Environmental get-together with many prominent guests celebrating the 30th anniversary of the German Environment Ministry
For two days this September, Berlin is going to host a unique international environmental happening. "Environmental Policy 3.0 - the Festival of the Future", the event to be held on 10 and 11 September on the grounds of the Schöneberg gasometer (EUREF Campus), will mark the Federal Environment Ministry’s 30th anniversary. At the invitation of Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks more than 100 organisations, associations and environmental initiatives from Germany and abroad will present topics, key areas of work and ideas they would like to see reflected in the environmental policy of the future. Some 170 panels and workshops, large and small, will allow visitors to learn about and discuss all areas of environmental policy, ranging from nature conservation, agriculture and healthy eating to climate action, globalisation and sustainability in sports. In one of the panels, the Environment Ministry will present its Integrated Environmental Programme 2030 and discuss it with experts and the general public.
Minister Hendricks commented: "The establishment of the Federal Environment Ministry 30 years ago was also the result of years of campaigning by environmental associations and citizens’ initiatives. The 30th anniversary of the ministry is an excellent opportunity to thank citizens for their commitment by celebrating together and discussing the future of environmental policy with associations and initiatives. I am delighted that so many civil society groups have agreed to participate in the festival, and I am looking forward to lively and productive debates.
Among the environmental organisations represented will be large associations such as Friends of the Earth Germany, NABU (Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union), WWF and Naturfreunde as well as many small initiatives and campaign networks including Germanwatch, Climate Alliance Germany and the Pesticide Action Network. Scientific institutions such as the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and the Institute for Climate Geography at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin are also going to hold workshops. The line-up will be completed by companies and industrial associations, e.g. the Federation of German Industries (BDI).
Minister Hendricks remarked: "The Festival of the Future is an environmental get-together the likes of which have never been seen before in Germany with its unprecedented openness, broad-based appeal and diversity. It is exceptional to have so many initiatives, associations and organisations from so many areas of civil society come together to debate about the environmental policy of the future. This festival sends out a clear message of diversity and openness: it is only by listening and talking to one another that we are able to identify common objectives and find a way forward for more sustainability and equity."
The festival will open on Saturday morning (10 September) with a panel discussion in the gasometer, where Günther Jauch used to host his Sunday evening talk show until just a few months ago. The panel’s topic will be: Between deposits on drink cans and saving the world – do we need a new environmental policy? The event will be moderated by former German television journalist Hans Jessen. The panellists will be Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, former Environment Minister Klaus Töpfer, WWF climate expert Regine Günther, Berlin entrepreneur Sarah Wiener and economists Hans-Werner Sinn (Munich) and Joachim Weimann from Magdeburg University.
Among the highlights of the festival will be a panel discussion with prominent national and international guests on Saturday evening. The question will be which options remain for global environmental and development policy in a world marked by crises and catastrophes. Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks will explore this question with Luxembourg Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg, former President of Kiribati Anote Tong, UN Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate Mary Robinson, climate researcher Joachim Schellnhuber and Executive Director of Greenpeace International Jennifer Morgan.
Admission to the festival is free. Visitors can expect a programme full of activities for the whole family to enjoy. Topics, speakers and activities on the 13 stages and one open-air stage in front of the gasometer will change every hour. Organisations and institutions from all areas of society will be represented. This includes environmental associations and campaign networks, church groups, industry associations, scientific institutions and the media, for example the makers of the environmental programme of Deutsche Welle and "ZEO2", the environmental magazine of TAZ newspaper. They will all contribute to the colourful programme with their workshops, talks, panel discussions and information booths.
Discover, explore, paint, play - there is a lot to do for children as well. They can join the environmental detectives, learn about mobile phones at one of the learning stations, do some hands-on activities in the kids’ lab or go on a mystery hunt finding stork Arthur. Visitors can get made up as a wild cat, turn the wheel of fortune or see whether they can jump further than some animals.
There will also be a varied cultural programme including exhibitions, films, an environmental short film competition and musical performances by artists such as Leslie Clio, Megaloh, KUULT, Lichtfeld and the Berlin-based singer, street musician and song-writer Elen.
Visitors can share their ideas and demands on environmental policy via different channels - by participating in one of the public debates, via social media or by going to the speaker’s corner. Twitter is another means of communication that everyone can use. Until the festival weekend, ideas and questions to the Federal Environment Ministry (@bmub) can be posted under the hashtag #bmub30. Minister Hendricks will comment on the tweets and answer questions on the first day of the festival on 10 September.
To make sure that the many ideas and contributions are not lost, researchers from the Environmental Research Centre at Freie Universität Berlin will document and analyse the whole spectrum of views and suggestions so that it can be used to further the environmental policy debate.