Third edition of the New Bauhaus Festival underway. Von der Leyen: “To become more sustainable and resilient”

Brussels – “This is the essence of the New European Bauhaus: a shared effort to tackle the issues that matter most to our people today. From affordable housing to industries and infrastructure for the green transition.” The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, declared this at the opening of the third edition of the New European Bauhaus Festival, at the Museum of Art and History in Brussels. Here, for five days, communities and change-makers will come together to celebrate creativity, explore innovative ideas, and shape a more inclusive, sustainable and dynamic future.

 “Buildings and communal spaces should be designed around the people who live in them” – this is the motto of this year’s edition, which places communities at the heart of the event. The Festival aims to create a space for understanding people’s needs and aspirations and to showcase projects that successfully reflect them. In this way, the aim is to demonstrate how an inclusive, sustainable, and high-quality built environment can foster community, strengthen resilience, and boost competitiveness. For von der Leyen, “as the world around us is changing, we must change our approach.” Indeed, “geopolitical shocks are shaking our economies, extreme weather events are the new normal of climate change, and extremists both within and outside our Union are testing our democracies,” but “this does not mean we must stop building, but that we must build differently. In a more sustainable way. In a more resilient way. Better. This is the essence of the New European Bauhaus.”

Every two years, the Festival showcases best practices from the New European Bauhaus, a European Commission initiative that promotes the green transition of homes and improves the daily lives of EU citizens. “As for the New European Bauhaus, what began six years ago has become a genuine movement,” von der Leyen noted. “Over 700 projects, more than 2,000 organisations and millions of people from Europe to Brazil to Japan. And our Member States are fully committed to this path. Just last month, the Council adopted our new recommendation on the New European Bauhaus. The commitment is there, and so is the creativity,” she emphasised. Furthermore, “several of our Member States already have New Bauhaus Academy centres. Just last month, we officially opened our first international centre in Ukraine. The devastation in this courageous country is terrible, but we will overcome it. We are promoting new skills, jobs, and industrial sectors. We will turn the rubble into a rebirth, so that Ukrainians can rebuild their country stronger than ever,” she added.