Tallinn convened the R-club, which exchanges experiences with the green turn
At yesterday’s board meeting of the Union of Estonian Cities and Towns (UECT), the mayor of Tallinn, Mihhail Kõlvart, made a proposal to start an R-club operating under the auspices of the UECT.
The R-club network will be a springboard for local government leaders, whose activities focus on strategically selected environmental and climate topics in order to furnish, make sense of, and relate the green revolution to the management of the daily work of local governments as well as investment activities.
Tallinn, as the green capital and as the presiding municipality for the first year, can contribute to the launch of the club. “Tallinn, as the green capital of Europe, has a number of initiatives and experiences to share with other municipalities, such as the green factor, green procurement, the guide to environmentally friendly events and the OECD circular economy report. But there is also something to learn from others – initiatives that have been implemented in the same way in Tallinn and in a slightly different way in other cities. It is certainly useful to exchange experiences, as well as to launch new development projects together in case of common interests,” said Tallinn Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart.
The idea of creating the R-club was born after a number of wide-ranging discussions and the results of a study conducted by the University of Tartu last year, which showed the need for a cooperation network for the management of the green revolution of local governments.
“If there are thematic discussion and training formats for specialists, there are practically none today for municipal leaders to manage the green revolution as a systemic change. The club can be a common engine of development and a breeding ground for cooperation projects in improving the living environment,” explained the club’s idea partner, Head of the Development and Cooperation Chamber of the Center for Environmental Investments (CEI), Helen Sulg.
R-Klubi operates under the leadership of municipalities with a rotating chairman and in partnership with UECT and CEI, who contribute to the content, involve international, state and research partners in the events of the cooperation network and form the club committee.
The announcement of the R-club will take place on the Day of Cities and Municipalities on 12-13 April in Tallinn, SOKOS Hotel Viru conference centre. All local government leaders are invited to join the R-club and participate in the discussion round.
Additional information about the R-club:
Tuuli Veersalu
Tallinn Strategy Center’s Green Turn Office
tuuli.veersalu@tallinnlv.ee