ResidenZ Scholarship Program - RCE Szczecin Lagoon

BREAKING NEWS: After the pilot is before the pilot!

In spring 2023, the first European prototype of the ResidenZ program will be published. Two candidates will have the opportunity to work in Algoceira, Portugal, and Rothenklempenow and the region on the topic of water for at least 4 months, with the support of the new transnational network. This was created thanks to the exchange program.

Applications and further information will be announced on these pages.

Thus, this exchange project was the beginning of a hopefully fruitful European cooperation.

ResidenZukunft pilot project - Time for the future

This pilot project is designed to support the launch of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. The goal of this novel scholarship program is to make urgently needed transformation to climate-friendly and sustainable management possible. Ecosystems are conceived here in the Otto Scharmer sense or with the Beuys approach of social sculpture, as holistic systems with people. It is about thinking about the common good and the regeneration and restoration of all ecosystems together.

The task is active and place-based transformation for the achievement of climate goals and 17 sustainability goals. Actors from all sectors are stuck in their old patterns or old economic constraints. Transforming a farm, a business or even an entire community requires extra commitment and time. Rural infrastructure and rural exodus is a societal challenge and more exchange and action is needed as well as concepts that are a way to try out rural life. In addition, it can be assumed that the Friday for Future generation is looking for new educational paths in order to be able to contribute and specialise.

The pilot project is to find local solutions with the following concept: A company, community or initiative is provided with a 'residenZ', scholarship holder, to continue necessary transformation areas. This residenZ was filled in advance through a call for applications. The applicants have applied for topics such as the conversion of a community to renewable energies, a more sustainable agriculture, solution of water challenges as well as education for sustainable development.

The special feature here is that the topics are explored with the local people, whereby a prerequisite is to live locally for the duration of the project, i.e. in the place where the events take place. In addition, the project is accompanied by at least one local mentor and integrated and networked with the ecosystem and environment. A basic income for at least 6 to 12 months, access to educational modules and further mentors provides a solid basis for research and test phase on site. The work and results will be made visible to the public in the form of a live stream on 29 June 2021.

Localintegration is crucial for the regionalisation of solutions for transformation, also for the preservation of the respective local culture. Accordingly, connecting to the local history through the citizens plays an important role in the topic.

In this case, it is the future place RothenklempeNOW

Outstanding flagship project 2021 goes to the RCE Szczecin Lagoon

With the pilot project "ResidenZukunft - Time for future", this year's International RCE Award goes to the network at the Szczecin Lagoon.

2021 RCE Awards for innovative projects on education for
sustainable development (ESD)

Launched in 2012, the RCE Award recognizes projects and
programs on ESD within the global RCE network and honors RCEs that have made outstanding contributions to addressing local sustainable development challenges in their regions.

The award recognizes projects and programs that bridge local and global perspectives on sustainable
development, address transformative learning and research
, and initiatives that contribute to community engagement, research and development, and capacity building of stakeholders and partners.

The winners of the 2021 RCE Awards, presented at the 12th Global RCE Conference held online November 16-18, 2021
, included projects on the SDGs and topics such as climate policy,
curriculum development, waste, agriculture, responsible consumption and

production, traditional knowledge, sustainable cities and communities, and
quality education. The winners were awarded in three categories: (1)
Outstanding Flagship Project, (2) Recognised Flagship Project and (3)
Honourable Mention.

Learn more: http://rcenetwork.org/portal/rce-awards-2021

What

The Neulandgewinner project ResidenZ - Time for the Future is aimed at people who focus on communal ways of living and doing business and impact-oriented solutions for sustainable management of land as a resource.

We always deal with local issues with a view to global practicability and would like to face the economic and social challenges of rural regions and seek solutions with ambitious people / doers. From our point of view, there is an urgent need to rethink and redesign economic practices from the natural economy (land, water and forest) for the common good within the framework of global sustainability goals. For this purpose, we provide living and working spaces, hand and thinking tools, as well as test areas and buildings for six months. The exchange with experts, the advisory services of the Network Agency for Sustainable Development - Project N, as well as access to the regional and nationwide organic market are further cornerstones of our offer. In this way, we want to ensure that the global questions on sustainable land management can be concretely tested and implemented in practice at the local level.

