Talking about #Climate #Breakdown: The #Climathon is an annual event connecting cities worldwide to take climate action together on a local scale with a large impact. We wanted to be part of the solution and tackle the most urgent climate challenges with our community. We, this is the local staff who brought the Climathon, a 24h-climate-hackathon, to Wolkersdorf, consisting of Nathalie Aubourg, Jana Friedlmayer, Karl Glonig, Clemens Haselberger, Niklas Kieser, Reinhard Stidl and Joshua Zelle.
On Friday and Saturday, October 25th and 26th 2019, 22 participants and over 30 volunteers shaped the first Climathon Wolkersdorf, joining a global movement with 6.500 climate hackers in 140 cities and 56 countries!
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?
The participants were asked to contribute their ideas along the topics of mobility, energy and water, and to further elaborate them in small groups. Finally, every group focused on one solution to be presented in front of an expert jury. Key to the projects was their feasibility and sustainable approach. In a tight run, the project called “Radstadt Wolkersdorf” won the first place in a friendly competition. Their scope is to shape the town into a bicycle-friendlier area by featuring a special event called the “Radparade”.
HOW DID IT GO?
After a brainstorming session the participants got together in small groups. Our coaches Karl Glonig, Florian Faber, Manfred Rack, Andrea Schüller, Reinhard Stidl and Liselotte Zvacek were on location to support them, helping to get out of the box and yet stay on track with the challenges scope. Thanks to this professional support and the self-contained format allowing to fully immerse in a process for 24 hours, the workshop was a success. The participants were able to hold up high the motivation throughout the event and the spark goes on! Many would like to follow up on the projects and get engaged beyond the event. Thank you all for your creativity and enthusiasm! It was a pleasure working with you!
PROGRAM
Key to the event was the focussed work throughout the days. Still, the organisation team made sure there were plenty of occasions to unwind with delicious meals from incook, Maria Vogt and Schurlwirt, relax in a morning Yoga session with Sonja “Amrit Shiva” Katalinic or re-energize in a workout session with dancer Daniel Bojanowski. The brain food was brought by Dr. Greisberger from the Agency for Energy and Environment Lower Austria (Energie- und Umweltagentur Niederösterreich). These breaks were a great way mingle with each other.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The organisation team will further stay in touch and support the groups and partners with follow-up meetings, get-togethers and networking events. We’re all excited to see how the ideas are going to unfold!
MORE DETAILS
Further information about the Climathon Wolkersdorf and the global movement is to be found on the official Climate-KIC website. We invite you to have a look at the topics and solutions there! See you at the Climathon Global Award!
BY THE WAY: HOW DID IT ALL START?
We, the organisation team, were really excited to work together with thousands of people simultaneously for a climate-friendlier world. The format of working intensely on an idea for 24h was the highlight. Since we are one of the smaller cities taking part in the Climathon, we focused on the specific rural and urban conditions that make Wolkersdorf so interesting. Just like in the big cities the challenges were designed specifically for our setting. The city council is a supporting partner and welcomes the contributions, as possible synergies may occur in regard to the e5 program it just entered.
If you are interested in bringing the Climathon to your town, contact Nathalie Aubourg via email. We are more than happy to share our experiences with you!