During the New European Bauhaus Festival, held in Brussels from 9 to 12 June, InnovaWood represented the NEBA Alliance, an EU project in which InnovaWood is a communication partner. Four members of the InnovaWood team, Florence, Claudio, Eva and Oliver, took part in the event.
The team contributed to the organisation and content of the stand, including interactive activities for the general public focused on skills and knowledge related to wood. They also supported the NEBA Alliance workshop and panel discussion.
On the opening day, the NEBA Alliance stand welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, who took part in the stand’s interactive activities.
Audience poll: Skills for the NEB transition: The purpose of this poll was to visualise the audience’s positioning in an engaging and playful way. There was no right or wrong answer, nor was there a single correct response. The aim was to create dialogue around the skills needed to drive the NEB transition. The question was: “What skills will drive the NEB transition in our cities and the built environment? Participants could choose one or more of three options: low tech, advanced technology and soft skills. They voted by throwing a chickpea into the corresponding pot.
Exploring Wood Species: Thanks to InnoRenew, a selection of wood samples was displayed at the stand, giving visitors the opportunity to explore the characteristics of different species up close. Using a magnifying lens, participants could examine the grain, texture and other details of each wood species in greater detail.
Connecting people and tree species around Europe: The purpose of this engaging activity was to raise awareness of the main tree species found across Europe among the festival’s non expert audience. Using a map of European tree species, participants could connect their instant photograph to a species growing in their country of origin, creating a visual link between people, places and nature.
On the second day, InnovaWood co hosted a workshop with the University of Primorska titled “NEB Academy Worldwide: Building Skills, Knowledge and Alliances for a Regenerative Future”.
Alongside Franklin van der Hoeven’s demonstration of how the platform works and an overview of the project by coordinator Andreja Kutnar, representatives from the Nordic and Central hubs provided a closer look at the specific contexts, priorities and activities of their respective hubs.
The workshop presentations have been published here.
Finally, on the third day of the event, Andreja Kutnar represented the NEBA Alliance in the panel conversation “NEB Academy: How the NEB Learns, Tests, and Scales.” The recording of the panel is available here.
The stand hosted by the NEBA Alliance provided a space to showcase not only the work of the NEBA Alliance, but also outcomes including samples and progress on projects such as EcoReFibre, Inguma, WoodPop, Woodstock, and InnovaWood’s work as a network. In short, InnovaWood is involved in these projects in the following ways:
- We implement EcoReFibre‘s communication and knowledge-transfer activities, raising sector awareness of advanced wood-fibre recycling technologies in Europe.
- We support INGUMA by engaging stakeholders across the wood and construction sectors to accelerate the uptake of bio-based building materials.
- We contribute to WoodStock by supporting stakeholder engagement, dissemination and knowledge exchange to promote the use of underused wood resources and advance sustainable, circular wood construction in Europe.
InnovaWood’s team presence offered an opportunity for alignment among multiple projects and reconnecting with contacts, such as the NEB Junction and the WoodPop project.
Here you can access more resources about the NEB Academy at NEB Fest.
