Motto as an encouragement: With the promise "This is how the future works!", the Woche der Umwelt (Week of the Environment) aims to spark enthusiasm for the preservation of the planet. In a tried and tested tradition, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in cooperation with the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), is inviting people to his official residence in Berlin on 10 and 11 June. However, this sixth edition of the WdU in the park of Bellevue Palace is different in many ways: because of the corona pandemic, the event will take place in a hybrid format - that is, partly in person and partly digitally. DBU Secretary General Alexander Bonde: "In this way we also want to send a signal: Despite the Covid 19 pandemic, the climate crisis and concerns about biodiversity, environmental protection and resource conservation are not going away. On the contrary, they remain challenges for a future worth living." After the opening address by the Federal President at 11 a.m. on Thursday, 10 June, a multi-faceted two-day programme will start at around 12 p.m. on the main stage in the park of Bellevue Palace and in digital expert forums.
Appreciation of the exhibitors
The digital icing on the cake will be a special online service for the 150 or so exhibitors - for all those who were chosen by a jury of experts specially commissioned by the Office of the Federal President for the Week of the Environment to present their commitment to environmental protection in the midst of a large city of tents and stages at the President's official residence - and all the aspects associated with it: from climate, energy and resources to soil and biodiversity to construction, housing and mobility. "These companies, research institutes, associations and societies are doing great things in terms of quality, innovation and exemplarity," says Bonde. "We want to honour that, even if the corona pandemic has put a spanner in the original plan." All exhibitors will therefore present themselves virtually with a personal profile as well as detailed text, image and sound material and a special WdU certificate from the organisers.
Food for thought on the main stage and in the expert forums
There will be four high-profile panels on the main stage in the park of Bellevue Palace: two on 10 June will deal with the change to be shaped together and the protection of biodiversity; the two panels on 11 June will get to the bottom of questions on mobility and visions for the future. The panels and the digital expert forums will be held under the motto "This is how the future works!" They want to provide suggestions for a sustainable approach to the planet and at the same time put a finger on the wounds that urgently need to be healed for a future worth living. They will also address the question of how to reconcile economy and ecology. Efficient use of heat, initiatives for the circular economy and climate neutrality in companies will be discussed as well as digital solutions for the energy transition, sustainable capital investments and mobility. Stimulating discourse is also expected in these debates: green start-ups as a driver of transformation, cultural heritage and climate change, biodiversity and agriculture, or: populism versus science journalism. Bonde: "A colourful bouquet of future topics awaits the viewers in the livestream, which science, business, society and politics can only solve together."
Both the discussion rounds on the main stage and the expert forums can be followed live via stream at https://www.woche-der-umwelt.de/. The website also provides all further information on the Week of the Environment.
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