Climatethon 2026: – It is a melting pot of ideas
Committed and creative. This group came together around an idea for a new service that will make it easier for most people to provide consultation input on development matters. From left: Jon Harald Kaspersen, Anja Márjá Keskitalo, Andreas Tymi, Kyrre Groven and Mathias B. Reinar. Photo: Tarjei Abelsen
What happens when politicians, bureaucrats, Researchers and business people come together to find solutions to climate challenges?
For Andreas Tymi, this year's Klimathon was a different way of working. The Red politician, who is a group leader in the city council, ended up in a group together with researcher Kyrre Groven from Vestlandsforskning, municipal planners and other participants.
Together they have worked on land neutrality and how more residents can get involved in land planning.
– It's been exciting. We've thrown issues, challenges and proposed solutions back and forth before we've landed on something, says Tymi.
The result was the idea for a tool they have called "My Places".
The idea is that residents will be able to register natural areas they are interested in. If a planning proposal is later made that affects the area, the resident can receive a notification and easily submit a consultation response.
Tymi and the group believe that there is a bias in who participates in the planning processes. Those who want development are often early in providing input, while the commitment to preserving nature in the local environment is not always as clear.
For Groven, the solution is about utilizing a commitment that already exists.
– I think it is extremely important to unleash the potential for engagement that lies in the care for local nature that most residents have.
He believes it can help correct the imbalance in power relations in land use processes.
Organizers. This group is among those who have been responsible for the event, and participated in the planning group. From left: Mathew Stiller-Ree, Tiril Vold Hansen and initiator of bringing Klimathon to Bodø: Grete Hovelsrud. Photo: Tarjei Abelsen
New perspectives
For Tymi, the working method itself has been at least as interesting as the solution the group came up with.
– It would be very different if there was a politician from each party. Or if you only sat in one party.
The participants came with different experiences and professional perspectives, which meant they had to look at the problems from different angles than they usually do.
– New elements come in than what you are used to, so you may have to turn things around in a slightly different way than you think, says Tymi.
Groven recognizes this effect. He has participated in Klimathon before and describes this year's event as a "melting pot of ideas and crazy ideas," combined with serious discussions about land use, participation, and land neutrality.
He believes the working method works because the participants are allowed to be creative and must land on something concrete.
– We are pressured to think creatively, but also present something that stands out. When we present it in plenary, we have to be able to speak credibly about the topic we have been working on.
Groven also believes that the ideas from the different groups can be connected.
– The poster we created can be usefully combined with one of the others that also emphasized participation and supporting people's interest in natural values.
New ideas. This week there has been a Climatethon in the Bodø Swimming Pool. A concept that connects Researchers , bureaucrats, politicians and business people to think new things with regard to specific climate challenges. This year it was about grey areas and climate neutrality. Photo: Tarjei Abelsen
Good ideas must be continued.
Tymi believes that the ideas from Klimathon can be important even after the participants have returned home.
– New ideas and ways of doing things come to fruition. It's not certain that it will happen tomorrow, but an idea is planted in some of those working on it, and over time new things can happen.
Groven agrees, but believes that better arrangements should be made so that the ideas can actually be developed further.
– Each of us should bring new perspectives to our work and everyday lives. But perhaps the biggest drawback to the Klimathon concept as it stands so far is that there are no funds to work further and refine the ideas.
If the proposals are to become concrete tools or new regulations, someone must take them further.
– Ideally, implementation should be part of this. There are many good ideas that deserve to be worked on further.
– I am very impressed
Grete Hovelsrud, researcher at Nordland Research Institute and organizer of Klimathon, says she was excited beforehand about how it would work.
The participants did not necessarily know each other, but were put into groups beforehand and quickly got into the task.
– People have taken the task seriously. There are very committed and knowledgeable people who have come to work on these issues, from municipalities, counties, research and industry.
She also highlights the working method itself, where the participants literally cut and glued their way to solutions.
– None of this has happened on a PC. Grown men have been lying on the floor cutting and pasting and putting up posters.
For Hovelsrud, the visual is an important part of the point. The issues being discussed are complex, and participants must try to make them concrete and understandable.
She is also positive about Groven's proposal to set aside her own funds to continue the results.
– If you also had a budget line called implementation, you could try to create something that could become a guide or a fact sheet, or something that could provide ideas on how the results can be taken further.
For Hovelsrud, this is a sign that the working method has value.
– This is the sixth in a series, and I think the value of a working method like this turns out to be quite high.
Physical work. Klimathon has focused on an analog working method with cut and paste, and not digital working. Photo: Tarjei Abelsen