On March 23rd, the Maastricht Climate Coalition will organize a webinar about “fostering the local business” in our city and region. The aim is to explore how we can strengthen the local economy and make it more sustainable, and to devise policy proposals that Maastricht and Limburg can implement to support this transition.👀

Boosting a local, sustainable economy is an important step in correcting the globalized economy that disrupts our climate, destroys biodiversity, stimulates inequality and leads to overconsumption. It is no longer justified to endlessly strive for maximum profit, competition, innovation and economic growth. Fortunately, there are many pioneers around the world who are engaged in better, more democratic, sustainable and inclusive local businesses and policies. Hundreds of examples prove that local management means less over-exploitation, better working conditions, fairer wages and more stability. Maastricht and Limburg need to improve❗️❗️

This discussion can be the first step toward improvement. 💚🌱

Sign up here for the event!

Meet the speakers:

Roos van Os – Member of Fearless Cities Team Amsterdam

Roos van Os works since May 2019 for the municipality of Amsterdam within the Fearless Cities team.

Vivianne Heijnen – Maastricht Executive Councillor Economy, (EU) Regionalisation, Housing and Social Innovation

Since 2018 Executive Councillor for Maastricht, responsible for economy, labour market, housing, citizen’s participation and Euregional cooperation. “If we want our city to have a sustainable future, then we need to grow towards a circular economy… with strong local entrepreneurship.”

Anne Lefevre – Member of the Gedeelde Weelde cooperative

Member of, and photographer for, the Gedeelde Weelde cooperative. Co-founder and member of Maastricht Locotuinen, where she also organises events, communication and photography. Professional florist but stopped working in the sector due to moral concerns about sustainability.

Constantijn van Aartsen – Spokesperson Maastricht climate coalition and UM Researcher

Spokesperson for the Maastricht climate coalition, a collaboration of ten NGO, grassroots and student organisations working for a fairer and more sustainable Maastricht. Constantijn is also a postdoc at Maastricht University, specialised in sustainable economy and corporate law.

Meet the moderator:

Jaap Janssen – Program Coordinator Studium Generale Maastricht University  

Jaap Janssen is program coordinator at Studium Generale of Maastricht University. Studium Generale organises lectures, debates, lecture series, movies, poetry and theatre evenings for students and other interested persons.