Who

The regional competence centre RCE Stettiner Haff was awarded by the United Nations University to support the association of stakeholders working for sustainable development in the region and in the village of Rothenklempenow (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). The BioBoden cooperative, which purchases agricultural land for organic farming nationwide, acquired the resident farm here in 2013. At that time, only two employees were still working on the farm to manage the 900-hectare farm in Rothenklempenow. This safeguarding of agriculture and the merging of three former GDR sites to form Höfegemeinschaft Pommern has led to a fundamental change in agricultural work: higher organic standards, diversification and direct marketing. As a direct result, the regional farms, the network agency for sustainable development - Project N, the food start-ups LunchVegaz and Tlaxcalli, and the fashion designer Emelie Janrell have now established themselves here. In collaboration with the municipality and other regional and supra-regional actors, such as the Stettiner Haff Nature Park and the Leadership Festival, a new location for forward-looking business and coexistence in rural areas is being created. Through this cooperation and the development of educational offers, such as the dialogue area Weltacker 2000m2, 27 employees from the surrounding villages, various cities and countries are integrated today.

BioBoden - Höfegemeinschaft Pommern - LunchVegaz - Tlaxcalli - Emelie Janrell - Leadership Festival - Leadership³ - MoDem - Netzwerk Zukunftsorte - Nave e.V. - FEG Förder- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft - Bröllin Castle - Project N - RCE Stettiner Haff - Neulandgewinner Network - Thünen Institute - Robert Bosch Foundation

Effect

The radiance of our work is already becoming apparent. However, in order to be able to sustainably shape the overarching change, we need intensive exchange among each other and the short path from theory to practice. All of this can be found on the Rothenklempenow estate. Here, together with other stakeholders, we want to create a place of the future where we rethink agriculture and community in rural areas. This approach has already convinced others: Thus, in 2019, this vision was awarded as a Neulandgewinner by the Robert Bosch Foundation and included in an interdisciplinary network with leaders from politics, business, culture, administration and civil society. Most recently, in collaboration with regional and national partners, we received the recognition of the United Nations University 'RCE Szczecin Lagoon for Sustainable Development'. As a reference project of the RCE region, the scholarship program is part of the global network of the United Nations University. This is intended to concretely root the 17 global sustainability goals of the world community in regional structures. In this way, we want to address the upcoming challenges of structural change as effectively as possible.

On site

The ResidenZ - Time for the Future scholarship programme is part of a region for shaping the future. The pilot is anchored in Rothenklempenow, which aims to unite the 750-year-old history, the historic estate, the former LPG farm and, above all, the residents with present and potential activities.

This feature was broadcast by Deutsche Welle in September 2019 and presents two specific examples of German and Indian approaches to organic farming.

Link to full length documentary

Our residences

ResidenZ Bauen
Malte von Viebahn

I am working on the topic of ecological construction within the residency programme. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in "International Forest Ecosystem Management" from the University for Sustainable Development in Eberswalde, I have been working in this field since 2018 as a self-employed craftsman and freelance trainee at Arcana Baugesellschaft mbH as an "expert for historic building". and was able to gather a lot of practical as well as theoretical knowledge. During this work, I noticed how little knowledge about ecological building materials is present among many customers, but also craftsmen, and also that ecological building is often wrongly perceived as more expensive. In this residency, I will address the question of how to consistently create new ecological housing and still keep it affordable for future house builders. In this practical research work, a 1:1 model house will be created from regionally available building materials (logs, straw, clay, etc.), which will serve as an exhibit for the emerging educational campus for sustainable development in Rothenklempenow. For this purpose, all the information gathered during the construction process is to be processed and presented and thus the possibilities and possible advantages of ecological construction methods are to be passed on to interested parties.

ResidenZ Seeds
Friederike Engelbrecht

I would like to use my residency to look into the ecological benefits of old cereal varieties and the question: How can an ecological and economic reintegration of old cereal varieties into cultivation and marketing systems be promoted? My interest in the preservation of old varieties was sparked by my work for the start-up Kornwerk, which has found a way to have forgotten oat varieties cultivated and processed again with its oat drink made from old varieties. Here I also experienced how difficult the individual steps from cultivation to processing can be. At the same time, in the RCE in Rothenklempenow we are integrated into a unique structure that was decisive for me. A large number of very different people are developing concepts and ideas here about what sustainable agriculture could look like. I would like to design my research project in a participatory way and integrate the needs of the stakeholders involved. I lived in Asia for 18 months and did voluntary work on various farms and permaculture projects during this time. Afterwards, I studied International Business and Development in Bayreuth. My studies helped me a lot to better understand and understand the global connections between political and economic developments. At the same time, however, it also triggered a strong desire in me to deal with regional and more concrete issues again. That's why I decided to do a Master's degree in Agricultural Economics at Humboldt University Berlin, with a focus on: Sustainable Agriculture and European Agricultural Policy. I work as a research assistant in the BioMaterialities research project at the Thaer Institute. The project deals with how social relations are changed in the high-tech bioeconomy.

