Bring & Fix events are intergenerational community fairs where people share their skills and knowledge freely with each other to 'fix' problems (material and non-material), recycle and reduce waste. The aim is to stimulate sustainability and contribute towards generating resilient and empowered communities in the locality.

SPIRAL methodology training with local public officials

Date: June 3-4, 2013

For more information please contact Malcolm Cox - malcolm.cox à coe.int

Responding Together meeting with citizens and local public officials

Date: May 29-31, 2013

To participate, please contact Malcolm Cox - malcolm.cox à coe.int

The Association of social promotion Bio-rekk is a GAS group in Padua, Italy that undertakes both educational and economic activities to raise awareness of ethical/environmentally responsible consumption and provide a practical means for local consumers to purchase ethical/responsible products.

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are free non-degree online courses with open unlimited global enrollment to anyone who desires to learn, and regardless of their current educational level.

Spotted by Locals is a series of blogs, mobile (iPhone, Android) and PDF city guides with up-to-date insider tips by city-loving locals.

Based on the notion that when regular tour-guides get paid regardless of their performance, they might not deliver a top quality tour, free walking tours are purely based on the local’s love for his or her city and the interest in sharing knowledge with visitors.

Self-managed spaces whereby people can come together to create, communicate and offer a more collective and alternative way of living.

Many Civil Society Organisations (CSO) help in facilitating access to health and medical treatment for people-in-need, low-income families or individuals, and for emergency situations.

These are self-managed clinics that have appeared in different cities all over Europe, and have been created as a direct response to many people being unable to afford healthcare for a number of reasons.

Worldwide, a variety of on-line platforms have been developed to facilitate the hosting of persons.

All over Europe, citizens practice different ways of sharing means of transportation (cars, bikes, etc.) that facilitate access to mobility for everyone.

FoodCycle combines volunteers, surplus food and a free kitchen space to create nutritious meals for people affected by food poverty in th UK and positive social change in the community.

Foodsharing is a new eco-friendly platform dedicated to reducing the wastage of food in Germany.

Food retailers and consumers throw out millions of tons of edible food every year, for numerous reasons. At the same time as this mass waste, food poverty is spreading across the European continent and affecting more and more people daily. This therefore makes initiatives that focus on the redistribution of food critical to the well-being of society.

Freegans practice environmentalism that actively promotes "reclaiming, recovering, repairing and recycling."

When markets are shaken, as happened in Cyprus for example, traditional money can become scarce, leading people to search for other ways to pay bills or carry out everyday activities. Time banks, LETS or electronic currencies are all examples of the alternative ways in which people can live their daily lives more easily and more economically.

Freeshops, Giveaway Shops, Umsonstladen, Weggeef Winkel etc. are stores where all goods are free. They propose new ways of accessing goods that are based on the sharing of resources and avoiding waste.

Online sharing communities are emerging all over the world to create links between people. The different platforms and groups offer alternative forms of consumption, where people are renting, lending and even sharing goods instead of buying them. It is not only material products that are being exchanged; people are also offering their knowledge, skills and time.

As people in Europe become more conscious about issues relating to waste, the environment, job security or financial insecurity, the DIY ("do it yourself") or GIY ("grow it yourself") movements have come to offer an alternative to modern consumer culture's emphasis on having to rely on others (industrial bodies, for instance) to satisfy needs.