The ActGREEN project team continues its activities.
We aim for the possibility of replicating the courtyard landscaping activities, aiming to educate the public, cities and target audiences on the topic of political will, support in the hierarchy of the City of Zagreb, sharing experience from the political will process to the legal decision-making process for greening, consideration of criteria and sharing the dynamics of the process. In addition to the above mentioned, we have concrete results in a participatory approach to citizens (experience of public calls and workshops and educational events) and extensive experience in connecting and sharing knowledge and creating meaning within a group of mission cities that promote the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN-SDG and the EU Green Plan and promote the EU Commission's climate-neutral and smart cities program.
Also during May and June 2026, we had four opportunities to repeat the essential elements of the sustainability of the ActGREEN project - activating green courtyards for carbon neutrality;
- Visiting students from the Netherlands/Rotterdam 20.5./Wednesday as part of a wider study visit to the City of Zagreb organized by the Center for the Future of Cities and Ana Opačić, the main expert for co-creation (CityLabs - in the premises of ZGForum/Gajeva 27 provides opportunities for different groups to connect and participate in creation). On one of the days of the visit, the ActGREEN project team was asked by the City Office for Municipal Self-Government, Transport, Communal Services, Civil Protection and Safety and colleague Barbara Tomičević to participate and replicate the activities of the ActGREEN project and organize and lead visits to yards arranged through the ActGREEN project, and information was presented by Iva Rechner Dika (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture) and Nebojša Ivančević (G.Zagreb/City Administration General Secretariat). Colleague Barbara Tomičević presented the green projects.
- We also had additional guests on 22.5./Friday also from the Netherlands, exchange students; Student exchange from Tituš Brezovački Gymnasium/Zagreb and Mencia de Mendoza from Breda. Education as part of the exchange in the premises of the City of Zagreb, i.e. the City Office for Municipal Self-Government, Transport, Communal Services, Civil Protection and Safety was provided by the ActGREEN project and Iva Rechner Dika (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture) and Nebojša Ivančević (G.Zagreb/City Administration General Secretariat) with the help of her colleague Barbara Tomičević and her green projects.
- In the meantime, a small part of the ActGREEN project team visited Turin at the end of May (27.-29.5.2026.) as part of the City Mission Conference organized by the NetZeroCities consortium, where Natalia Halbauer, Nebojša Ivančević with the support of Vlatka Berlan Vlahek (city advisor) had the opportunity to have a study visit organized in accordance with the relevant and related activities of the ActGREEN project. It was an opportunity to further determine the steps for the needs of future cooperation within the NetZeroCities program and the consortium within the cohort 5 cities that support mission cities; cooperation was established with the city of Cascais/Portugal, Sofia/Bulgaria and contacts were requested for the cities of Paris and Matosinhos/Portugal. The visit also served as an additional agreement with other cities for possible cooperation on Horizon Europe projects.
- At the beginning of June (1.6.2026.), the ActGREEN project team also had the opportunity to participate in a presentation on the sustainability and replicability of the ActGREEN project, which was held by Iva Rechner Dika (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture) and Nebojša Ivančević (G.Zagreb/City Administration General Secretariat) with the help of colleague Natalie Halbauer in hosting students from the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Natural Sciences - Budapest. The visit was organized by colleagues from the Association of Cities/Palmotićeva 25 with moderation by Marko Ercegović. With presentations by Mario Spajić from the City Office for Economy, Environmental Sustainability and Strategic Planning and Ingrid Gojević and Krešimir Radić from the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property. After the presentations, the participants were guided through the courtyards with the help of colleague Vanda Sabolović from the City Office for Development, Physical Planning, Construction and Reconstruction and continued their stay as planned, more about it on the website of the Association of Cities.
