Creative Circular Cities team in Kiel meets MEP Delara Burkhardt

On Wednesday, 26 February 2025, the Creative Circular Cities (CCC) project welcomed Member of the European Parliament Delara Burkhardt and her team during their visit to Kiel as part of a tour focused on circularity and sustainable development. The meeting took place at the Starterkitchen at Opencampus Kiel and served as an opportunity to present ongoing CCC activities, both locally and in the context of the broader international partner consortium.

Fridtjof Stechmann, project manager for the CCC-Project from Heinrich Böll Foundation SH, introduced the guests to the project’s key components on a European level and the INTERREG consortium. He outlined the Interreg project structure and timeline, with examples from the international partners, then emphasizing the activities specific to Kiel, such as local citizen engagement initiatives, prototyping efforts, and business support piloting. These activities on a local level are being implemented in collaboration with partners including the Anscharcampus, Zero Waste Kiel e.V., and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

Particular focus was also given to the role of the Waterkant Festival, where CCC contributes circular economy-themed sessions to promote knowledge exchange and awareness within the business and policy community.

The planned closing conference of the CCC project, to be held in Kiel in autumn 2026 and co-organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Anscharcampus, was also discussed.

Delara Burkhardt, a long-standing advocate and expert on circular economy frameworks at the European policy level, expressed strong interest in the project. She shared insights from her legislative work in the European Parliament and offered her support as a speaker for future CCC-related events, including the Waterkant Festival and the final conference.

The meeting also included participation from Valessja von Groeling, co-founder of morgenmaterials, a start-up exploring the use of mycelium as a sustainable material alternative for construction, packaging, and beyond. Her involvement in the CCC prototyping week brought additional hands-on perspective to the discussion.

The visit was marked by a lively and constructive exchange, reinforcing the relevance of the CCC initiative and opening up promising avenues for future collaboration at both the local and European levels.

The webpage of the MEP: https://delara-burkhardt.eu

“Creative Circular Cities” is co-funded by the EU’s Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021-2027 to promote circular transition at local level by involving the culture & creative sectors and industries. 

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