What do the New European Bauhaus and the BeActive initiatives both have in common?

Author: Daniel Amor Torres

New European Bauhaus: Renovating Ideas through Time and Space

On one hand, we have the New European Bauhaus, a creative and interdisciplinary initiative built upon the foundation of circular economy to become Europe’s next grand environmental, economic, and cultural project.

Inspired by the legacy of the Bauhaus School of Design, which unified shared principles of mass production with individual artistic vision in the 20th century resulting in the perfect symbiosis between aesthetic and functionalism; the New European Bauhaus represents an innovative space of encounter where art, culture, social inclusion, science and technology merge together to redefine pre-established concepts and create modern solutions to everyday life. In other words, as President Ursula von der Leyen stated, the New European Bauhaus envisions a “European renovation wave” kickstarted by NextGenerationEU.

To fulfill this objective, ideas and concepts have been collected with the intention to translate them into policy and local action. This year more than 2,000 applications were submitted from all EU Member States demonstrating once again how individuals across Europe have a collective approach when it comes to seeking and “shaping more beautiful, sustainable and inclusive forms of living together.”

Whether these ideas focus on bringing nature back to urban areas and creating a healthier city lifestyle, including children in the process of designing, rethinking physical spaces to enable community building, or mobilizing culture, arts, and sports; they all have one thing in common: to make spaces inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Among the 60 shortlisted entries, numerous are the examples that explore the notion of sport, nature and living from an integral perspective. Initiatives such as “Tierras en Danza”, a contemporary dance project in Spain designed for rural areas emphasizes how sport can be a catalyzer for mobilization by creating summer intensives for professional dancers to learn about sports science, practice sports and enjoy nature altogether, while bringing citizens the opportunity to attend a free contemporary dance festival with shows, exhibitions, and workshops and encourage them to be active. Other examples include a Portuguese platform developed by CEiiA known as AYR Platform, which has been designed to achieve a zero-carbon society by incentivizing the adoption of sustainable lifestyles by citizens and companies via connecting communities, people and things in a network, where sustainable actions create tokens that can be exchanged for green goods and services, or used to locally offset carbon emissions.

#Be Active: An EWoS Initiative for Mobilization

On the other hand, we have the #BeActive Initiative, an essential part of the European Week of Sport. Similarly to the New European Bauhaus, this initiative aims to respond to modern challenges such as stagnating and declining levels of physical activity by providing creative solutions highlighting the importance of sport in our wellbeing and in the consolidation of inclusive and economically vibrant societies. This is a key element to consider, as sport not only plays a vital role in individual health and fitness, but also in shaping our wider European society by promoting healthy living and social cohesion.

Very much like the Bauhaus movement, the European Week of Sport benefits from the close collaboration of national coordinators and partners across European, national, regional, and local levels, involving a wide series of activities that range from education and workplace to outdoor and indoor spaces. The scope of the initiatives also demonstrates the powerful influence sport, as well as art have in inspiring people across borders.

While the vision of the Bauhaus was all about finding new attitudes, new techniques, and new materials to build all the time, the #BeActive initiative continues to be in constant development, growing every year and discovering new ways to engage Europeans into healthier practices and habits.

In short, both initiatives look at creating more resilient communities based on sustainable practices, promoting social interactions, and strengthening our relationship with nature and places. Both place a special emphasis on improving our ways of living, as individuals and as a community.

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