Cintia Jaime, co-founder of the ES VICIS Foundation, was invited as a panelist at the Basel Peace Forum, where the foundation also led a workshop. Experts from diverse sectors gathered to explore alternatives for enhancing quality of life and promoting sustainability. Urbanization was critically examined, with the central question: Is the urbanization model, as outlined in the UN’s Quito Agenda of 2016, truly the ideal habitat for humanity?
20 January 2022, Basel – At the 5th Basel Peace Forum, the ES VICIS Foundation hosted a workshop titled “New Approach to Ruralization: The Realistic Alternative to Overcrowded Cities.” Participants included government officials, international organizations, academics, and sustainability experts. The event explored solutions to the problems caused by urban overcrowding, such as dangerous public spaces, poverty, high energy consumption, waste generation, and greenhouse gas emissions.
The ES VICIS Foundation advocates for innovative ruralization, revitalizing and repopulating villages by harnessing latent opportunities and promoting sustainable migration from cities to rural areas. This approach aims to support rural renewal and unlock economic potential through technology and innovation. Over 25 countries have expressed interest in the model.
Johannes Matyassy, Deputy State Secretary at the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, praised the event for its innovative approach to addressing the challenges posed by urbanization. Cintia Jaime, co-founder of ES VICIS, emphasized the importance of questioning urbanization and proposing a new approach that harnesses technology and the global opportunities of digitalization to enrich rural areas. Daniel Winzenried, co-founder of ES VICIS, highlighted the opportunity to address territorial inequalities and the vulnerabilities of metropolitan areas exposed by the pandemic.
Experts like Carlos Álvarez Pereira – Executive Director of The Club of Rome- also stressed the need to rethink urbanization and embrace revitalizing and repopulating villages as a tool for climate resilience and community well-being.