Winner in the Economic Development category

We are very happy to share that our work has been recognised by the Place Marketing Forum, France. 100 projects were considered from places all around the world. The People’s Doughnut for Devon, winner in the Economic Development category, is one of just five projects selected and honoured on September 16th & 17th, 2021, at Parc Chanot, Marseille during the 8th Place Marketing Forum event.

Here’s the film we submitted for the conference and award ceremony to give a sense of what we do and how we do it, featuring participants reflecting on Bioregional Learning Centre’s action learning process (skip past the animation if you’ve already seen it!).

“We are thrilled to receive this award, it’s a real boost to the Collective’s work. Here in Devon, in the south west of the UK, there’s a lot of community activity that has ‘a healthier, more just, more resilient future’ at its centre. For businesses and policy makers the focus is mainly on COVID-19 recovery, boosting the economy through job creation, improving roads, faster broadband, high tech investment and AI development. Much of this work is siloed. Councils across Devon have made pledges to become carbon neutral by 2030, but response to climate change is largely promoted as an issue of personal responsibility. Commitment to the systemic pathways that would get us there more consciously is lacking. To remedy this lack, the process we’re developing is a way for Devon’s citizens to better understand the relationships between domains and to co-design pathways to action.”

– Jane Brady, Director, Bioregional Learning Centre (co-convener of the Devon Doughnut Collective)

“What appealed to the jury about your project is the way in which a citizen’s collective can convince elected officials and regional actors to ‘think out of the box’ and to get involved in a new urban+rural regional project… and the originality of your approach. The Devon Doughnut perfectly embodies a new way of understanding Economic Development.”

– Christine Cuenca, Chair, Attractiveness and New Territorial Marketing (placemaking), hosted by Aix-Marseille University

Christine Cuenca receiving the award on behalf of the Devon Doughnut Collective