Conference of INGOs

General collaboration framework

ELISAN, European Inclusion and Social Action network, member of the HOPE consortium enjoys participatory status at the Council of Europe and is rapporteur of the Committee on Environmental and Sanitary Crisis presided by Anne-Marie Chavanon vice president of COFHUAT.

The Committee has been set up by the Conference of INGOs in June 2021. The purpose is to face the double crisis with awareness raising of:

• the need for a holistic approach required by the complexity of the ecosystems that shape the world in human settlements as well as in all life forms
• the urgency for research with a human rights perspective and in which ecology is both environmental and human (one health approach)

The identification of components for an efficient and humane « recovery » (building back better) and for a better future for the next generation (building forward better) are being searched on three main lines:

• Environment and health
• Solidarity and resilience
• Good governance

Within this framework the Committee consulted on October 4th the HOPE representatives, Vildana Gacic (project coordinator, city of Rotterdam) and Prof Henk Rosendal from the university of Applied Sciences of Rotterdam to prepare the Health and Environments World summits: the Health Summit of 16-18 October in Berlin and The COP27 (7-18 November Charm el Sheikh. The projects objectives, methods and challenges were highlighted for the exchange of views. The essential goal of putting the health threat of heatwaves on the agenda of the organizations in older people ecosystem, the Local and Regional Governments and the Health and welfare services was underlined.

The invited speakers included Laurence Lwoff, Secretary of the Committee on bioethics CD-BIO of the Council of Europe and Roberto Ciambetti, President of the Veneto Regional Council.

Miltos Sakellariou from the Social Cooperative Altera Vita Cycladis (Greece) member of the HOPE consortium was also consulted about the actions taken in Greece during the extreme summer temperature, the Heatwaves and traditional Bioclimatic architecture. Indeed summer 2021 has been a Greek heat wave of records.

Following these consultations, the HOPE project has been included on the programme of works of this Committee and a resolution has been adopted by the NGOs involved in the Environmental and Sanitary Crisis Committee of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe as a contribution to the Summit of Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt).