VA (Public & Science) is organising a student parliament on urban sustainability from 8 -10 April in collaboration with Thorildsplans gymnasium, an upper secondary school in Stockholm. Five of the Swedish students will be selected to participate in a European Student Science Parliament in Copenhagen in June.
The Parliament is a part of a European project coordinated by the German organisation Wissenschaft im Dialog. A total of 19 student parliaments are taking place in 17 countries around Europe on the theme of ‘the future of our city’. The final parliament will bring together students from each of the participating countries and be held on 20-22 June at the ESOF conference, Euroscience Open Forum, in Denmark.
The aims of the project are to strengthen dialogue and exchanges between young people and researchers; introduce young people to parliamentary procedures on science and research; enable young people to form a qualified opinion and assess complex topics; and get young people involved in a European community.
Over three days students will prepare resolutions based on five themes that all have relevance to Stockholm. Students are divided into committees and each committee will interview a researcher who is an expert in the field. The final debate on 10 April will take place in County Hall in Stockholm.
The themes that the students will focus on are:
• Future Mobility – New approaches in the city
• City. Climate. Change.
• Resources in the city: sky farming & urban gardening
• Energy efficient houses and flats
• Smart city: life in an urban network
The Swedish project is funded by the Swedish research council Formas and the Robert Bosch Foundation.
Read more about the European project at http://www.student-parliaments.eu/
Anders Sahlman, Project Manager, VA
