Transition UGent

Who are we?

Transition UGent is a think tank of committed staff and students, experts and policy makers, dreamers and doers who are all convinced that Ghent University can play an important role in the field of sustainable development. The think tank serves as an open innovation network, in which you can join us in keeping the enthusiasm high, bring new actions and suggestions to the table and stay closely involved in Ghent University's sustainability policy.

'Transition UGent' writes transition plans (climate plan UGent) and monitors the progress

Last year we discovered once again how valuable the Transition UGent network is. Commissioned by the Board of Governors, we are working on a climate plan. For all relevant policy plans, ambitions are set, boundaries defined, and actions formulated. The results are monitored yearly by the Board of Governors and actions are adjusted where necessary. We work aruond CO2-reduction, climate adaptation, biodiversity and circularity. An incredible task, but we could count on many of you: from your expertise, from your engagement, from your experience in the job. It strengthens the message, the credibility, the support.

Meeting of Transition UGent on 21/3 from 12h-15h

Curious times.

So we organize our top meeting again, where experts, policymakers and committed staff and students discuss about a sustainable transition and the role they themselves can take in it.

One seat will be reserved for Elisabeth Wathuti, a Kenyan climate activist. At past climate summits, she addressed world leaders on their responsibility and called for climate justice. The other chairs are for students Tina Kasse B'nicco and Michael McMahon (fac. GE), climate expert Hans Verbeeck (fac. BW) and policy makers Ann Buysse (dean PPW), Isabel Van Driessche (dean WE) and Peter Vandenabeele (coard member of Ghent University). Claire Dupont (fac. EB) will moderate the debate. Claire Dupont will lead the debate.

Welcome to the Therminal on 21 March from 12h to 15h to follow this dialogue and feed the debate yourself afterwards!

Programme

12h: Lunch

12:20: Feed the debate yourself:with Elisabeth Wathuti, UGent students, climate experts and policymakers, among others

13h30-15h: Feed the debate yourself at a theme table:

We talk in thematic working groups about integrating sustainability into education, the energy transition, sustainable commuting and travel, biodiversity and attractive campuses, and sustainable procurement and material management. We go over what is going well, what needs to be accelerated and scaled up, and what needs urgent work. What role can we take on ourselves as members of a committee or council, as experts, as policy officers or simply as committed UGent staff members? Do we -in the midst of saving mode- see opportunities to roll out a steering policy, shifting money from unsustainable to sustainable options?
Degrowth and social justice: In September, the Green Office organized a Summer School 'Degrowth' for the first time, discussing social justice, decolonisation, prosperity and degrowth as a way out of the increasingly acute ecological crisis. What can this thinking mean for Ghent University?
The role of the scientist in the climate debate: Scientists play a crucial role in the climate debate because in recent decades they have convincingly demonstrated that the earth is warming with all its consequences and that humans are responsible for this. But how do we now also participate in the debates about the necessary transitions, both in society and within Ghent University? How do we avoid polarisation and can we talk more about the pros and cons of what does work.