NetworkNature TF 4 Digest: June

The NetworkNature Task Force 4 (Communicators) is pleased to provide you with a summary of upcoming events and opportunities announced by Horizon 2020/Europe projects and select Missions. This Task Force is responsible for synergizing and enhancing communication approaches and messages across Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects. If you are not a task force 4 member, but would like to submit to this informal digest, please reach out to hello@networknature.eu. We will get back to you as soon as possible with instructions!

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TF 4 Digest: June

Project Updates

• The NetworkNature website has a new look! Expect further updates this fall. 
• Registrations for the NetworkNature in person annual event are open! We will meet Sept. 25th in Brussels. Sign up as soon as possible to reserve your spot! The annual Task Force meeting will take place on September 24th. Stay tuned for more details on that front!
• The NATURANCE Finance Innovation Festival on Insurance and Investment Opportunities for Nature-based Solutions was a resounding success! Check out the outcomes and view selected recordings here. 
• FutureMARES - First policy brief published. The first of a series of FutureMARES Policy Briefs was published, focusing on climate modelling that highlights future hotspots and refugia in European waters. Go read this first issue here https://lnkd.in/e8ZQA4Eq and don’t forget to subscribe https://greenme-project.eu/newsletter-registration-form/ 

Upcoming Events

June

• NBSINFRA Summer School - EU Green Week
  3-10 June 2024; Location Aveiro, Portugal and online
  NBSINFRA International Summer School (3-10 June) is one of the partner events of EU Green Week 2024 and will focus on Water Resilience and Nature-Based Solutions. The Summer School features a variety of activities including showrooms, webinars, masterclasses, roundtables and more, hosting numerous guests and experts. Registration is still open.
• Daring Cities - Bonn Dialogues'
  Dates: 3-5 June 2024; Location: Bonn, Germany
  Organised by ICLEI and the Federal City of Bonn, The Daring Cities 2024 Bonn Dialogues is an in person event where invited local and regional governments discuss key challenges within their work towards successful multi level dialogue and action. Register for the June 4 Dialogues here. 
• TNOC Festival 2024: The distance between dreams and reality is action
  Dates: 4-7 June 2024; Berlin, Germany
  The Nature of Cities (TNOC) is thrilled to announce the TNOC Festival 2024, a global gathering of scientists, artists, and practitioners dedicated to pushing the boundaries of transdisciplinary collaboration. Registration is still open. GoGreenRoutes, NetworkNature, and FEAST are all represented at sessions!
  • Local Food Heroes 
  • Developing your GID lens - Gender, Inclusion and Diversity in action! 
  • Crafty and Creative Communication 
• Urban Future
  Dates: 5-7 June 2024; Location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
  Organised by the Urban Future movement, this event gathers activists, urbanists and leaders to reflect on urban sustainability and climate adaptation. Participants will benefit from field trips and side events. Registration is now open.
• Horizon Europe Partnerships' Dialogue: Nature-based Solutions for Urban, Water and Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity
  Date: June 10, 18:00-19:30: Location: Finland / HKI, Uusimaa and online
  Interested in exploring the pivotal role of Co-funded Partnerships in tackling Europe’s most pressing blue and green challenges, contributing to global goals? Join the upcoming NetworkNatre roundtable session at the SRI Congress! Register now!
• Cool it Down: Implementing Nature-Based Solutions for Cooling Your City
  Date:June 10 2024, 10:00-11:00 AM; Location: Online
  In this online session, hosted by ICLEI Europe as part of the KeepCool project, participants can engage with experts to understand why NbS work for cooling and learn from practitioners on how to implement them.
• Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress (SRI)
  Dates: 10-14 June 2024; Location: Helsinki and Espoo, Finland
  Co-convened by Future Earth and the Belmont Forum with local co-organizers, the SRI Congress will focus on 4 themes in Finland: green transitions, transforming technologies & the future of work; living on the frontlines of change; powering the world. Registration is still open.
• Living Lab Middle Danube
  Dates: 11-12 June 2024; Location: Osijek, Croatia
  Organised by the Municipality of Draz and within the EcoDaLLi project, this event will showcase activities around Danube river restoration initiatives. A field trip in Draz is scheduled for participants. Registration process is over.
• Intelligent Cities Challenge Conference on Local Green Deals
  Dates: 18-19 June 2024; Location: Porto, Portugal
  Organised by the European Commission, this collaborative event is designed to accelerate the progress of sustainable urban development initiatives. City leaders, policymakers, industry experts, and stakeholders will engage in interactive workshops, breakout sessions, and hands-on activities to tackle urban development challenges. Registration is still open.
• NbS Conference “Growing positive change”
  Dates: 18-20 June 2024; Location: Oxford, England & online
  Oxford university organises this event to scaling NbS effectively and ethically. Nine sessions will bring together researchers, NbS practitioners and leaders. Registration closes 01 June 2024.
• ICLEI World Congress
  Dates: 19-21 June 2024; Location: São Paulo, Brazil
  The ICLEI World Congress 2024 is a pivotal gathering focused on advancing sustainable urban development and equitable adaptation to local and regional challenges. Central themes include leveraging ICLEI’s strategic pathways for sustainability, understanding the unique role of regions like Amazonia in global biodiversity and exploring the impact of climate and sustainability at all levels of government. There is no charge for participation. Registration is still open.
  • GoGreenRoutes, CONEXUS, and UNPplus will be represented!
• 5th NICE Cities Panel
  Date: 24 June 2024; Location: online
  This webinar will present the NICE partners involved in multi-level stakeholder engagement and participatory activities to replicate and up-scale potential of NbS developed by NICE, assessing the question: what comes next for the mainstreaming of water treatment NbS? Registration is still open.
• Cities Mission Conference
  Dates: 25-26 June 2024; Location: Valencia, Spain
  This third conference allows local administrations, mayors, practitioners, regional and national authorities, European Commission representatives, and other actors to discuss the current status and progress made by the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities EU Mission. Central theme is “Empowering cities – The Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission in Action”. Registration is only open to Mission Cities and is now open.
• FutureMARES Final Meeting - Policy and Stakeholder Session
  Dates: 26-27 June: Location: NIOZ, Texel, The Netherlands
  FutureMARES is ending after 4 years of productive marine science, and we are celebrating our project with a final meeting and a policy and stakeholder session. The policy session focuses on three topics: 1) Climate Sensitivity and Resilience of Marine Biodiversity, 2) Effective Restoration and Conservation Strategies, and 3) Marine Ecosystem Services and Sustainable Harvesting in a Future Climate.
  If you would like to participate, email to vera.koepsel@uni-hamburg.de 
• EURESFO
  Dates: 26-28 June 2024; Location: Valencia, Spain
  The event brings together city representatives, experts, and stakeholders from local and regional institutions to discuss strategies, initiatives, and actions affiliating to climate change adaptation, disaster management, and the cultivation of urban resilience. Registration for the 11th edition of EURESFO is still open.
• NBS EduWORLD Summer School 2024
  Dates: 30 June - 5 July 2024; Location: Marathon, Greece
  The NBS EduWORLD project’s Academy on teaching for NBS offers a series of training activities to support, develop, and promote teaching and testing of NBS. The Summer School will provide participating teachers with a better understanding of what nature-based solutions are and how they can integrate them into the school environment.

