New European Bauhaus: call for projects to help rebuild Ukraine and foster sustainable construction skills in Europe
Today, the Commission is calling for proposals for three projects – two for the reconstruction of Ukraine and one for the development of skills in sustainable construction. The calls on the reconstruction of Ukraine are part of the ‘Phoenix' initiative announced in February by Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius and are financed by the LIFE Programme. The aim of ‘Phoenix' is to develop and put at the disposal of Ukrainian cities cutting-edge expertise from the New European Bauhaus (NEB) community in affordable and sustainable reconstruction. The initiative also connects Ukrainian cities with like-minded ones in the EU to exchange experiences on their way to climate neutrality and more energy efficiency.
Supporting Ukrainian cities in reconstruction
Two LIFE projects will support cities in identifying and implementing a holistic, sustainable city planning approach, including innovative effective solutions and support for the rapid reconstruction of destroyed or damaged infrastructures and facilities.
They will focus on sustainable and circular (re)construction including waste management, the reuse of debris resulting from damages and destruction, or the management of hazardous waste. They will also cover water treatments, including decontamination. They will build on mappings and strategies previously financed by European funds.
Fostering sustainable construction skills
In parallel, another LIFE project will contribute to the NEB Academy, which aims to develop, foster, and increase skills for sustainable construction.
The project will contribute to map skilling initiatives on sustainability in the construction ecosystem, with a focus on bio-based materials and circularity; test pilot projects on using sustainable materials for construction (focusing on wood and other biomaterials); and promote skills sharing initiatives.
This call is particularly relevant in the context of the European Year of Skills. It will help develop the NEB Academy and develop training on sustainable construction, circularity, and biobased materials to accelerate the transformation of the construction sector.
At the same time, there is a call running by the New European Bauhaus to map already existing learning material and possible contributions to the NEB Academy. This call is open until 25 April.
Background
The New European Bauhaus (NEB) is an environmental, economic, and cultural project launched by President von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union. The NEB puts the focus on community building and bottom-up approaches to implement the European Green Deal by promoting beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive places, products, and services.
Only two years after its launch, the NEB has grown into a movement with an active and growing community of more than 1,000 members from a wide variety of sectors (e.g., education, construction, fashion) operating across all EU Member States and beyond.
Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the NEB community has shown readiness to support Ukrainians; always with the approach to combine, as much as possible, emergency actions with longer-term needs in the country.
In Ukraine, the NEB works very closely with several Ukrainian partners like the Covenant of Mayors East, the NGOs Ro3kvit, ReThink and the Architects' Council of Europe.
The NEB Academy was first announced by President von der Leyen in November last year. It focuses on research and innovation and on the necessary skills that we need for the green transition, mainly in the construction sector.
Total funding of some €3 million is available for the projects announced today, in addition to €8 million under existing LIFE funding for the NEB for which similar proposals could also be eligible.
For More Information
New European Bauhaus LinkedIn page
New European Bauhaus Instagram account
LIFE calls for proposals for Ukrainian city reconstruction and NEB Academy