Thursday 30 September 2021

URBAN TALKS, where active citizens meet.

Last months in Severodonetsk were quite active, with the start of the workshops series "Urban talks", an event designed to discuss and learn about topics that affect our today's society, such as green energy, urban planning, active communication, etc. all that was conducted in an outdoor/ picnic setting which motivated the participants to be engaged and share their ideas.

The first gathering was focused on Green cities and the importance of natural environments around us, and how it affects our life. For that, we gather in the lake park of Severodonetsk where we set our special picnic place. 


Participants were very active and involved in the topics, we started with a series of “speed dating” activities to get to know each other and get into an energetic mood, after that we were set for one of the team-building workshops where the team need to design and built from 0 a half meter tower that could sustain some weight, using only tape and wooden sticks, and English language to communicate.


After some “Pizza break” we continue to the main activity of the day, discussing what facilities and areas a city should have to be good. After the discussion, we were ready to start designing our perfect city that our participants called “Dreamland” for obvious reasons.

We concluded with a series of card games, to relax and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere, all the participants were very pleased and happy to attend. They did a real good job and were super involved in all the discussions

The second and third editions followed with similar concept and atmosphere, with the second one focused on Green energy, with help from our local friends from “Garagecraft” which is an initiative dedicated to the reuse of plastic into different objects, they help us to build a 100% working solar panel!  Participants learned about the pros and cons of different kinds of energy production, and how important is to invest in green sources of energy.


The third event was part of the big “festival dumok” or festival of opinion, a series of small conferences and talks about different topics concerning Ukrainian society. Our Urban talks approach the topic of active communication, gathering participants from many different ages and backgrounds everyone worked together to solved the various puzzles and activities. 


In conclusion, these workshops brought people together, opening new topics of discussion, as well as opening the door for future collaboration between participants, and fostering active citizenship among Severodonetsk.