We’ve been really busy behind the scenes with all of the Open Call submissions; while we’re not ready to reveal everything just yet, we can’t help but reveal a bit. Honestly, we’re really excited about this year’s festival in Wrocław, and we know you are too – so to get into the festival spirit, here’s a little sneak peek at what you can expect.
As with each edition of Placemaking Week Europe, we have 4 overarching themes that we’re excited to explore in Wrocław this year. These topics pose different challenges and questions that are central to the festival:
- Building Belonging – What helps people feel included, cared for, and a part of a community, and how can we use public spaces to fight loneliness?
- It Takes a Village to Shape a City – How can we learn from each other’s experiences to make co-creation a lasting standard?
- Sandbox City: The Courage to Experiment – How can cities create a culture where testing, learning, and adaptation are embedded into everyday planning and decision-making, while remaining reliable in public service?
- Rooted in Resilience – How can public spaces and neighbourhood hubs nurture daily life while helping communities prepare for and recover from crises – whether climate-related, health or safety?
However, all of these questions ultimately ask one question: who is the city built for?
All of these questions and themes will be explored in numerous sessions during the Placemaking Week in Wrocław. Expect to hear various panels and discussions, and to participate in workshops and games that will dive deeper into the themes of this year’s festival, address Wrocław’s local challenges and expand your knowledge on placemaking.
You can expect sessions about:
Youth
- Participation of youth in co-creation and placemaking
- Placemaking initiatives about centring public spaces and design for youth and children
- Youth mobility and proximity
The importance of community
- How public spaces are venues for creating and uniting communities
- Bringing people and participants together through placemaking
Foundations of life
- Water
- Food & markets
- Greening public spaces
- Local coalition and governance formation
Identity through placemaking
- Safety
- Inclusion
- Nighttime & nightlife placemaking
Digital placemaking
- The use of AI in placemaking
Learning about cities and placemaking is not a linear or boring process; that’s why our approach of integrating different session types will make it more interesting and hands-on for everyone.
This is just the beginning. Full programme coming soon – watch this space; it will be worth it 👀
