Three generations of SPAN members reunited on Thursday 17.09 in response to the invitation to join the E4S Showcase 2026!
Following the opening of the day by SPAN’s academic mentor Michaël Aklin, the SPAN team, composed of Marie, Ziad, Bas and Noémie, participated in the workshop “Getting Switzerland back within planetary boundaries: a policy exercise”, led by Timothée Parrique and Jean-André Davy Guidicelli, both from UNIL.
In groups of 8 to 10, mixing students, professors, civil servants, entrepreneurs and elected politicians, we brainstormed political measures to limit the transgression of our ecological ceiling while ensuring better coverage of the social foundation for all.
After thinking individually of relevant measures to accelerate the ecological transition, each group placed all of its propositions on a white page: from left to right representing the timing, and from bottom to top representing the impact. Participants were then invited to identify financial, legal and societal hurdles, as well as potential solutions to overcome them.
Each group produced a very colourful patchwork of measures, ranging from very specific ones, such as banning private jets or serving only vegetarian dishes in school canteens, to more global approaches, such as introducing a universal basic income or indexing the VAT of products on their environmental and social impacts.
The workshop was a great introduction to Doughnut economics and gave SPAN many ideas for future interactive events! We are grateful to the organisers for their invitation and look forward to the possibility of representing the voice of the youth in a larger-scale exercise.
Our takeaway from our day at the Showcase is a quote from speaker Julia Binder: “Like Spiderman, great powers come with great responsibility.” It was an honour for SPAN to contribute, alongside political, financial and academic leaders, to imagining a more sustainable future together.
Meanwhile, current President Jeanne was hard at work, promoting our association and its own showcase event to the public. Looking forward to seeing some participants again soon!
Can you spot the SPAN members in the aftermath video of the event? https://youtu.be/3B0dTTOdzhg?si=bA8P1dR6y0RLiv57
