New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking

Email user
krasniqi@woeber.org

Basic information
Initiative title
Competence Center for Circular Economy

Full initiative Title
Upskilling students and the workforce with circular economy principles and tools

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
Our initiative aims at preparing students and workforce for the changes brought about by the Circular economy, we want to learn them to understand the system, embrace and plan for it in their domains of professional interest. Since there is significant skills gap we aim to support closing the skills gap between the present skills of the workforce and the future skills in demand for smooth transition toward circular economy.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
Local

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Kosovo

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Municipality of Prishtina as largest municipality with significant impact on CO2 emission.
Municipality of Ferizaj, lately focused on production industry.

Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
It addresses urban-rural linkages

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): Competence Center for Green Energy L.L.C.
  Type of organisation: For-profit company
  First name of representative: Mimoza
  Last name of representative: Krasniqi
  Gender: Female
  Nationality: Kosovo
  Function: Project Development Specialist
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Str. Ahmet Krasniqi.Arberia
  Town: Prishtina
  Postal code: 10000
  Country: Kosovo
  Direct Tel: +38349369694
  E-mail: krasniqi@woeber.org
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
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In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
The Initiative for establishment of Competence Center for Circular Economy aims to offer an operational pathway to grow out of the linear economy and achieve economic growth, while ensuring prosperity for the people and the well being of the planet. At its core, Circular Economy is a systemic change that needs to be applied in all processes and value cycles and by all stakeholders in the economy. Given this premise, we will try to promote the anticipated disruption in the labor market, as we move from the traditional linear economy towards a CE. Increasingly, new skills and competences will have to support the narrowing, slowing, and closing of the resource loops. Continuous upskilling and reskilling of the workforce is needed to leave no one behind and ensure an inclusive and just transition. In this respect, we consider the need for a lifelong learning system and the significance of vocational education and training to provide pathways to continuous upskilling and reskilling programs. Emphasis is given on developing the basic elements of a proposed framework to facilitate closing the gap between the present skills of the workforce and the future skills needed.
We aim to emphasize at the significant role organizations can play in developing a skilled and innovative workforce and the link with organizational transformation and developing a competitive advantage.
Through the educational programs we will try to outline practical guidelines for developing a workforce strategy based on CE principles. The aim is to align the organizational objectives with the interests and ambitions of the employees and contribute to developing a learning culture. Organizations can attract and retain talent and maintain a skilled and motivated workforce with this approach. The workforce can solve Circular Economy challenges and create a competitive advantage for the organizations in public and private sector.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
Transition toward Circular Economy

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Upskilling and reskilling the workforce according to CE principles

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Promotion of core closing loops in circular economy

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Tackling climate change challenges through promotion of CE principles

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Introduction of tools and methods for better dissemination of CE principles

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The key objectives of our initiative in terms of sustainability which we intend to be met are as following:

Identification of a specific competence need relating to a carbon-neutral circular economy and a solution idea with which the competence need can be met plausibly in new ways;
Releasing solutions together with other educational institutions, businesses, the public sector, municipal organisations or other relevant parties;
Offering an opportunity for continual application and provide lessons learned that can be extensively disseminated to other educational institutions, for example;
Creating a network through a membership system;
Creating a life learning competence center in order to ensure sustainability of the initiative;
Minimizing the skills gap for smoother transition toward circular economy.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The key objectives of our initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people are as following:

Creation of competence center which will focus on visibility topics on promotion of benefits of transition toward circular economy, in environmental friendly working areas, in nature where the participants will be in direct contact with the nature.
Introduction of real case studies and presentation of tools which will cover real cases which have shown to be successful in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people.
Introduction of business models based on circular value chains
Promotion of the competence center through eco-friendly promotional material: wooden pens, recyclable papers, tot bags with multiple use, etc.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Once the competence center will be established through this prize, we intend to cover initial training within the budget which potentially may be granted, this will help us very much on creation of firs network. We intend to include participants from different sectors: public (local) sector, private sector and civil society. It is important to have all of them included since it is the only way to make the transition happen.
We need to include public sector since they are enablers of the transition through the legal and regulatory framework,
We need to include private sector since they are first implementer actually of the new business models based on circularity,
and we need to include civil society in order to ensure qualitative monitoring the process of transition.
Our main objective is to include enthusiastic people who want to make the change, and select some of them as a Change Agents who will support further the dissemination of the principles and keep going the transition.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
Citizens actually will be the first who will benefit from the Initiative. Since the very first step which we intend to do is to change the mindset of the people making them responsible for the nature and limited resources we have despite unlimited wishes. Even though there are some people who understand the main challenges of the century as it is climate change, there is a very small number of people who really understand it, since they have no access to the information. They can search but that is only triggered from their intuition, therefore if you offer and face them directly with the challenges they will start to act immediately even in everyday activities.
It may take some time to change the mindset but it is important to activate the change. We are all citizens regardless of the sector where we are involved, meaning that participants and members of the competence center, in the first hand will act as a citizens and will disseminate their concern and tools for change to their circles, our aim is to expand as much as we can the network through the initiative.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
Through a different talks in different events we got the input from different stakeholders that there is a need for establishment of Competence Center for Circular Economy.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
System Thinking is the main discipline which was reflected during the initial stage of the initiative, as described, the initiative has no maturity level it is still in idea stage but it is supported by very enthusiastic people who really want to make the change happen, to make the transition happen in first hand.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
The establishment of Competence Center for Circular Economy is itself a very new idea in Kosovo, there are no other very specific actions on place in this field.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
The complete system of the competence center through the membership system can be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. Since there will be integrated actually a soft skills in first hand which can easily be transferred if disseminated properly. We as a competence center intend to make a very clear quality check through evaluation of knowledge and competence achieved through our training and life learning events.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
We used a desc research methodology and direct talks with different stakeholders including citizens.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
Reduction of CO2 footprint
Reduction of unnecessary use of resources

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
The first step is establishment of the Competence Center and Membership System.
We intend to organize first training for public servants, students and business parties also civil society.
We are planning to select around 10 agents representatives from different sectors through a competition.
Engagement of selected agents in dissemination of CE Principles through in house training and public speeches.
Organisation of study visit in the field.
Expanding the membership network and funding the life learning stream for continual engagement of the agents.
Expanding our practices to other local units through different supporting grants.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
PDF
PDF
- pdf-1-13475.pdf
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
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Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes