Recordings: GDD 2025 at Riga Technical University
The event covered 5 sessions on applied Doughnut & social innovation as means to get us in the Doughnut
During the five-session crash course, we closely examined practical ways to approach sustainability, integrating tools and methods based on the Doughnut. Social innovation plays a crucial role in delivering the Sustainable Development Agenda. Thus, we trained socially innovative mindsets by envisioning the future of our campuses as innovation districts.
On average, participants rated each session 8.6/10 & indicated a 78% likelihood that they will use the knowledge and ideas gained in their professional activities, and 73% in their personal lives! ⭐️
Five video recordings are available here 👉
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7swv0LLMpBiRUp9ZW0tuSS59S-8ERsXo&si=dV8Br6H92FAxsOrF
❗️Under each video recording, there’s a rather rich lists of useful links.
SESSION 1
✏️ Sustainability: Introduction to the Doughnut Model & Riga City Sustainability Portrait, Based on the Doughnut 🗣️ Liene Sebre | Zaļā Brīvība (Latvia), CEE Bankwatch Network
The session includes presentations on Doughnut Economics, planetary boundaries, and a hands-on exercise to help participants understand these concepts through interactive mapping tasks. The conversation ends with a discussion of Riga's Sustainability City Portrait, which involved a comprehensive sustainability assessment using both local and global indicators, and emphasised the importance of citizen involvement and expert collaboration for future projects.
SESSION 2
✏️ Governance & Strategy: Doughnut as a Decision-making Compass: Step-by-step 🗣️ Maël Jambou | Sustainability Officer, University of Technology of Troyes (France)
Maël, a sustainability officer from the University of Technology of Troyes, presents their institution's experience implementing the Doughnut Framework, which they adapted to assess local sustainability progress and address ecological and social boundaries. The session concludes with discussions about measuring sustainability actions and the importance of engaging various stakeholders, with a call for feedback through a survey for attendees.
SESSION 3
✏️ Education: Integrating Doughnut in Higher Education & Mobilising Student-led Campaigns 🗣️Jemma Luck | Climate Campaigns Lead, Rethinking Economics (global)
Jemma Luck, the Climate Campaign Lead at Rethinking Economics International, discusses their global network's activities and resources for promoting alternative economic ideas in education, including teaching materials organised into seven chapters. The session concludes with discussions on implementing Doughnut Economics in various university courses, exploring partnerships with non-academic structures, and encouraging collaboration across faculties to foster innovation and educational change.
SESSION 4
✏️ Innovations: Why We Need It & How to Evaluate Social in Innovation 🗣️ Anete Urka & Solvita Kalniņa-Caune | Social Innovation Competence Centre (Latvia)
The session features presentations from various speakers discussing social innovation concepts, including the National Competence Center for Social Innovations in Latvia and examples of successful social innovations across the region. The conversation ends with discussions on social impact measurement, training resources, and the importance of innovation spaces, with participants encouraged to apply the discussed concepts to their own work.
SESSION 5
✏️ Solutions: Campus as an Innovation District: Designing Future Scenarios into the Doughnut 🗣️ Paula Cukura | Project Manager, Riga Technical University (Latvia) // Andra Marta Babre | Researcher, Riga Technical University (Latvia)
❗️This is a practical workshop recording! The recording is intended to inspire online workshop formats.
The session introduces the structure and objectives of an upcoming workshop focused on innovation districts and the Doughnut concept, with participants being encouraged to share and creatively engage with these ideas. Andra presents her and her research team’s findings on the role of innovation and creative districts in urban and economic growth, highlighting the importance of stakeholder proximity and connectivity.
The workshop concludes with presentations from four teams sharing innovative ideas for sustainable, interconnected communities, with participants receiving positive feedback on their proposals and cross-border collaboration efforts. Paula encourages participants to reflect on personal actions and integrate the Doughnut approach into their work. The conversation ends with participants expressing gratitude for the workshop's thought-provoking content and practical systems, while Paula and Andra emphasise collaboration and networking.
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The event organiser & host: Paula Cukura, RESIST Project Lead at RTU.
🇪🇺 The event was organised as part of the RESIST – Regional Ecosystems for Social Innovation and Social Transformation – project. The RESIST project is co-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) under the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. More info: https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/resist/
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