Time to air your clean laundry in public: The European ENGAGE campaign has been launched by Covenant of Mayors signatories!1 December 2011 | 14h42 | 937 visits Covenant of Mayors signatories have engaged their city to achieve and go beyond the EU “3x20” objectives. They need the support of all citizens and local stakeholders to jointly reach these targets. With ENGAGE, citizens take action for Europe! The European ENGAGE campaign has been launched during the 3rd Covenant of Mayors Ceremony on the 29th of November in the European Parliament in Brussels. The campaign has already gained significant support from Mayors and elected representatives, including the President of the Republic of Croatia Ivo Josipović. An original clothesline exhibition of posters from the ENGAGE cities gave a glimpse of the diversity of citizen, stakeholder and public body engagements. Not dirty laundry but positive and concrete local commitments have air-dried in the EU Parliament! The Mayor of Växjö Bo Frank officially launched the European campaign together with other Mayors and representatives of ENGAGE cities that are all Covenant signatories. They invited all European cities to join this powerful local governance approach and make the Covenant of Mayors a success locally. Växjö is the first Swedish city to be part of ENGAGE. The Mayor Bo Frank has shown his involvement by appearing on an ENGAGE poster. He especially insisted that “Mayors must show the example in all our cities.” “ENGAGE has proved to be a great initiative to get the local community involved in concrete sustainable actions.”, said Zbigniew Michniowski, Deputy Mayor of Bielsko-Biała (Poland). One year after the beginning of the campaign, half of the city’s residents in Bielsko-Biała have become familiar with the issues presented, and almost 3,000 people have actively participated in ENGAGE. “It is my firm belief that this campaign will bring us a lot closer to the targets we defined in our Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP).” expressed Maria Madalena Castro, Deputy Mayor of Oeiras (Portugal). “It has been very gratifying witnessing the interest that citizens have been demonstrating, and the visibility that the “3x20” goals have gained thanks to ENGAGE.” Families, school classes, and even two famous Portuguese Rock bands are participating in Oeiras. “With unique pledges, commitments to climate protection and measured results, Heidelberg citizens, stakeholders and the city administration create a new community and show their results in real carbon dioxide emission reductions.” explained Dr. Hans-Wolf Zirkwitz, Director of Environmental Protection, Trade Supervision and Energy of the City of Heidelberg (Germany). The city initiated a successful poster campaign in 2007 that inspired the ENGAGE campaign. © photos Nathalie Nizette |