ResidenZ Education
Pablo Melotta

Graduate of the University of Applied Sciences for Sustainable Development Eberswalde in the field of landscape use and nature conservation. Professionally active as a child and youth worker in the field of ESD - Education for Sustainable Development. I am a participant in the residency programme because I feel I am attracted to life in the countryside and believe that working in Rothenklempenow will give me new insights into different areas of work. Due to their knowledge of topics such as nature conservation, food production, forestry, regional development or land use, actors from rural areas have an ideal background to convey contents that are oriented towards the guiding goals of ESD in a realistic and local way. They can become active as a learning region in the sense of ESD and also present themselves to the outside world with this educational mission. Such regional networks of institutions around the topic of ESD are already a reality in various places. They are an instrument to strengthen education in rural areas and thus also their sustainability. The added value of ESD is thus not only limited to the field of education, but is also transferred to the personal level, one's own project and one's own work. If planned and carried out properly, it can create a sense of validation for one's own actions and highlight the distinctiveness of the region in which one lives.During my residency, I will dedicate myself to the topic and develop an educational programme for the community. I see this activity as another step in my career development and at the same time as a small contribution to a more sustainable society.

The ResidenZler:innen at the pilot graduation with their certificate of participation in the program from the RCE Stettiner Haff. 29.06.2021

How are the ResidenZes structured?

3 scholarships ResidenZ - Time for the Future - 6 months of research and development - basic income in the amount of 1000€ based on the common good - total one-year test phase until June 2021

Living in the Rothenklempenow estate in the middle of the action, surrounded by beautiful nature in Germany's sunniest region.

Education

Education for sustainable development means realising human dignity and equal opportunities for all in an intact environment. Local issues are addressed with a view to practicability.

Mentors

Knowledge exchange and hands-on testing: minds and doers from overlapping fields impart knowledge and expertise to maximise your impact potential.

Network

Access to experts as well as access to the regional and national organic market. Transdisciplinary: Responsible persons from politics, economy, culture, administration and civil society.

Environment

Test areas, buildings and workshops for practical testing: Village community, organic farming, start-ups and others represent the spectrum of research, development and implementation.

The challenge is the solution

We asked the local people and the following questions will be the impetus for subsequent scholarships in the fields of ecology, economy and social issues.

How can management be sustainably adapted to natural conditions instead of the other way around?

Uwe Greff, BioBoden Cooperative

What does a sustainable energy supply look like for the community?

Rainer Schulze, Mayor of Rothenklempenow Municipality

How can we afford the comparatively expensive organic food?

Villager - Rothenklempenow

The results are already emerging as follows:
Three concrete measures that show ways for the region to succeed in transformation on the ground. More interaction in the village. Three people who can now imagine moving to rural areas, all three of whom will remain in projects beyond the ResidenZ period. New partners, contacts and visitors in the village. Three answered questions for the municipality, Höfegemeinschaft Pommern, BioBoden and the RCE Stettiner Haff.

The previously identified success factors have exceeded the expectation. The stakeholders of the pilot project recommend the further development and continuation of the programme as an important transformation tool for the restoration of the common good.

Outlook: On 29.06.2021, the pilot project will be presented in a live stream and the participants will complete their scholarship. The ResidenZ programme contributes to Goal 17 Cooperation for the 17 Goals and Goal 4 Access to Quality Education. We would like to discuss and evaluate whether this could be a programme that could make a real contribution to Europe's faster transformation and achievement of the global climate goals and, more fundamentally, to the common good. In the next step, we are looking for funding opportunities or one or more partners so that Rothenklempenow and other places, including existing partners abroad, can apply for residencies for future in 2022.

This pilot project will support the launch of the UN DECADE Ecosystem Restoration 2021 - 2030.

The project is funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung as part of the "Neulandgewinner - Inventing the Future Locally" program.

Implemented by

Cover photos by Holger Ernst Deutsche Welle and by Wojtek Kozłowski Leadership Festival