On November 12 and 13, Leuven 2030 and Leuven Value Network will organize the very first Leuven Climathon in the university hall of KU Leuven. On this two-day event participants use their knowledge and creativity to develop original and future-oriented ideas for important Leuven climate challenges. Everyone is welcome to register, and participation is free. The winning teams go through to a European final and their ideas could be implemented in Leuven!
Our earth is warming up at an ever-increasing pace and the consequences of this are now also tangible for us. Just think of the flooding we had this summer. Our transition to a low-carbon society is becoming increasingly urgent and requires many heads and hands. That is why Leuven Value Network and Leuven 2030 vzw are organizing the very first Leuven Climathon. On November 12 and 13, they invite everyone – from policy makers to hackers, from young people to academics and from students to business leaders – to collaborate on forward-thinking ideas to tackle some of Leuven’s climate challenges.
“This first Leuven Climathon aims to gather 150 fresh views and various new commitments around five of our biggest challenges. With this event, we link challenges to citizens and partners who want to contribute to the evolution towards a low-carbon society. The fact that we can take this initiative shoulder to shoulder with so many partners show once again the strength of our collaboration model in Leuven,” said Katrien Rycken, director of Leuven 2030.
The big five
The five global climate challenges that are central to the event are:
• How can we use the renewable energy generated in Leuven for the energy supply of buildings and sustainable mobility? • How can we develop a zero-emission urban distribution network in Leuven? • How do we make Leuven the greenest city in Europe? • How can we map food waste in organizations and companies?• How can the principles of the circular economy be applied to renovations and new construction projects in Leuven?
“Our roadmap to 2050 demonstrates the importance of these challenges. Our program leaders in the field will share their experiences and challenges with the participants of the Climathon. In this way we connect the rigorous work of our programs with new ideas, perspectives, and partners.”, explains Katrien Rycken.
Working together for a better world
Leuven 2030 vzw and Leuven Value Network are not alone in organizing the Climathon. A whole series of partners such as the Prins Filip fund, the city of Leuven, UCLL Hogeschool, KU Leuven Kick, KU Leuven Sustainability Department, Leuven MindGate, Cronos Leuven, Waterleau, EASI, Materialize and the MaakLeerPlek are also supporting the initiative. “Leuven is currently the ideal lab to come up with impactful climate solutions,” says Jente Schoutens, founder of Leuven Value Network. “The combination of global players in the field of innovation such as KU Leuven, UCLL, Materialize, Cronos, Waterleau, … as well as recent achievements such as the Innovation Capital of Europe award (iCapital 2020) and the Green Leaf Award create a kind of perfect storm to really make a difference as a creative innovation city with this Climathon. And it doesn’t stop after November 13. After this event, we would like to further develop the best ideas into concrete solutions in collaboration with our partners.”
Participate
Inspired? You too can participate. Alone, with friends or with your company or organisation. In any case, you will end up in a driven team. Participation is free, but registration is mandatory and is possible until November 11. The Climathon takes place in the university hall of KU Leuven. The start is planned on Friday evening at 5 pm and the event ends on Saturday evening with a big afterparty. You can find all the information and the registration link at bit.ly/climathon-2021.
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Link to visuals for the press release: https://bit.ly/3nC6oyl
Press contact for Leuven 2030
Katrien Rycken
Email: katrien.rycken@leuven2030.be
Mobile: +32 (0)499 05 44 01
Press contact for Leuven Value Network
Rachel Young
Email: Rachel@valuenetwork.be
Mobile: +32 (0)472 64 34 34