Research news

PARENT final conference spurs new sustainability initiatives in Brussels

The PARENT project's final conference took place in Brussels on 4 and 5 June, 2019. It brought together political actors, researchers and civil society organisations concerned with energy and sustainability in Brussels. Over two days, the conference discussed the project's core themes: sustainability, collaboration and technology. This was done in a collaborative and interactive environment amongst the 90 participants, with workshops organised by various partners, information stands from seven different organisations across Brussels, and an evening session with a keynote speech from Chris Roorda.  A short video of the conference highlights is available here. Results of the conference are available here.

As a result of the project, several mapping initiatives have been launched, with the ambition to fill the gaps in knowledge on sustainability actions in the region. The dialogue set up amongst actors will continue in the future, as we continue to push for a more sustainable Brussels.
 
The PARENT project (PARticipatory platform for sustainable Energy managemenT) is a citizen-oriented research project empowering people to reduce their electricity consumption through energy monitoring, collaboration and information exchange, which worked extensively in the communes of Watermael-Boitsfort-Boitsfort and Forest. As a transnational research project, it was also active in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Bergen (Norway). More information about the project can be found on its website: www.parent-project.eu. It was funded by Innoviris, and part of the JPI Urban Europe programme.