• Tickets to attend this Forum are already on sale on the website www.foro-ecoislas.es, with the option of attending the entire event or one of the two days.
• Manuel Maqueda, Christian Felber, Bernard Fletz and Leen Gorissen make up the panel of speakers who will lead the plenary sessions.

Island territories must move forward on this sustainability journey together, as it will bring significant benefits for our future generations. With this objective in mind, the first International Ecoislas Forum will be held on February 2 and 3, with the intention of providing a space for discussion, proposals and promotion of measures aimed at promoting the integral transition towards a greener, more profitable, more self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable socioeconomic model with an insular focus.

Promoted and financed by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and organized by Infecar, Ecoislas will have four main thematic areas: circular and blue economy; energy, water and mobility; adaptation to climate change; and regenerative tourism.

The president of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, and the technical coordinator of Economic Development, Energy Sovereignty, Climate and Knowledge of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Raul Garcia, presented this Wednesday, January 11, this I International Forum Ecoislas. “We have decided to bring together inspiring speakers in Gran Canaria, as well as to promote attractive working sessions that boost imagination and creativity in the face of the challenges of decarbonization and the transition to a cleaner and greener model,” said Antonio Morales.

“The International Ecoislands Forum wants to value island spaces as real laboratories of new management and innovation models. On the other hand, it also aims to create a space for collaboration between public, private and scientific institutions in order to promote innovative measures of resilience in islands to the challenge of climate change,” he added.

Thus, the event will feature international, national and local speakers who will present best practices and discuss the needs and solutions provided in each of the four major areas that articulate the program.

As Raúl García explained, “the Forum will last two days, with Thursday, February 2, from 9:00 to 19:00 hours, and Friday, February 3, from 9:00 to 17:00 hours. Thus, those interested in taking part in this event can purchase their tickets on the website www.foro-ecoislas.es to attend either a single session or the two sessions that make up the full program. The price of the same is 7.50 euros for one day, and 15 euros for two, in case of being a student; and 15 euros and 30 euros, respectively, in case of being a professional”.

With all this, the Ecoislas International Forum is designed for a visitor profile interested in learning about the challenge of green jobs as a source for reducing unemployment levels; accessing specific information related to the four main themes; establishing collaborations between public, private and scientific institutions to promote innovative measures to meet the challenge of climate change; and learning about policies aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change.

List of speakers

This first Ecoislas International Forum will feature four plenary sessions, led by Manuel Maqueda, professor of Applied Circular Economy and Regenerative Economics at Harvard University; Bernard Fletz, Belgian biologist and philosopher; Leen Gorissen, biologist specialized in Regenerative Ecology and Design and Bioinspirational Innovation; and Christian Felber, promoter of the Theory of the Common Good.

“Although the line-up of specialists is made up of four experts in the field, the Ecoislas program will be divided into four different spaces of parallel sessions in which each of the areas that make up the program will be explored in greater depth. These spaces will include round table discussions and case study sessions, in which more than 40 speakers will take part and in which, in addition to Gran Canaria, islands such as La Palma, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Balearic Islands, Cyprus, Greek Islands and Gotland (Sweden) will participate,” said Raul Garcia.

Greening The Islands

This first International Ecoislas Forum will also host, in parallel, the presence of experts from Greening the Islands, an innovative organization that supports the self-sufficiency and sustainability of islands around the world. During the event, it will present its annual report, some of its members will participate in the panel discussions and will also present its annual awards.

Greening The Islands is a company committed to building a network for self-sufficiency, sustainability, resilience and improved livelihoods in islands and remote places.

Program

With all this, the program of the first Ecoislas International Forum will begin at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, February 2 with the plenary session by Manuel Maqueda. After him, from 10.30 a.m. three parallel sessions will be held, one dedicated to the block of Energy, water and mobility, which is called ‘Energy communities in islands’; another on the circular economy and the blue economy, entitled ‘The cultivation of algae as an emerging sector in islands’; and finally, a block on Adaptation to climate change, entitled ‘Energy transition agendas in islands’.

At 12.00 pm there will be a presentation of the annual report of Greening The Islands and, after this, from 13.00 pm, different case studies will be presented in parallel sessions. The morning session will end at 13.30 with the presentation ‘Ecoislands: the challenge of the future’.

On the afternoon of Thursday, February 2, Bernard Fletz will be in charge of the plenary session starting at 4:00 pm. At 5 p.m., three other blocks of parallel sessions will be held, in this case on Circular economy and blue economy, under the title ‘Best practices in circular economy in islands’; Adaptation to climate change, called ‘What is the model of urbanizing or deurbanizing the ecological transition’; and finally, the block Energy, water and mobility, with the title ‘Sustainable mobility in islands’.

From 18.00 hours, two new blocks of parallel sessions will be held, this time on Energy, water and mobility, one of them on ‘Storage and green hydrogen: a solution to move towards decarbonization’ and another on ‘Present and future implications of sustainability in islands’.

On Friday, February 3, the day will begin with the plenary session at 9.00 a.m., given by Leen Gorissen. After that, from 10 a.m., the parallel sessions will begin, on this occasion on Regenerative tourism, under the name ‘Perspectives and experiences of regenerative tourism in island environments’; Circular economy and blue economy, on ‘Entrepreneurship initiatives in circular economy’; Adaptation to climate change, called ‘Smart technologies for fire prevention and forest management’; and finally, Energy, water and mobility, under the name ‘How islands will save the planet’.

From 11.30 a.m. onwards, four more parallel sessions will be held on Energy, water and mobility, with the title ‘Climate neutrality in the context of islands: the road to travel’; another of this block on ‘Water and energy: strategic allies’; one of the block Circular economy and blue economy, with the name ‘Barriers to entrepreneurship in circular and blue economy’; and, finally, a block of Adaptation to climate change, on ‘Opportunities for coastal areas’.

At 12:30 p.m., new case studies will be developed and at 1:00 p.m., Christian Felber will present the last of the plenary sessions. For the afternoon session, Greening the Islands will hold its awards ceremony from 15.30 hours.

This 1st International Ecoislas Forum counts on Cajasiete, as official collaborator; with the participation of Greening the Islands, European Projects and Mac Clima; and with the collaboration of the Insular Council of Energy, Spegc, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Maritime Cluster of the Canary Islands, the Insular Council of Waters of Gran Canaria, the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands, the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands, Gesplan and the Chamber of Commerce of Gran Canaria.