YOU ARE ON BOARD!
WELCOME TO EMPOWERMENT BAMBOO! THE LEARNING PLATTFORM OF THE NEW ERA. DIGITAL. GLOBAL. AGILE. HOLISTIC. VALUE-DRIVEN. DESIGNED TO LAST. GREAT, THAT YOU ARE NOW PART OF IT!
There is nothing more to do for you! You are registered for all upcoming events!
You also have access to all sessions remotely! Please give us some more days to edit this huge event. Thank you for your patience!
Check the first unfolding results of the Collaboration Congress 2023.
SAVE THE DATE FOR THE UPCOMING COLLABORATION CONGRESS 2024!
NOVEMBER 15th - 17th 2024
(always on the third weekend in november)
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ABOUT OUR WONDERFULL COLLABORATION CONGRESS 2023
This congress took place from November 17th to 19th, 2023. We recorded all six sessions, so whenever you join this platform, you can participate remotely! Please give us some more days to deliver it, as we are also preparing the learning materials for each session. Thank you for your patience!
Check the first unfolding results of the Collaboration Congress 2023
6 TOPICS 2023
We've selected 6 exciting topics for you this year:
- Financing Bamboo Projects
- Healing Nature with Bamboo
- Regenerative Agrigulture with Bamboo
- Bamboo Value Chain
- Emergency Shelters with Bamboo
- Bamboo: The Plant
Don't forget to explore our podcasts! All key speakers have been interviewed by Silvia in previous podcast episodes.
Feel free to ask about any topic or expert you'd like to learn more about! In future events - whether it's a podcast, workshop, or congress - we'd be happy to organize it for you.
Your empowerment is our mission! And remember, curiosity is the best way to learn:-)
6 KEY-SPEAKERS 2023
Our 6 topics will be presented by carefully selected experts from around the world. They are eager to share their stories and expertise with you!
- Jennifer Snyders, Australia
- Kjell Tahon, Netherlands
- Juan Pablo Martinez, Guatemala
- Cristina Latorre, Ecuador
- Natalia Rátegui Echeverri, Peru/Germany
- Melania Keita, Kenya
Please note that all events come with learning materials!
Our experts have dedicated significant effort to review these materials and ensure the accuracy of the information provided. Take the time to go through your learnings. Your feedback is highly valuable and encouraged!
3-DAY EVENT 2023
We've chosen a long weekend for our Collaboration Congress:
- Friday, November 17, 2023
- Saturday, November 18, 2023
- Sunday, November 19, 2023
And also in the future, our annual Collaboration Congress will always take place on the third weekend in November, from Friday to Sunday. So, mark your calendars for 2024 and beyond!
This year, from November 17th to 19th, 2023, we're opening the digital doors to hold the bamboo space of the new era just for you.
The Congress isn't just about learning, sharing, and meeting - it's about starting collaborations! We've allocated plenty of time for you to connect and engage in meaningful conversations with each other.
THE RIGHT TIME ZONE
We've put our heads together to find the best time for all bamboo lovers around the world:
- 2-5 pm CET
- 6-9 pm CET
We've discovered that finding a comfortable time for everyone isn't possible. So, some of us might need to rise early or stay up late to fully enjoy all three days. But staying up all night in the comfort of your home is better than a costly, long journey and dealing with jet lag, don't you agree?
Since we're based in Frankfurt, Germany, our time slots are in CET (or CEST considering the crazy summertime adjustments).
- Germany: 3-5 pm
- Guatemala: 8-11 am
- Nairobi: 6-9 pm
- Sydney: 2-5 am
- New Delhi: 8:30-11:30 pm
You can find more cities on the provided link or use a time converter to find your specific time zone.
FIVE-MINUTE-IMPULSES
For each topic, we will select 6 lucky speakers to introduce themselves and their projects or requests in short 5-minute presentations.
Every lucky speaker will have exactly 5 minutes for their presentation. The presentation must adhere to the given structure, submitted as both a PowerPoint and a video:
- What do I have to offer?
- What am I looking for?
- Who am I?
- Where do I come from?
- Why am I doing this?
- What is my mission?
The application process is now open! Don't wait too long, as we expect a lot of applications.
Next year, we plan to publish the selected applications on our new mission board in a permanent and structured manner. This way, you will be able to search and find each other 24/7 and start collaborating!
Apply Now for Five-Min-Impulses
SELFCARE & RESPECT
Every day, we follow the same schedule:
- 2-5 pm CET: 3 hours
- 5-6 pm CET: 1 hour break
- 6-9 pm CET: 3 hours
Each 3-hour-time-slot focuses on one topic.
You can choose to join for one topic or attend several topics. We highly recommend staying for the entire topic. This will provide you with the best learning outcomes and allow you to network. We'll have breakout sessions, FAQ sessions, and other interactive activities.
Please be punctual when a topic begins, as our key speakers will start promptly. Punctuality is a wonderful way to show your appreciation for the experts who are investing their time and effort in this event.
Please note that we will have a 5-minute break every hour, so everyone can take good care of themselves.
Your discipline and support are essential for this timetable. THANK YOU!
YOU MISSED THE COLLABORATION CONGRESS 2023?
Don't worry. You can participate remotely. All recordings and learning materials are in process. Thank you for your patience!
Check the first unfolding results of the Collaboration Congress 2023!
Friday 17th 2023. 2-5pm CET
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
Kjell Tahon has a broad international experience in socio-economic agricultural projects in Africa and Europe. As the general manager and shareholder of BAMBOOLOGIC, a Dutch company partnered with Hive Energy, he will explore with us whether bamboo can be a rewarding and sustainable alternative for the transitioning European agricultural sector. It may address various ecosystem issues such as carbon sequestration, regenerating degraded land, erosion prevention, retaining water in the soil's top layer, and extracting toxins from the soil.
