International Bioeconomy Congress

Behind us is one of the most important events of this year concerning contemporary bioeconomy. On the 7th October 2019 in Łódź took place the 7th International Bioeconomy Congress EBCL 2019 – ‘For the sake of the common good’, organized by Łódź Voivodeship, whose participant and subject matter expert of workshops entitled ‘Bioeconomy for society, society for bioeconomy’ was Bioeconomy Cluster Association. Nearly 100 speakers and 700 participants from Poland and other countries worldwide took part in this year’s edition of the Congress, including representatives of local government, and business and science experts, whose presentations were divided into 18 thematic panels, concerning, among others:

  • development of bioeconomy and deliberate climate policies;
  • sustainable agriculture;
  • countermeasures against negative climate change, including those in order to support this important branch of polish economy;
  • deliberate management of waste and chemicals;
  • bioinnovations;
  • development of silver economy and anti-aging medicine;
  • methods of countering smog;
  • newest technologies enabling environmental protection.

The common idea connecting all the presentations during the plenary session of the Congress was the care for the future of the Earth as a common home. Moreover the importance of EU subsidies for the realization of the majority of tasks concerning climate policies, including bioeconomy, was mentioned.

The moderator of the first discussion panel entitled ‘Bioeconomy – from industry to commercialization’ was Mr Tomasz Kapela, the owner of the company Biotechnika and the chairman of Bioeconomy Cluster Association. He delivered a presentation ‘Designing, activating, deploying’ during which he described how the realization of industrial biotechnology projects is carried out – starting from the initial development stages and ending with complete, working and fully operational industrial installation.

Among discussion moderators and speakers was also Ms Danuta Ciechańska, PhD – the vice-chair of Bioeconomy Cluster Association, who presented a speech ‘Bioeconomy yesterday, today and tomorrow’.

The organizers of the 7th International Bioeconomy Congress particularly focused on a fruitful dialogue between the representatives of the scientific, administrative and business worlds. Furthermore, cooperation with institutions of higher education and encouragement of younger generations to become interested in environmental protection was emphasized.

The students of the IX High School in Łódź and children from the Kindergarten 66 in Łódź were invited to the Congress. The youngest participants had the opportunity to take part in ecology workshops organized by Bioeconomy Cluster Association together with the Kindergarten 66 in Łódź. The children created incredible artistic works using waste, such as empty egg containers or plastic bottle lids, at the same time learning about the basics of recycling. During the workshops they could learn how new items can be created from recyclable materials. The aim of the Association was to pass down the knowledge and information about how contemporary bioeconomy should be perceived to the children. The partner supporting the eco-workshops for children was MASPEX Group, Wadowice I REKOPOL SA.

Link to the event: https://bioeconomy.lodzkie.pl/en/home-1-en/