately still are a distant dream.
WEBINAR: Circular Economy in Practice, Challenges and Opportunities
Date: 25 May 2022
Time: 14:00 – 15:30 pm (CET)
Place: Zoom Platform
The purpose of the webinar is to share knowledge on Circular Economy different field practice through the last development in Europe, America, Dubai and to try and bridge, or more specifically bring these amazing practices within the Western Balkan context. The webinar will give a better understanding of the Circular Economy from the business point of view such as entrepreneurship, policy implementation, and energy. Not only from the business (private sector) point of view but the webinar will reach as well as the role of government in this process. Moreover, discussing the renewable energy and available renewable resources will be seen not only as part of CE but also as meeting other SDGs such as poverty reduction.
These international experiences will be seen through the lenses of our experts presenting during the webinar, and moreover, trying to shed light and try to understand whether Western Balkans challenges and opportunities regarding Circular Economy transition.
Circular Economy: Potentials and challenges for the future generations
Date: 26 May 2022
Time: 12:00pm (CET)
Place: Zoom Platform
CIVIL is organizing this online event titled: “Circulating Economy: Potentials and Challenges for Future Generations”. Speakers at the event will be the chairwoman of the DOM party, Maja Moracanin, the representative of the community of experts, dr. Ivana Lozanovska and the President of Civil, Xhabir Deralla.
What is a circular economy? How implementable it is in national and local economies, especially in the case of poor countries? How possible it is in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and other economic, military, political and other conditions?
This event that is part of the Western Balkans Circular Economy Week held from 23 to 27 May 2022.
Research presentation: Environmental Activism in the Western Balkan region
Date: 26 May 2022
Time: 14:00 – 15:00 pm (CET)
Place: Zoom Platform
At this event, findings and recommendations of the research will be shared with the audience followed by Q&A. The research Environmental Activism in the Western Balkans (WB) analyses what has worked and what has proven challenging, and explores the role played by exchange of knowledge and experience at the regional level. It then outlines lessons that could help future environmental protection and coalition building initiatives to maximize their impacts from local up to national, regional, and international levels.
Sustainable Fashion Festival
Date: 26 May 2022
Time: 13:00
Place: Universum College
The festival promoted recycling of unused clothes and creation of eco-friendly clothing. The event brought together hundreds of students and participants representing universities, public administration, private sector, civil society organisations, donor community and other institutions.
LogEx Community meeting [17 June 2022]
Assessing the progress Dec 2021-June 2022
Highlights: Western Balkans Circular Economy Week 23 – 27 May 2022
The Newsletter (find the pdf below), provides the highlights of the activities implemented in the Western Balkan countries by the LogEx Community during the Circular Economy Week.
