Organic Cities Network Europe – a network for Europe and the world
Organic Cities Network Europe is the pan-European organisation representing the various organic cities in the member states of the European Union. Its members – 9 European cities and municipalities and 2 research institutes – act as an umbrella organisation for the regional organic cities helping to promote the cause of organic food and farming on the European and EU level.
A brief timeline of Organic Cities Network Europe
2002 – Grugliasco, the City Council decides to establish the Association of Organic Cities, in collaboration with AIAB Piemonte. The first President of the organisation is Marcello Mazzu, with Ignazio Garau as Director. The network focus: rural development and territories, a cultural model beyond merely agricultural cultivation, quality and artisanal production, regionalism and sustainability, education and food waste.
2009 – At the Biofach trade fair in Nuremberg, the first working meeting is held between Città del Bio and the German side.
2011 – Turin. Città del Bio elects Peter Pluschke (Nuremberg) and Michael Latz (Correns) as Vice Presidents and appoints Claudio Serafini (Vice President) to work towards establishing the European network of organic cities.
2014 – Turin. Antonio Ferrentino elected president of Città del Bio.
2016 – Brussels, European Parliament. Organic Cities Network Europe and the future of organic farming Europe, the legal framework of Organic Farming in the EU. Also 2016: The German Bio-Städte network was founded in Augsburg. Peter Pluschke, Department of Environment and Health of the City of Nuremberg and official spokesperson with Werner Ebert as Managing Director of the Organic Cities Network.
2018 – Paris. The Organic Cities Network Europe is officially founded. It elects Peter Pluschke as President and designates Claudio Serafini as the Network Director.
2020 – Josef Taucher becomes the President and Bernhard Kromp the Coordinator of Organic Cities Network Europe.
Also in 2020: Two new speakers. Ronny Meyer, State Councillor for Transport and the Environment in Bremen, and Reiner Erben, Head of Sustainability, Environment, Climate and Health from Augsburg, represent the 21 German BioStädte members.
Organic Cities Network Europe members
To read about each of the Organic Cities Network Europe members, clock on the “More Info” buttons.
Germany’s “Bio-Städte”
In addition to the Organic Cities Network Europe, a number of German cities formed an alliance of cities under the name of “Bio-Städte” to further the cause of organic food and living in Germany. In the map below you can see where they are located around Germany.
Find out more about the alliance by visiting the official Bio-Städte website (German only).
“Città del Bio” – Organic living in Italy
Città del Bio is an association that brings together those municipalities and territorial bodies that are dedicated to the cause of promoting organic farming, not only as an agricultural model, but also as a cultural project. It promotes the linking of production and consumption and forges alliances between municipalities and cities that want to share the advantage of belonging to a national network.
Find out more about the Città del Bio by visiting the official Città del Bio website (Italian with some information in English).
Explore Organic Cities Network Europe
Now that you know where we are, find out more about the people behind the network, learn what the vision and mission of the network is, find out how we approach our work, explore the initiatives we have started or been involved in and find out how to become a member.