July 

• GoGreenRoutes & Sister Projects Final Event & New Cluster Launch
  Dates: 2-3 July 2024 ; Location: Brussels, Belgium
  This event, organised by GoGreenRoutes in collaboration with IN-HABIT, euPOLIS and VARCITIES is one of the largest opportunities for exchange on NBS and nature and health projects in 2024. 
• Nature-Based Solutions for Water Security and Climate Adaptation Conference
  Dates: 3-5 July 2024; Location: Belgrade, Serbia
  The Conference is organised by RECONECT network, a project financed by the European Commission (www.reconect.eu). It will focus on 4 themes: building with nature, monitoring & evaluation, policy & financing instruments, future prospects. Registration is still open.
• Living Lab Upper Danube
  Dates: 8-9 July 2024; Location: Ulm, Germany
  This event will be the occasion to present insights from the EcoDaLLi project, which aims to better centralise Danube basin and deltas’ initiatives of ecological restoration and preservation. More information to come soon.
• TERRAenVISION 4
  Dates: 8-11 July 2024; Location: Valencia, Spain
  Organised by EIT Climate KIC and the University of Valencia, the event will focus on 4 themes: NbS for agriculture and natural areas, NbS for natural hazards, NbS for land and water management, measuring processes and impact of NbS. Registration is now open.

September

• Innovate4Cities Conference
  The 2024 Innovate4Cities Conference is convening in September in Montreal and we’re calling you to submit an abstract and be part of the conversation! 
• RSA Regional Studies Association 2024 Central and Eastern European Conference
  Dates: 11-13 September 2024; Location: Dubrovnik, Croatia
  This event provides an opportunity for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and students working in all areas related to regional policy, regional development and regional studies to come together and discuss the changing internal and external dynamics of CEE. Registration will open shortly.
• Future Green City World Congress
  Dates: 23-26 September 2024; Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands
  The Future Green City World Congress is an initiative of Royal Association Stadswerk the Netherlands and Royal Dutch Association of Landscapers and Gardeners (VHG) In Utrecht, they bring together the worlds of green and civil engineering, in cooperation with World Urban Parks (WUP) and the International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME). The congress connects construction, greenery, infra and water. Registration is open.
• NetworkNature Annual event
  Dates: Sept. 24-25; Location: Brussels, Belgium
  This year’s NetworkNature Annual Event will focus on ‘Busting myths” in relation to ecosystem management. This event will revolve around myths that NbS practice, research, policy making and business are busting or that need to be busted to ensure transformative change and reverse biodiversity loss. Registration is now open.
• Nordic NbS conference
  Dates: 26-27 September 2024; Location: Malmö, Sweden
  As the Nordic Council of Ministers-funded programme on nature-based solutions concludes from 2021-2024, this conference serves as a platform to showcase the results achieved through collaborative efforts across the Nordic countries. Registration is open.

Calls for Proposals (Events)

• Call for speakers at the NetworkNature Annual Event!
  We invite you to propose your own myth to bust building on successful inspiring experiences related to Nature-based solutions. You can propose yourself (or someone else) as a potential speaker during the NetworkNature Annual Event, to dive into the myth you have encountered, the solution you propose, and the opportunities arising from NbS in that context. Apply to share your myth by Jun 20, 2024.

Calls for Abstracts (Publications)

• Call for Contributions: Special Issue on Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation
  Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit their manuscripts following the submission guidelines. The collection welcomes articles through the journal’s standard peer-review process, with additions made as they are published. For more information and to submit, please visit  here. Seize the opportunity to contribute to the discourse on NbS for climate change adaptation, shaping a more resilient and sustainable future.

Other 

•  REMEDIES | Research and Innovation (europa.eu)
  This call is focused on ‘Prevention and Zero Waste’ in the Mediterranean, aiming to involve all stakeholders contributing to a plastic-waste free ecosystem, with a focus on waste prevention projects. Deadline: 5 June 2024
• Contribute to the NetworkNature Annual Event via poster submission!
  Apply to feature your project poster by Aug 23, 2024. Successful applicants will be featured at the annual NetworkNature event in September.