Green Offices stand for institutionalizing sustainability in higher education by empowering students and staff as changemakers. From 21-22 October 2022, students and staff from Belgian Green Offices – including several CA members – gathered for a meet-up. The two-day meeting served for knowledge exchange between well-established Green Offices and newer ones as well as for joint workshops with partner organizations.
During this meet-up, all students and staff from Green Offices (GO) at Higher Education Institutions in Belgium were invited to participate in social activities and knowledge exchange. GOs are a place where students can come together to work on their sustainable passions, together with colleagues with the same concerns and motivations to make a difference. Even though work happens in a team, the transition that is needed, can feel overwhelming. Meet-ups like the BelGO are organized to enable knowledge sharing between GOs and to show them they stand stronger together.
A wide range of workshops took place which were hosted by partners and GOs themselves. There was a session from Duurzaam Educatiepunt, a partner for the establishment of a network of Flemish GOs, on how to tackle projects with a Whole Institution Approach in mind. Furthermore, there were sessions where GOs shared their experiences with student-led learning (UGent) and Living Labs (VUB and ULiège). There were also workshops on engaging both more students and staff in GO activities. Well-established GOs could share their expertise whereas those from newer GOs, like UHasselt, could get a taste of what’s ahead for them. At the end of the event all participants left full of new ideas and a renewed feeling of standing together in their challenge towards achieving sustainability in their institutions.
The BelGO meet-up was supported by a COPERNICUS Alliance Cooperation Fund.