
DEAL’s first webinar on ‘Downscaling the Doughnut’
Changemakers in Berlin, Brussels, and Cambridge shared their experiences bringing the Doughnut ‘City Portrait’ to life

On 25 November, 2020, the DEAL Team hosted a webinar, entitled ‘Downscaling the Doughnut: what’s cooking in Brussels, Cambridge and Berlin?’. It was a big moment for us because it was the first DEAL-hosted webinar, and we were excited (and nervous!). We were also amazed and humbled to be joined by more than 500 people from all over the world.
The webinar put into practice one of DEAL’s core visions of how change happens: we believe that people are often most inspired by people like themselves who are already doing things that they hadn’t considered or thought were possible.
It was the first webinar in an ongoing series that DEAL will be hosting to bring together people with a shared interest in translating the global Doughnut to many smaller scales, from neighbourhoods to nations, in both the global North and global South.
Our aim was to host a space for members of the DEAL Community to learn from the work of changemakers in three global North cities, Berlin, Cambridge, and Brussels, to take inspiration from their diverse approaches, and to feel even better equipped to put Doughnut-thinking into practice in their own contexts.

We were delighted to welcome Georg Wagener-Lohse and Sebastian Wolf Siebzehnrübl (Berlin), Councillor Katie Thornburrow and Clara Todd (Cambridge), and Laure Malchair and Tristan Dissaux (Brussels) to share their distinct experiences bringing the Doughnut ‘City Portrait’ tool to life in the context of their own cities.
Watch the 2-hour recording of the session below. If you want to jump to sections of the session:
- Introduction to Downscaling the Doughnut by DEAL (first 15 minutes)
- Presentation from Berlin initiative (starts at 15 minutes)
- Presentation from Cambridge initiative (starts at 38 minutes)
- Presentation from Brussels initiative (starts at 1 hour)
- General Q&A with all panelists (starts at 1 hour and 21 minutes)
Future webinars in DEAL’s series on Downscaling the Doughnut will feature changemakers putting the Doughnut into practice in the global South, as well as those working at the neighbourhood, district, regional or national level.
We welcome you to join us and take inspiration from the wide range of countries and contexts in which this work is happening. Or maybe you have ideas for future sessions or feedback? If so, please do share them in the ‘comments’ below.
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Member
Duncan Crowley
Lisbon, Área Metropolitana de Lisboa, Portugal
I’m an Irish architect in Lisbon, doing a PhD in “Architecture of Contemporary Metropolitan Territories” in ISCTE and working on Horizon2020 project UrbanA (Urban Arenas for sustainable and just cities) in FCUL. While living in Curitiba, Brazil (2014-18), I did a masters in Environment and Development. Living in Barcelona (2006-13) I co-founded the local Transition group and gained a Permaculture Design Certificate (2010) at Mas Franch, also active in Barcelona Indignado square occupations 2011. I worked with Eco Intelligent Growth on LEED and Cradle to Cradle certification, collaborated with William McDonough and developed a White Paper for the Sustainable Urban Development of Barcelona for the Catalan Government. An Ecocity activist since Banja Luka, Bosnia (2003), I set up the Curitiba Ecocity Festival during the 2017 Ecocity World Summit. I represented ECOLISE at COP25 in Madrid 2019 and was part of the Climate Social & Climate Justice Caravan, with indigenous groups, during COP15
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Member
Brian Dowling
Hacienda Heights, California, United States of America
I serve as Treasurer for the California Doughnut Economics Coalition (CalDEC.org).
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Member
Allan 'Big Al' Connolly
Kingsley, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
Hi, my name is Allan aka 'Big Al' Connolly, a trusted and multi-award winning entrepreneur, growth strategist and changemaker. I have a passion for economic and community development and a personal social responsibility to end loneliness, poverty and homelessness in WA and beyond. I am also the Founder/Managing Director of Kommuniti HQ - A profit for purpose social business specialising in community wealth building, Asset-based community development and employee-owned trusts and corporations. All tied into the UN SDG Goals, in particular Goal 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities. Our Kommuniti is growing exponentially as we seek to embed these practices into every one of the 10,000+ suburbs in Australia, in turn, creating the New Economy that is needed for people and planet to sustain temselves. If you would like to join our Kommuniti Hub Mastermind Group and secure your suburb, you can put in an expression of interest here.... http://bit.ly/KommunitiWealthBuilderEOI
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Member
Katharine Lewis
Helston, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Mother, teacher, activist, passionate about environmental and social justice. Experience of working in early years education, and in community development in the UK and overseas. Very active in my local climate action group where we used the doughnut as the basis for our climate action plan. Excited to see the Cornwall Doughnut Collective establish! Keen to connect with others in Cornwall (and further afield!) working on this.
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Member
Steve Mason
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Member
Dominique Berthier
Riom, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
49 years old, European and world citizen. Big interest for economy, world development .... but my initial background is physics! Looking forward to participate to this new community.
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Member
Lauren Guillery
Clonakilty, Ireland
I'm a permaculture practitioner and horticulturist, and work on a part-time basis on an organic farm. As an environmental and climate activist, I was at the forefront of the fossil fuel divestment campaign in Ireland and have led a number of direct action and media campaigns, specifically on Irish forestry policies. I'm also an award-winning songwriter and performer, and i craft ethical products with a circular economy mindset, which i sell at my weekly market stall in Skibbereen.
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Member
Kathy Gibbs
London, England, United Kingdom & Barbados
I am a chartered structural engineer who, in last several years, has held more multi-disciplinary design team leadership roles. I advocate for best practice in design and implementation throughout the built environment with a keen focus on sustainable (environmental, economic and social) development, and beyond resilient design. My project work has been diverse but has included a significant amount of healthcare related projects, and I have been supporting the promotion of healthy lifestyles in the built environment through planning and design. I am also a WELL AP. Disaster mitigation and disaster risk reduction are also key areas of interest. I am originally from the Caribbean region – an area particularly susceptible to natural hazards, such as hurricanes & earthquakes, & increasingly vulnerable because of the climate crisis, all hazards I have addressed in my work. My career has meant I have been based in Barbados, United Kingdom, Belgium, Turkey, Qatar, and The Netherlands.