Newsletter No. 15: Without Samsø – no EU?
“Politicians are in large part responsible for the bad stories told about the EU. Regulations about licorice candy and how much cinnamon you may put into a cinnamon pastry were fake news, but politicians didn’t take responsibility for it.”
Stine Bosse, President of Europabevægelsen
Once upon a time, there was an EU – yet how would you continue the tale? With licorice candy or local development? Cinnamon pastries or ambitious climate change policy? There are enough stories from the big dessert table, yet which ones should we move onto our dessert plate? In a time of fake news, we all have a responsibility to embrace facts and experience, and the Samsø Energy Academy is qualified – even bound – to raise its voice. Samsø is a place which in many ways develops projects due to the EU’s regional development funds and ambitious environmental and climate change guidelines for local communities. In this newsletter, Samsø Energy Academy would like to point to the European community as a critical constellation for a peaceful Europe.
Peace-making standard-bearer
The EU is our “Big Brother” when it comes to standardization and setting goals. The EU helps us set higher goals and creates peace. Maybe we don’t often think of this, but peace-making actions are more than just military intervention. It is also the establishment of social structures that make a difference locally and nationally, creating a healthy dynamic in relation to democracy.
Project Manager Malene Lundén has worked at Samsø Energy Academy for ten years, and she puts the significance of the EU into perspective. “After Brexit and the emergence of a United States that downplays action on climate change, we need a new higher authority that can hold the flag high. Which is what the EU does by standardizing diversity. At Samsø Energy Academy, we see how EU bureaucrats come to Samsø to learn about our best practices. Based in part on projects that Samsø Energy Academy is involved in, the EU is creating new initiatives the promote the development of energy and environmental projects many other places in Europe. The EU finances 30% of Samsø Energy Academy’s project grants. In the past 15 years, Samsø Energy Academy has carried out numerous projects together with organizations in other EU countries. One of the highlights was when we received the Manage Energy Award in 2012, which was presented by the EU’s Manage Energy program,” according to Malene.
https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/managenergy
“We’re currently surrounded by examples of local and regional involvement by the EU, for instance, Cultural Capital 2017, which covers the entire Central Denmark Region, including Samsø. Especially Green Days became a platform for several regional EU projects, where Samsø Energy Academy invited upcoming Cultural Capitals to our Sustainability program. Leeuwarden in the Netherlands is next year’s Cultural Capital, and they won the Samsø Award. This past spring, we joined nine other EU countries involved in the Night Light project, the goal of which is to establish Dark Spots throughout Europe. Here on Samsø, we have our own Dark Spots where people can enjoy star-filled skies in areas that are protected from artificial light,” says Malene.
Other current projects include Smile Gov to build leadership capacity when implementating EU projects, and Night Hawks, which finds energy savings in stores and supermarkets.
How does the EU benefit isolated local communities?
Based on projects such as The Smart Islands Initiative, where 300 islands from around the world share experiences under the EU’s sustainability umbrella, Søren Hermansen recognizes a pattern that shows that in general the EU is better at taking care of details than a single country. For instance, when Denmark decides to distribute government subsidies, it’s done per capita. In other words, densely populated areas get a higher amount than areas with fewer people. On the other hand, when the EU distributes grants, it’s done with a distribution key that doesn’t favor highly populated areas. This makes isolated communities stronger units within the EU.
http://www.smartislandsinitiative.eu/en/index.php
“The Netherlands has been particularly good at working with the EU, to the benefit of several bottom-lines. It’s up to each region to distribute grant money, which while in Denmark we let some of the money benefit regional agriculture, the Netherlands focuses more on commerce, design, green transition, and architecture. An example is the Eco-Acupuncture project in Friesland Province, where they are using abandoned building for creative purposes until they get torn down. This benefits both the social and sustainability bottom-lines, and not just the financial bottom-line,” says Søren.
http://veil.msd.unimelb.edu.au/eco-acupuncture
Why should we tell about the EU?
Gunnar Boye Olesen is the coordinator for INFORSE Europe, and has worked with Samsø Energy Academy for many years. He agrees that despite its size, the EU does have an eye for detail. Yet a prerequisite for detail is that things have to function as a whole, which is why it’s important to talk about the EU as a frame for action. The inner market makes it possible to have common regulations within the area of climate change, and the EU encourages cooperation between regions and municipalities. The goal is for regions to be at least as ambitious as the countries they’re part of when it comes to renewable energy. According to Gunnar, “The EU is strong because it has many citizens, and this collective power is full of so much potential. When we all move in the same direction, it makes a difference.”
http://www.inforse.org/europe/
How do we tell about the EU?
One thing is content, another is the way you package the content. The story itself. Because that is what makes us hungry and gives us an appetite for healthy calories instead of fake calories. For Stine Bosse, the story of the EU is a key issue. “Instead of praising the EU, we need to talk about its relevance, which is the important thing,” says Stine. “The EU needs to be talked about as a community so people can see the connections and ties between the EU and our country. It’s about principles and values, and how we collectively define what the EU should do.”
She also feels that our own politicians have to be responsible, instead of pointing at the EU when things go bad, yet refrain from telling about its successes. When Denmark signs trade agreements with Canada and China, they don’t tell about the reason it’s possible is because of European cooperation. Stine encourages us to pull back the curtain hanging between citizens and politicians so we can hear about these stories. Otherwise we create a hole in our democratic fabric, because Danes as well-educated citizens have the feeling that they are being misled.
“European cooperation is the solution to our great challenges, both globally and locally, and people are slowly recognizing that the EU we’ve been criticizing is actually a good thing. People on Samsø have understood this for a long time. They understand that the world is connected, and we’ve shown that by being at the forefront of the energy agenda. Yet if we don’t spread the experiences from Samsø to the rest of the EU, we’ll have a huge problem,” concludes Stine Bosse.
Checking out at Samsø Energy Academy – other things we did this summer:
Ms. Kyoen Sakamoto and her ink are honest: In June, Samsø Energy Academy invited Tokyo-based Institute for Sustainable Energy Policy and Japanese calligraphist Ms. Kyoen Sakamoto to Denmark to participate in three workshops about the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. At the workshops the participants chose goal number 7: affordable and clean energy, number 16: peace, justice and strong institutions, and number 15: life on land as art subjects to interpret during the meetings. These final pieces of art will become a global travelling exhibition. On June 5th Ms. Sakamoto also inaugurated an exhibition of her works at Anton Rosen House – Samsø’s new art space.
Green Days: Samsø Energy Academy has created a new digital platform as a result of this year’s Cultural Capital activities, which will also be in use besides during the Samsø Sustainability Festival. Samsø Energy Academy is looking forward to participate in Green Days 2018, where we are collecting regional and local sustainability initiatives on Samsø.
Launch of the Positive Change blog at Klub in Copenhagen: Samsø Energy Academy’s ambition to make our digital life more physical was realized on May 17, when our first guest blogger, Ole Fogh Kirkeby, had a conversation with Søren Hermansen about the subject of resilience and its opposite, fragility. The next subject form the blog will be presented at Klub at the end of the summer.
http://denpositiveforandring.dk/en/
Meeting with First Nations in Canada: In May, Malene Lundén and Søren Hermansen were in Canada to meet with The Catalysts, a group of First Nation young people who have been selected by their respective local communities to be leaders in sustainable development. Malene and Søren presented Samsø Energy Academy’s Pioneer Guide, and afterward traveled to magical Fogo Island, which is more a state of mind than a place, and that has understood how to turn its island status into an advantage.