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EGCA & EGLA E-Zine No. 22

Ezine No. 22 – May 2017


Commission launches financial incentive for European Green Capital and European Green Leaf applicants!


The European Commission has launched the competition for the 2020 European Green Capital (EGCA) and 2019 European Green Leaf Awards (EGLA).

For the first time, to celebrate the 10th year of the European Green Capital competition, the Commission will award a financial incentive to the winners. The 2020 EGCA (cities having more than 100,000 inhabitants) winner will receive €350,000 and 2019 EGLA (cities of smaller size, with a population of 20,000 and up to 100,000)[1] winner will receive €75,000.

Winning European Green Capital and European Green Leaf cities have enjoyed increased levels of tourism, positive international media coverage, increased international profiles, networks and alliance opportunities, foreign investment, public financial support, emphasis on environmental projects and momentum to continue improving their environmental sustainability.

Check out the Rules of Contest for both competitions here and for more information see our website.

[1] Subject to the approval of the EU 2018 Budget and approval by the College of the 2018 Financing Decision for the EU LIFE Programme
VISIT THE WEBSITE



Call for applications for European Green Capital 2020 and Green Leaf Awards 2019


Does your city have what it takes to be the next European Green Capital winner? The EGCA 2020 and EGLA 2019 are now open for applications.

Cities with a population of over 100,000 people can apply for the ECGA. Use the eligibility check on our website to see if your city can apply for the 2020 competition cycle.

Are you a smaller city? Then you could be eligible for the EGLA. The competition is open to cities with a population of 20,000 and up to 100,000 people. See if you are eligible for the award in the ‘who can apply’ section of our website.

You can apply for the awards on our website. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 18 October 2017 at 16.00 CEST (GMT +2).

The EGC and EGL awards give cities an opportunity to make lasting changes that will improve quality of life for all. Winning the award brings numerous benefits. Not only do winning cities receive support from the European Green Capital Network (EGCN) and European Green Leaf Network (EGLN), they receive positive attention from all over the world, spurring investment and boosting tourism. Most importantly, it gives citizens a sense of pride in their city.

Applicant cities have communicated the benefits of going through the competition process, receiving expert opinion on how they can improve their approach to sustainable development and benchmarking themselves against other cities.



Shortlisted cities and Awards for the European Green Capital Award 2019 and European Green Leaf Award 2018.


On Friday, 2 June 2017, we will find out who will be European Green Capital 2019 and European Green Leaf 2018 at the Awards Ceremony in Essen. Just over a week to go! The awards ceremony will be streamed live on Friday 2 June from 13.00 CEST (GMT +2) at this link.




Ghent (Belgium), Lahti (Finland), Lisbon (Portugal), Oslo (Norway) and Tallinn (Estonia) are shortlisted as finalists for the European Green Capital Award with Leuven (Belgium), Ludwigsburg (Germany) and Växjö (Sweden) shortlisted for the European Green Leaf Award.



Finalists for both awards were shortlisted by an independent panel of experts. The next step for the finalists is to present their city to the Jury, showing their ongoing commitment to sustainability and their ability to act as a role model for other cities.


Applicant Workshop for 2020 European Green Capital Award



A Workshop for those cities who are preparing applications for the 2020 European Green Capital Award will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on 27 June, Conference Centre A ‘Albert Borschette’, Room 2C, Rue Froissart 36, Brussels. The workshop will consist of an overview of the evaluation process, key elements of winning bids and various communication and technical aspects of the awards process and bid preparation. The Applicant Workshop will be held in English with interpretation into French, Spanish, German and Italian.

Attendees will also have a chance to hear from previous winners, Essen and Nijmegen, on their experience of applying for the Award and building their European Green Capital programme. An expert from the evaluation panel will also be in attendance to offer advice on what makes a quality application and those aspects which impress the expert panel.

For those who cannot attend, the workshop will be live streamed with a link to the stream via the European Green Capital Award website and social media channels to be posted closer to the date. For further information on the Application Workshop please click here.



EU Green Week 2017



The European Commission's annual Green Week is taking place from 29 May to 2 June 2017 across three locations in Malta, Belgium and Germany. The theme this year is ‘Green jobs for a greener future', focusing on policies that create employment in the environmental sector.

There will be a high level conference in Brussels, starting off with a welcome from Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs & Fisheries, European Commission followed by a TEDx session on sustainable employment.

There will also be a number of partner events, such as workshops, tours, seminars and job fairs, across Europe. If you can’t make it to any of these events, you can also take part through online and social media events.

The overall theme of Green Week 2017 is that of ‘Promoting sustainable development of cities and ensuring they become more liveable stimulates innovation and creates green jobs in our urban areas’. Green Week is scheduled to close in Essen, Germany, current European Green Capital. The award ceremony of the European Green Capital 2019 and European Green Leaf 2018 will take place right after Green Week closes on Friday 2 June.

Find out more about how you can participate in EU Green Week 2017 here.



Essen, European Green Capital 2017



Mayor of Essen Mr. Thomas Kufen and members the Essen Green Capital Project Team pictured at the ‘One Tree Per Child’ event in March 2017.

Following in the footsteps of Bristol, European Green Capital 2015, and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, member of the European Green Capital Network, the city of Essen teamed up with ‘One Tree Per Child’, the Western Ruhr Region Biology Field Station, and local primary school children to plant 75 trees just outside the city in March 2017. These are the first of 675 trees that will be planted to expand the woodland area near the Ruhr River.

Essen has also hosted a number of conferences, such as ‘Conference Bio Waste’ and workshops such as ‘Food is Worth More’.

Visit Essen’s Green Capital website to see what else the city has done in its year as European Green Capital. Visit the ‘One Tree Per Child’ website to find out more about this initiative.



City Diary


We will be publishing citizen diaries from winning EGCA cities to highlight the vital role that citizens play in achieving the Award and to give greater insight into life in a European Green Capital. The diaries will be published in the City Diary section of our website.

The first City Diary comes from 11 year old Lars Westra from Nijmegen. Lars is an environmental and social entrepreneur with a goal of empowering children to take positive action for sustainable development. Lars impressed us as someone who shares the values of the European Green Capital Award and we are sure he will impress you too! Read more about Lars here.




Galway, European Green Leaf 2017


Galway was officially launched as the 2017 European Green Leaf in March 2017.



Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Mr. Brendan McGrath, Mayor Noel Larkin and Deputy Director-General, DG Environment, Ms. Joanna Drake pictured at the official launch of Galway Green Leaf 2017 in Galway, Ireland.

One of Galway’s main priorities as European Green Leaf is to prevent waste. The ‘Love Your Mug’ campaign, organised by the SAOL Café in NUI Galway, is focusing on reducing the amount of disposable drinking cups used. In just five weeks, the campaign prevented an impressive 662 drinking cups from going to landfill.

For more information on Galway City as European Green Leaf 2017, visit the City Council’s website.