Hamburg takes the issues of sustainable development very serious and has been playing its part in the local and global Agenda 21 process already since the mid nineties.
Read on this page about:
> Hamburg Future Council
> World Future Council
> Hamburg Future Weeks
> Hamburg times fair
> Agenda 21 groups
Hamburg Future Council
Adopting the principle of a viable lifestyle for today and future generations, the Hamburg Future Council (Zukunftsrat Hamburg) was set up in April 1996. Since then more than 120 organizations, initiatives and companies located in Hamburg have joined forces to support Hamburg's Agenda 21 process. They make up a sustainable network in which information, competence and initiatives from major areas of human life unite: energy and transport, the private sector, environmental protection, agriculture, education and science.
Every year the Future Council organizes regular council meetings that are open to the general public and encourages cooperative moves between its many members. One of the council's major accomplishments is the creation and application of over 30 sustainability indicators HEINZ (Hamburg Entwicklungs-INdikatoren Zukunftsfähigkeit). The HEINZ is an important tool to monitor and evaluate Hamburg's ecological, social and economic development - HEINZ studies have been conducted and published by the council on an annual basis since 2003.
World Future Council - Voice of Future Generations
The World Future Council (WFC) was founded by Jacob von Uexkull, a Swedish writer and political activist and was officially launched in 2004 in London. In Mai 2007, the Council opened its headquarters in Hamburg. The Council consists of 50 eminent councillors from all continents who "envision a sustainable, just and peaceful future, where the dignity and rights of every living being and the connectedness of human beings to all life are universally respected" (World Future Council). Key here is a change from short-term thinking to long-term thinking - especially on the political stage.
Click here to read more about the WFC
Hamburg Future Weeks
Since 2007, every year more than 50 events take place during the Hamburg Future Weeks (Hamburger Zukunftswochen). The topical range includes fair trade, global solidarity, climate protection, energy saving, responsible consumption, eco-friendly mobility, green investment, development co-operation and education for sustainable development.
The following special event days are connected to the Future Days:
- Fair Trade Days (Faire Woche)
- Regional production and consumption (Aus der Region fuer die Region)
- Sustainability Trade Fair Rio+ (Nachhaltigkeits-Messe Rio +)
- DESD Days (Bildungs-Wochen Bildung fuer nachhaltige Entwicklung)
Hamburg times fair
This is a network of political initiatives that aim to further fair trading in support of the developing countries. Since 2006 Hamburg times fair (HAMBURG MAL FAIR) and the Hamburg Senate collaborate to strenghten Fair Trade in Hamburg. The objective is to develop in children and adolescents a stronger sense of fairness and social equality within the world trade. Another aim is to increase the distribution and consumption of fair trade products. Each year focuses on a particular topic:
2006: Fair Footballs
2007: Fair Chocolates
2008: Fair Textiles
2009: Fair Hamburg T-Shirt Design Competition
Agenda 21 groups
There are currently five Agenda 21 groups in Hamburg:
- Agenda 21 group of Hamburg-Altona
- Agenda 21 group of Hamburg-Altona/Kaltehofe - Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald
- HARBURG21 (Harburg and surrounding area): www.harburg21.de
- Future Council of Hamburg-Niendorf (Niendorfer Zukunftsrat)
- Agenda 21 of Hamburg-Volksdorf: Agenda Office WALDGEIST & Walddoerfer Umweltzeitung
Other initiatives include
Working group "Agenda 21" at the University of Hamburg
S.O.F. Save Our Future - Umweltstiftung (DESD in nursery schools, KITA21)
Chris Baudy
