News
Bauhaus Bites kicks off in Zagreb
The Bauhaus Bites project has officially kicked off – and it did so during a three-day event November 12th through 15th in one of the participating Trailblazer Cities: Zagreb.
Our Horizon Europe funded project will co-create healthy, sustainable and inclusive food environments across seven cities, engaging partners from a total of 10 countries. The project is set to deliver urban food systems through the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions and the values of the Planetary Health Diet Approach and New European Bauhaus. Through this, our seven cities – Zagreb, Birmingham, Fundão, Murska Sobota, Ostend, Palermo and Sarajevo – will showcase how urban and peri-urban spaces can be catalysts for change, revolutionising the food environments of tomorrow.
Participants of the Bauhaus Bites kick-off in Zagreb.
Understanding each other, understanding our cities
The kick-off event brought together all 15 project partners, giving us the chance to meet in person and collectively shape the direction of Bauhaus Bites in an interactive, collaborative setting. Through deep dives into the seven participating cities, we familiarised ourselves with each other’s unique contexts, ensuring collaboration whilst emphasising the local contexts and needs of our projects.
Interactive sessions allowed participants got to introduce themselves and their visions. Each city shared knowledge about their local food systems, highlighting the social, environmental and economic contexts which they are operating in. Poster presentations created space for feedback on the proposed urban food systems initiatives, sparking meaningful and engaging discussions.
We also mapped out our upcoming work and clarified roles and responsibilities to ensure a collective vision and theory of change. One highlight of the work session was collaborating to refine the Bauhaus Bites project vision. Partners gave input into how best to phrase, prioritise and organise the multiple aspects of the vision, and reflected on how to ensure connections to the on-the-ground implementation. The project vision will be continually updated as the project progresses, with an initial version scheduled for completion in April 2025.
Poster presentations led to engaging and meaningful exchanges.
A warm welcome from Zagreb
Luka Korlaet, Deputy Mayor of Zagreb, helped kick off the meeting by presenting the city’s recent achievements. His remarks highlighted Zagreb’s impressive progress in sustainability, as well as advances in urban and environmental planning. Combined with a study visit to the Sopot Urban Garden and the Therapeutic Garden in Sesvete, we wrapped up the event with a feeling of inspiration energy (more to come on that in a separate article).
Concluding the kick-off energised by the unifying forces of food, climate and design, we look forward to the three upcoming years of co-creating beautiful, sustainable and transformational urban and peri-urban food environments in the Bauhaus Bites spirit.
Deputy Mayor of City of Zagreb meets the Bauhaus Bites project group.