European Sustainable Development Week program at UBE
During European Sustainable Development Week, which runs from 18 September to 8 October, the Université Bourgogne Europe is mobilising to raise awareness among its entire community about the environmental and societal challenges of our time. This year’s programme includes themed conferences, a participatory round table and an open-air film screening, providing opportunities to discuss, learn and reflect collectively on solutions for the future. Open to all – students, staff, lecturers and researchers, and the general public – these events demonstrate the institution’s and its community’s commitment to sustainable development.
On the program for 23 September 2025, Proudhon amphithéâtre (ground floor of the right-hand building)
- At 6pm: ‘The human factor in the transition: key lessons from the GiecO Report’, Stéphane La Branche, independent researcher and lecturer at Science Po Grenoble, scientific coordinator of GiecO
- From 8:00 p.m.: outdoor cinema on the Erasme esplanade or at the Athénée in case of rain, with the film In(action) in the presence of the director. Authors: Célia Poncelin & Léo Primard, directors: William Sineux, Alizée Chiappini, producers: WAG Productions, Twomorrow Project, Ushuaïa TV
Synopsis: Why are we aware of climate change but don’t (always) take action? This question arises in many families. Notably that of Célia and Léo, a couple who left everything behind to commit to the cause, sometimes causing disagreements and misunderstandings with their loved ones. To re-establish dialogue, they take them on a joyful and positive road trip to try to explain the obstacles to climate action and, above all, to find solutions together to overcome them.
25 September 2025, main lecture theatre, Polytech Dijon
- From 9:30 a.m.: ‘What solutions are there to climate change?’, presentation of speakers, François Weckerle.
- 9:40 a.m.: ‘Youth and the road’, Maxime Duviau, Doctor of Sociology (Ph.D.), postdoctoral researcher at the TREE laboratory (Pau), lecturer at the University of Limoges. Summary: While climate issues raise questions about how we travel, many young people continue to get their driving licences, buy their first cars, and hold on to them. Why do they make this choice? What does this say about their relationship to independence, territory, and the future?
Abstract: While climate issues raise questions about how we travel, many young people continue to get their driving licences, buy their first cars, and hold on to them. Why do they make this choice? What does this say about their relationship to independence, territory, and the future?
This conference offers an in-depth look at the practices and perceptions of young drivers, based on an extensive sociological survey. It examines the tensions between the desire for freedom and individual risks, and raises questions about environmental concerns. Through their sometimes ambivalent accounts, it highlights the daily dilemmas of a generation torn between imposed mobility and chosen mobility.
- 10:15 am: ‘Contemporary and future climate change: from global to local,’ Albin Ullmann
- 10:50 am to 11:30 am: ‘Round table: what solutions are there to climate change?’ Albin Ullmann and Maxime Duviau
- 2:00 p.m.: ‘The Biodiverse City: A Response to Urban Climate Challenges,’ Nathalie Machon, Professor, National Museum of Natural History, Paris
- 2:45 p.m.: ‘Reconciling Agriculture and Nature,’ Vincent Bretagnolle, DR CNRS, RESILIENCE Team, CEBC-CNRS
Summary: Based primarily on 32 years of work carried out in the Plaine & Val de Sèvre Zone Atelier by the Resilience team at the Chizé Biological Study Centre, this conference aims to show how and why it is beneficial for farmers to work with nature rather than against it, not only for their yields and margins, but also for the overall health (of farmers, residents and ecosystems) and for the resilience of territories.
- 3:20 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: ‘Round table: what solutions are there to climate change?’, Nathalie Machon, Vincent Bretagnolle, Loic Bollache.
