Green Institute Foundation

The Green Institute (Zielony Instytut in Polish) is a think-and-do tank established in Bydgoszcz in 2009 by Beata Maciejewska, Dariusz Szwed and Karol Zamojski with its registered office in Warsaw. The Green Institute aimes at implementation of the green political and social thought and promotion of work delivered by the Green movement in Europe and in the world. It works for the benefit of democracy, it fights for the protection of common goods, human rights, civil society, freedom of every individual and self-determination of the society, as well as international cooperation and solidarity, world peace and sustainable business.^[1]

Aims

The Green Institute actively participates in numerous areas of public life: politics, education, culture. It promotes green politics based on ecological, ethical ideas and social principles, spread of the green lifestyle and green philosophy. As a non-profit organization, the Institute acts for the benefit of the communities all over Poland and internationally. It strives to accomplish its goals in the country and abroad through:

• Issuing publications
• Running and financing programmes and campaigns that correspond to the priorities
• Organizing and financing seminars, training sessions, conferences, debates, exhibitions, competitions and other educational events in the country,
• Co-operation with public European, nation and local institutions, cultural centres, non-government organizations, political parties, whose aims are similar to the goals of the Institute, as well as with anybody concerned with the green politics,
• Networking at a local, regional and global level

Structure and Organization

Board of Trustees

• Beata Maciejewska (2009-2014)
• Dariusz Szwed
• Karol Zamojski

Programme Council

• Dariusz Szwed - head of the Council
• Edwin Bendyk
• Robert Biedroń (2012-2014, elected Mayor of Słupsk in 2014)
• Ludomir Wojciech Duda
• Anna Grodzka
• Ryszard Kalisz
• Milo Kurtis
• Dorota Metera
• Mira Stanisławska-Meysztowicz
• Andrzej Potocki
• Kazimiera Szczuka

Board of Directors

• Maria Janiak – chair of the Board
• Karol Zamojski
• Karolina Skowron

Cooperation

• Heinrich Böll Foundation
• Green European Foundation
• Spaces for Dialogue Foundation
• Research Centre on Future at Collegium Civitas
• Europa Plus (Poland)
• GLOBE
• Partnership Fund

Activities

• Energy democracy - a campaign to strengthen local democracy through implementation of participatory process of increasing energy efficiency and development of citizens' owned renewable energy sources.^[2]

• Green City of the New Generation^[3] – a green manifesto showing that cities are colossal laboratories of progress. Authors, Dariusz Szwed and Beata Maciejewska redirect public attention to the necessity of implementing green ideas into local life. This publication covers several areas of local politics: sustainable transport including the development of public, pedestrian and bicycle transport; energy democracy - expansion of energy-saving technologies and increase the share of renewable sources of energy in the urban energy policy; local, seasonal, sustainable food policy etc. The authors describe the way the public participation, creative capitals and the gender equality policies contribute to the sustainable urban development and address the global challenges through networks of co-operation between cities as well as alterglobal social movement. Green City of the New Generation also stresses the necessity of climate protection on the local level (local climate policy) and networking for the benefit of global change. Issues mentioned therein involve global solidarity, responsibility and the need of implementing the policy of Green New Deal - which is the main scope of interest for the series of public debates organized in several Polish cities. The publication was discussed during the Polish Social Forum.^[4]

• Green New Deal in Poland – this campaign encompasses two books "Green New Deal in Poland" and "Green New Deal - social" and a series of public debates in several Polish cities with politicians and specialists in the given area.^[5] The book discusses Green New Deal in the world and in Europe, Green New Deal as a tool to balance economy, society and natural environment. It covers areas such as: green transport (mobility), electric vehicles, decentralized energy systems, smart grid 2.0, micro-generation, thermo-renovation, agriculture and sustainable development of rural areas, sustainable water and resource management, climate policy as a tool to modernize the economy and the society. Emphasis is put on women, their equal chances in the Green New Deal policy (employment, quota policies, the status in politics and business). The book examines the problem of energy efficiency, low-energy and autonomous buildings, eco-innovations, green technologies, potential of green jobs etc. Additionally, education and climate democracy are discussed through the “Green-New-Deal-lenses”.^[6][7]

• Sustainable development of metropolises and cities –the Green Institute actively participated in a series of debates addressing the issues of public space and infrastructure. Do disabled and elderly people feel as comfortable as young, fit man in the city architecture? Do woman and man experience city’s infrastructure alike? The debate^[8] organized together with Spaces for Dialogue Foundation and Fredrich Ebert Foundation took places in five Polish cities: Łódź, Opole, Bytom and Sosnowiec^[9]

• European Citizens' Initiative Handbook^[10] - the Green Institute participated in preparing the Polish version of "European Citizens' Initiative Handbook. Your Guide to the World's First Transnational Direct Democratic Tool". As part of the project Institute organized a conference and a series of workshops on principles of this new tool in the field of active citizenship.

• Common Agricultural Policy beyond 2013 and Greening of the CAP - the Green Institute organised a series of debates and seminars on various aspects of the CAP and developed a statement of Polish NGOs to the EU institutions.^[11]

• Greening the Wikipedia – the Green Institute raises social awareness by creating entries concerning various aspects of green politics in the Polish Wikipedia. This project consists in translating pages from/into English, Spanish and Russian so as to adjust them to the Polish context or transfer green know-how to other versions of the Wikipedia.

• Water Round Table (Wodny Okrągły Stół in Polish) - The Green Institute cooperated with Polish NGO Eko-Unia in a series of workshops concerning water policies, water efficiency and methods of mitigating climate change.

• Transposing the RES Directive in Poland. Citizens' Hearing hosted by Deputy Marshalls of Sejm Wanda Nowicka and Jerzy Wenderlich in co-operation with GLOBE ^[12]

Notes

1. Information about Green Institute in Polish
2. Energy Democracy project, Green Institute
3. "Green City of the New Generation. The guidebook for XXI century"
4. Polish Social Forum
5. Green New Deal in Poland
6. European Green Foundation: Green New Deal
7. Green Institut: Green New Deal
8. Virtual New Industry
9. What Silesia Metropolis needs? Sense of community
10. European Citizens' Initiative Handbook
11. All Colours of the CAP
12. Transposing the RES Directive in Poland. Citizens' Hearing in Sejm

External links

• Green Institute Foundation
• Green City of the New Generation - download publication in Polish and English
• Green New Deal in Poland - download publication in Polish and English
• European Citizens' Initiative Handbook - download publication in Polish, English, French, German and Spanish