Community action/Belgium
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Belgium.
News
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Reclaiming the streets: the architects clawing back Europe’s car-centric spaces, theguardian.com (Sep 09, 2026) — The European Prize for Urban Public Space’s shortlist highlights projects helping people cope with climate crisis- ‘A silent majority’: MPs underestimate support for green policies, study reveals, theguardian.com (Jan 05, 2026)
- Low emission zones are successful in cutting air pollution, study finds, theguardian.com (May 16, 2025)
- Citizens need to power Europe's future, demnext.substack.com (Oct 02, 2026) — The EU can enable new democratic institutions: in European countries; with a European Citizens’ Assembly as a 4th branch of government, and by legally enforcing the Global Citizens’ Assembly on AI, Claudia Chwalisz and Another Democratic Future
- Reclaiming the streets: the architects clawing back Europe’s car-centric spaces, theguardian.com (Sep 09, 2026) — The European Prize for Urban Public Space’s shortlist highlights projects helping people cope with climate crisis
- We’re the mayors of Paris, Milan and Phoenix. The heat crisis has us all facing the same question, Emmanuel Grégoire, Giuseppe Sala and Kate Gallego, theguardian.com (Sep 07, 2026) — Our three cities are learning from each other about how to protect residents. These climate policies are also public health measures
- Hunter Valley community group wins landmark high court climate change case over coalmine, theguardian.com (Oct 07, 2026) — Ruling on Mount Pleasant coalmine shows ‘we cannot continue to dig up coal … and pretend the consequences have nothing to do with us’, group says
- Citizens need to power Europe's future, demnext.substack.com (Oct 02, 2026) — The EU can enable new democratic institutions: in European countries; with a European Citizens’ Assembly as a 4th branch of government, and by legally enforcing the Global Citizens’ Assembly on AI, Claudia Chwalisz and Another Democratic Future
- Fifty Billion Seedlings: Can Ethiopia Replant Its Ravaged Forests?, e360.yale.edu (Oct 01, 2026)
Networks and sustainability initiatives
[edit | edit source]- Citizens Spring, citizen movement "to rebuild our local communities to be more resilient. Our goal is to develop and support various citizen initiatives that bring citizens together and that focus on sustainable solutions."
- Liege in Transition
- Transitie Tervuren
Resources
Youth initiatives
Young Green (Dutch: Jong Groen) is the youth organisation of Groen, the Green party in Flanders and Brussels.
International events
[edit | edit source]Global or International events
Oct 01, 2026 (Thu) — World Vegetarian Day, Oct 1 each year, bringing awareness to the ethical, environmental, health, and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle, worldvegetarianday.navs-online.org- Oct 02, 2026 (Fri) — International Day of Non-Violence, observed each year on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, un.org
- Oct 07, 2026 (Wed) — World Day for Decent Work, October 7 is the World Day for Decent Work, ituc-csi.org
- Oct 10, 2026 (Sat) — World Mental Health Day, Oct 10, annually, wmhdofficial.com
- Oct 10, 2026 (Sat) — World Homeless Day, Oct 10 each year, drawing attention to homeless people’s needs locally and provide opportunities for the community to get involved in responding to homelessness, worldhomelessday.org
- Oct 10, 2026 (Sat) — World Migratory Bird Day, worldmigratorybirdday.org
- Oct 13, 2026 (Tue) — International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, Oct 13, annually, promoting a global culture of natural disaster reduction, including prevention, mitigation, and preparedness, un.org
- Oct 16, 2026 (Fri) — World Food Day, celebrated every year around the world on 16 October, often with a focus on food security, fao.org
- Oct 17, 2026 (Sat) — International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Oct 17 each year, honouring victims of poverty, hunger, violence and fear, with participation by the poorest of people an important aspect of the observance of the Day, un.org
- Oct 17, 2026 (Sat) — International Repair Day, annual celebration for everyone who makes repair happen in their communities around the world. "Repair for Everyone"., openrepair.org
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
CDC video
[edit | edit source]Each week 3 different short videos from across the world.
Cycling activism, Food activism, Community climate action Scotland / ...This week's featured UK videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism
Belgium video
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Community involvement
[edit | edit source]- G1000, Belgian platform for democratic innovation. "We develop and support new forms of citizen participation. We are active in municipalities, cities, regions and on national level. We are also involved in various international networks." added 15:10, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
Food activism
[edit | edit source]- Ceinture Aliment-Terre liégoise - (fr, nl, de)
- www.fian.be, Foodfirst Information & Action Network
- PermaFungi
Community energy
[edit | edit source]Visions
[edit | edit source]Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle
[edit | edit source]- RREUSE represents social enterprises active in re-use, repair and recycling
- Repair Cafés, Repair Together
Sharing
[edit | edit source]Climate action
[edit | edit source]Ethical consumerism
[edit | edit source]News archive
[edit | edit source]- Belgian court orders 55% emissions cut from 1990 levels, theguardian.com (Dec 01, 2023)
- Brussels launches permanent citizens’ assembly on climate, knoca.eu (Nov 17, 2022)
- More flowers, fewer cars: the rewilders turning parking spaces into parks, The Guardian (Jun 22, 2022) — Across the UK and Europe, the ‘parklet’ movement is gaining pace, transforming dead spaces where cars used to be into pockets of green
- Denmark, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands come together to make the North Sea a "green power plant", The Daily Alternative (Jun 15, 2022)
Belgian parliament votes to recognise international crime of ecocide, Dec 3, 2021...stopecocide.earth
- The launch of bicycle parking initiatives in Belgium and the Netherlands, 2021...park4sump.eu
- Citizen Spring: The new movement connecting social enterprises across Brussels and Antwerp, May 19, 2019...Shareable
- A dazzlingly delicious taste of the future in Liége, Mar 27, 2018...transitionnetwork.org
- Meet the Transition Pinball Wizards! Apr 27, 2017...transitionnetwork.org
- Car-free Belgium: why can't Brussels match Ghent's pedestrianised vision? Nov 28, 2016...theguardian.com
- How 22 Belgian streets turned into lively car-free parks this summer, September 4, 2015...Co.Exist
About Belgium
[edit | edit source]Past events
- Mar 21 - 24, 2019, Citizen Spring
- Sep 18, 2016, Car Free Sunday in Brussels
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. Belgium covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.8 million; its population density of 383/km2 (990/sq mi) ranks 22nd in the world and sixth in Europe. The capital and largest metropolitan region is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.
Belgium is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a complex federal system structured on regional and linguistic grounds. The country is divided into three highly autonomous regions: the Flemish Region (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon Region (Wallonia) in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region in the middle. Belgium is also home to two main linguistic communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, which constitutes about 60 percent of the population, and the French-speaking French Community, which constitutes about 40 percent of the population; a small German-speaking Community, comprising around one percent of the population, exists in the East Cantons. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Belgium is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy. It is one of the six founding members of the European Union, with its capital of Brussels serving as the de facto capital of the EU, hosting the official seats of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, and one of two seats of the European Parliament (the other being Strasbourg). Brussels also hosts the headquarters of many major international organisations, such as NATO.
Near you
[edit | edit source]External links
- Brussels Environment, administration of the environment and the energy of the Region of Brussels-Capital
| Authors | Phil Green |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Phil Green (2014–2026). "Community action/Belgium". Appropedia. Retrieved October 20, 2026. |