CLYMACT in Bilbao

After the Christmas break, the Clymact project has kicked off the new year in style—this time, everyone was ready for Bilbao!

From March 9th to 12th, the Basque city hosted the fourth transnational event of the Clymact project. This edition focused on two major themes: waste management and climate mitigation. It was a schedule of intense workdays, but also one rich with interesting insights and best practices to bring home.

On the first day, following technical presentations at the University of Deusto, the young participants from the partner countries dove straight into work. Their task was to explore how to tackle these two issues by role-playing the various social actors within a municipality who are—or could be—involved in climate action.

The day continued with a visit to the Sifón de Deusto building. Built by the Bilbao Bizkaia water consortium and commissioned in 1997, the Sifón de Deusto was a key element of the Global Sanitation Plan for the Bilbao metropolitan area. Its main function is to collect and transport wastewater from the right bank of the estuary to the Galindo treatment plant in Sestão. Finally, a "gymkhana" (scavenger hunt/obstacle course) put both the youth and the adults to the test with physical challenges designed to spark reflection on the environmental impact of our daily lives.

On the second day, we visited Waste Lab Bizkaia, a cutting-edge center that promotes research, innovation, experimentation, and collaboration regarding waste management sustainability and the circular economy. Located in the Bizkaia Technology Park in Derio, it serves as a hub with a wide range of resources available to diverse stakeholders.

The first part of the visit took place inside an actual waste collection center, while the second part focused on the Lab itself—an innovative space where the participants resumed the collaborative work started the previous day. During this visit, a particularly significant moment occurred: the signing of the twinning agreement between the Unione Reno Galliera and the NGO GAP Spain (Global Action Plan International).

The agreement was signed by Councilors Corbo (San Giorgio di Piano) and Zoboli (Argelato) for the Union, and by President Carlos Oppe for GAP Spain. This partnership aims to promote mutual understanding and friendship between citizens, but above all, to foster international cooperation through joint projects in economy, education, tourism, and sustainable development (including sustainability initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and renewable energy).

The Clymact Project continues to sow seeds that will undoubtedly lead to great progress and innovative solutions in climate sustainability and beyond. Now, as always, it is up to our young people to act as ambassadors and present what they learned during these two days in the Basque Country to the Municipal Council. We are certain our Mayors are eager to hear from them once again.

Next stop: June in Zugló, a Municipality of Budapest.