"Our goal is to plant thousands of hectares of bamboo in Europe over the next two years and remove about 1,000,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere."
Saturday 18th 2023. 2-5pm CET
CIRCULAR VALUECHAIN BAMBOO
Juan Pablo Martinez from Guatemala is working on creating a new paradigm based on holistic bamboo systems that offer human development and sustainability. With his company WÜBU, he is creating a circular bamboo value chain, including eco villages, eco tourism, cured raw bamboo, squared bamboo strips, agroforestry, carbon offsets, bamboo biochar, activated charcoal, local and global marketing, as well as industrial transformation plants with tools, equipment, and training seminars.
"This is our new paradigm: Sustainable rural development and climate action with bamboo"
Sunday 19th 2023. 2-5pm CET
BAMBOO: THE PLANT
NATALIA REÁTEGUI ECHEVERRI is a bamboo transformation specialist and advocate. Originally from Peru, she completed her PhD thesis on the development of bamboo cluster scenarios at Technische Universität Dresden in Germany. Natalia will remind us to differentiate between tropical and temperate bamboos and explain, why and how bamboo, as a plant, can act as a living cistern, a top CO2 killer, a pioneer plant, a soil healer, and a climate hero all at the same time.
Understanding bamboo as a plant is fundamental!
"Be like bamboo! The higher you grow, the deeper you bow!"
Chinese proverb
Friday 17th 2023. 6-9pm CET
HEALING NATURE WITH BAMBOO
Jennifer Snyders is an architect, President of the Bamboo Society of Australia, and owner of HOUSE OF BAMBOO. She will explain why and how abandoned open-cast mining landscapes in Australia can be restored using bamboo.
More information about Jennifer and her significant and timely project will be available soon.
Be prepared to collaborate!
"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is success."
Henry Ford
Saturday 18th 2023. 6-9pm CET
FINANCING BAMBOO PROJECTS
MELANIE KAPITAL, founded by CEO Melanie Keita and COO Ian Minjire, has become a platform for green loans and carbon offsets. Their work is primarily focused on social inclusion and environmental sustainability. Melanie will show us how it's possible to finance bamboo projects in A f r i c a.
Financing will be one of the main topics in our upcoming workshops and podcasts 2023/2024. Stay tuned!
"You can create a company that serves the poor and where profit is a byproduct, not the goal."
Muhammad Yunus
Sunday 19th 2023. 6-9pm CET
EMERGENCY SHELTERS BAMBOO
Cristina Latorre Caemba offers emergency aid and shelters made of bamboo in Ecuador. Her company/NGO CAEMBA sets an example wherever natural disasters render people homeless and push them into poverty. Women and families are especially impacted.
More about Cristina, her story, and her work will be available soon.
Prepare to support Cristina and learn a lot yourself.
"Life will push us hardly many times! ... don't be surprised; stay firm like a plane tree or be elastic like a bamboo!"
Mehmet Murat Ildan
WE ALSO HAD 3 INTERESTING IMPULS PRESENTATIONS 2023
Sunday, 19th 2023, 2-5pm CET
BAMBOO: THE PLANT
Akash Thapaliya
Akash is an entrepreneur and bamboo expert in breeding, planting, care and reforestation with bamboo. He is the owner of the nursery BAMBUPARQUE in Odemira, Portugal and is a technical consultat for bamboo to ISA, the superior University of Agronomy in Lisbon. Akash is from Nepal, and lives now in Portugal.
Friday, 17th 2023, 2-5pmCET
BAMBOO AND FOREST GARDENS
Dr. Reinhard Engelhart
Reinhards forest garden concept is an application-oriented approach to greening agriculture, which was awarded the Climate Protection Prize by Bio Austria in 2020. He was the chairman of Permaculture Austria and has profound insights and a great understanding of the causal relationships in nature, especially in soil. Find more about his work : WALDGARTEN.GLOBAL
Sunday, 19th 2023, 6-9pm CET
BAMBOO PRODUCTS FOR COMMUNITIES
Dr. Selim Reza
Selim is the Program Manager at the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) with over 18 years of senior-level experience managing community-led bamboo and NTFP-based livelihood development in Africa and Asia. Selim will share how communities in Ethiopia are using bamboo. Find more about INBAR
Download Programm 2023
You can find the complete congress program here. Please be aware that changes might occur. In live events, speakers might become unavailable, or internet connections could be unstable. Therefore, we reserve the right to make spontaneous changes.
Cities & Timezones
Please find within about 33 cities around the world with the right times of the Collaboration Congress. So will you never miss a session due to time confusion:-) Please let us know if you need any help.
Apply for your 5-minute-spot!
Please find within the application form for the 5-minute impulse presentation. Please submit as soon as possible. You need to keep your presentation within the 5-minute timeframe, as we will need to edit any content that exceeds this duration.
Do You share Our Values?
Our bamboo space of the new era will thrive only if we all respect our values, ensuring it remains a healthy, productive, and fruitful environment. Please review this code of conduct and decide whether it aligns with your principles. We reserve the right to remove troublemakers and participants who do not appreciate our values from the group events.
Check with Time Converter
Above, you can download a PDF with the correct times for 36 major cities around the world. If you're unsure about which time zone applies to your city, you can use this time converter tool.
Ulla uses the weather app to check time zones. By entering Frankfurt Germany, you can always see your local time zone as well as ours.
Join our Facebook Group
We've created a Facebook group for all EMPOWERMENT BAMBOO participants. There, you can exchange ideas and contact details with other participants anytime, 24/7.
Please note that for privacy reasons, we are unable to share contact information. You can do this yourself within the Facebook group.
