Hello!
Welcome to the Agora Climate Community
Ciao a tutti! Hello everyone!
Welcome to the first Agora Climate Community newsletter.
Through this newsletter, we want to connect with everyone interested in, or working on, climate initiatives in the Veneto region. We are also introducing a curated space to feature monthly climate events.
In February 2023, we hosted our first climate meetup in Veneto intending to meet people passionate about climate change or already involved in climate-related work. We’ve been meeting monthly, and our community is gradually expanding.
Each month, we'll share information about events, workshops, conferences, exhibits, and networking opportunities related to climate issues happening in Northern Italy. We'll also share any tours or visits we're planning, as well as interesting international opportunities. We understand how difficult it can be to find the information you need - but someone has to do it, right? :)
Soon, this newsletter will also be available in Italian, because we really want to include those of you who are less comfortable with English!
Who are we?
Alex is an urban planner, passionate about climate action and climate justice, building connections and communities. She has previously started and organized climate meetups in Lisbon (Portugal) and Cluj (Romania), where she lived before moving to Italy in August 2022. Alex is also the co-founder of the climate non-profit Clujul Sustenabil and has experience working with European cities and urban programmes on topics related to urban governance, climate action, energy efficiency and housing.
Gosia is a community and events organiser. She co-founded a photography foundation in Poland and produced several art events and exhibitions across Europe. After living in London for over ten years, she moved to Treviso and has lived here for almost five years. She has a master's degree in sustainability and is passionate about climate, creativity, technology, and human connections. She has worked with a number of biodiversity and citizen science projects, including the City Nature Challenge.
Alice has a cross-disciplinary background, pursuing studies mixing economics, social and environmental sciences. She has been involved in diverse environment- and youth-focus organisations, advocating for raising knowledge around climate change issues. Lately, her main activities have converged on biodiversity protection, multi-scale governance and the marine and coastal environments.
Our next meetup
🏛️ Join our upcoming climate meetup in Venice! We hope to meet as many of you involved in climate initiatives and organizations in the Veneto region as we need YOUR help in creating a network map!
When? 31 May 2023 @18:30
Where? To be confirmed on May 29th, depending on the number of registered participants.
Climate-related events happening end of May 2023 (Veneto and Northern Italy)
📽️ Alcarràs.
What? Drama film directed by Carla Simón, set and shot in Alcarràs, Catalonia, in the Western dialect of the Catalan language, featuring a non-professional cast of actors. The plot concerns a family drama about the disappearance of traditional peach-harvesting activities.
When? 23 May 2023
Where? Cinema Dante, Venice
📚 Reading Venice
What? Book presentation about Venice and the lagoon
When? 23 & 30 May 2023
Where? Chiostro di San Lorenzo, Venice
💨 Emergenza qualità dell’aria: lo stato di fatto e le soluzioni future
What? Discussion about the current state of affairs and future solutions regarding air quality, in the context of Padua, Venice, Vicenza, Verona and Treviso being among the 15 most polluted cities in Europe in terms of fine particulate matter.
When? 25 May 2023, 14:00-18:30
Where? Villa Bolasco, Castelfranco Veneto
📖 Book Breakfast. Presentation of Reconstructing the Future: Cities as Carbon
What? Book release, where contributing authors Wael Al Awar, Francesca Bria, Sheela Patel, Edgar Pieterse, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Xu Tiantian will discuss "Reconstructing the Future: Cities as Carbon Sinks" with Rosa Ferré.
When? 26 May 2023 @ 9:00
Where? Ocean Space, Venice
👗 Kilo Market in the Park
What? Vintage and second-hand clothes market, in the context of the "Life(s) Love Landscape 2023 - L'Intangibile, Il festival dedicato ai linguaggi del e per il Paesaggio"
When? 26-27-28 May 2023
Where? Giardini dell’Arena, Padova
🖼️ Comenuova @ Combo
What? Vintage and hand-made art market
When? 27 May 2023
Where? Combo, Venice
🍷 ColFondo Agricolo Festival
What? Wine tasting from 17 local wine-makers
When? 27 May 2023
Where? Piazza Indipendenza, Treviso
🐚 Spazio Levante in Trasferta
What? Yoga, beach clean-up, ayurveda, acro-yoga and plenty of other super cool activities. Free event. Booking required.
When? 27 May 2023
Where? Via Bernardino Stagnino 7, Lido, Venice
⛵ Terramobile. Exploring the lagoon on traditional boats
What? Cultural & ecological public programme, leading Venetian citizens and international visitors on four one-of-a-kind lagoon explorations to encounter the aquatic environments and the local communities making up the Lagoon's socio-ecological systems past and present, and the people who imagine its futures by protecting this fragile territory through their practices and actions.
When? 28 May & 3-11-18 June, 2023
Where? Ponte dei Giardini, Venezia
🌱 I territori e le sfide della transizione ecologica
What? Intergenerational dialogue between thematical panel and workshop composed by enterprises, professors and students.
When? 1 June 2023
Where? Cantina Guida Berlucchi, Borgonato (BS)
🌍 Venezia Fabrica Futura
What? An eco-critical laboratory of a contemporary Venice projected into the future, exploring alternative futures already present in the lagoon and proposing a reflection on local ecologies of co-existence in an era marked by global political, economic and environmental crises.
When? Until 17 June 2023
Where? Complesso Dell'ospedaletto, Venice
📊 Climate Mismatch
What? Exhibition at Sale Docks that addresses the discrepancy between climate data and climate justice.
When? Until June 18th, 2023
Where? S.a.L.E. DOCKS, Venice
🔥 Antropocene. La terra a ferro e fuoco.
What? Exhibit dedicated to the Anthropocene, aiming to explain how our species is influencing the ecosystems.
When? Until July 5th, 2023
Where? Palazzina Canonica, Venice
🌡️ The cooling solution: Art and Science initiative
What? Scientific project using photography to investigate how people of different socioeconomic backgrounds around the world adapt to high temperatures and humidity.
When? Until July 31st, 2023
Where? Cortile Grande, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
🌧️ Everybody talks about the weather
What? Visual arts exhibition exploring our daily relations with the weather and the climate through its evolution.
When? Until November 26th, 2023
Where? Fondazione Prada, Venice
Podcasts, articles, newsletters and other resources we found inspiring
Alex really enjoyed listening to this conversation between Indy Johar (Dark Matter Labs) and Kate Rawoth (Doughnut Economics) about what it means to be human and our relationship with cities and technology. She is fascinated by the organizational model of Dark Matter Labs and has already begun using Doughnut Economics principles as a guideline in her work with cities and urban actors.
Gosia found Rebecca Solnit's article, "If you win the popular imagination, you change the game': why we need new stories on climate.' thoroughly enjoyable and engaging. She believes how we talk about the climate crisis drives our actions and significantly impacts our motivation and daily mood.
Alice never misses a chance to listen to the weekly exchanges between Dr. Laurie Santos and her guests on her podcast “The Happiness Lab”. If you’re looking for good-vibe content to boost your day on the way to work, or while cleaning the dishes, listen to the latest episodes.
What we have been up to lately
On May 6th we organized a visit to the Talking Hands studio in Treviso, a fashion design and art studio and a community project working with migrants. They design and create unique clothing pieces and work with local fabric manufacturers.
In our next newsletter, we will share a video from the visit, and we strongly encourage you to take a look at their website.