On 1 October, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung invited people from all over the world to exchange views and engage in a political debate on the practical design of the socio-ecological transformation. During the event, attractive and tangible visions of the future were developed, which show how a democratic and socially just change can succeed and improve the prospects of life for everyone. The aim of the public debate was to introduce and implement this claim in the Green Deals currently being negotiated.
The various Green Deals currently being negotiated in the EU, in local authorities in Latin America and southern Germany, in numerous companies and social movements can be useful contributions. They focus on new mobility concepts, livable cities and municipalities, clean and decentralised energy supply, good nutrition and landscape protection, as well as on municipal participation, corporate co-determination and new global partnerships.
The programme started with the first so-called "In Focus" session, a discussion format which was repeated three times throughout the day. The sessions were streamed live from the FES studio on the FES website. The stage setting allowed the digitally-connected discussion participants and the live on-site audience to be connected via monitors placed on steles.
Live in the studio, guests such as Kevin Kühnert, deputy federal chairman of the SPD, and Delara Burkhardt, Member of the European Parliament, were welcomed. The Vice-President and Commissioner for Climate Protection in the Commission von der Leyen, Franz Timmermans, climate protection activist Luisa Neubauer and Patricia Espinosa, Head of the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, were connected digitally.
The "In Focus" sessions were followed by the so-called "Labs"; workshops, which were also offered digitally. The "labs" took the form of different formats, such as #debate (inputs and moderated Q&A), #interactive (inputs and group discussion) and #participate (workshop format). A total of 15 laboratories were prepared and held. Three selected laboratories were also shown in a live stream on the website. All contents were translated into fully into English and partially into French and Spanish.
Pictures: Konstantin Börner