How to create a participatory community project from the reconversion of derelict industrial land into a showcase of sustainable development?

Organizer: Louis Monteyne, President of the association “Builders of the Solidarity Economy”
Host: Cyrille Gaillard, Project Manager for “Builders of the Solidarity Economy”

The Coastal Eco-Zone has since 2010 been transforming a 2-ha industrial wasteland into an educational showcase of sustainable development. This is a one-of-a-kind example of participatory development given that, with limited resources, the “Builders of the Solidarity Economy” association has successfully mobilized multiple partners to lead an effort initially intended to build awareness among young people about sustainable development challenges and responses from the 3rd Industrial Revolution.

A visit to the Coastal Eco-Zone will serve to discover how this Solidarity Economy association has been able to craft a participatory community project. It will expose the tools deployed to ensure that Eco-Zone development fully benefits Dunkirk area youth and leads to economic gain for the territory.