Impact festival at maakleerplek
On 16 and 18 September, the City of Leuven and Impact Leuven brought an interactive sustainability festival to maakleerplek, with connection as its central theme.
On Friday 16 and Sunday 18 September, the City of Leuven and Impact Leuven organised the two-day Impact festival at maakleerplek. With connection as its theme, it presented sustainable initiatives in fresh, interactive ways. At its heart was an exhibition of projects with a positive impact, alongside the panel discussion ‘Make sustainability great (again)’ and numerous performances. This third edition also served as maakleerplek's long-awaited opening celebration.
© Michael Dehaspe
© Michael Dehaspe
Looking forward to tomorrow
How can we make sustainability more accessible, enjoyable and widely supported? The city and Impact Leuven explored that question during the festival. As in previous editions, they wanted to inspire young and old to look forward to tomorrow and make a positive difference in everyday life. Visitors could book an appointment with the Impact Doctor for advice on actions they could take.
The exhibition at the heart of the festival
The festival's centrepiece was an interactive exhibition of creations by makers, artists and people at maakleerplek. It presented sustainability themes in a fresh way and guided visitors through the site. On Sunday evening, the festival closed with an auction of selected creations.
© Michael Dehaspe
© Michael Dehaspe
A programme about connection
Connection was the overarching theme of Impact festival 2022. The whole event revolved around connection and sustainability. What connects people more than music and dance? On Friday evening, we celebrated in the silos for the first and last time: maakleerplek would leave them in December 2022 and move all its activities to the Molens van Orshoven. On Sunday, visitors could join Open Dansvloer, enjoy Brazilian music played on handmade instruments and watch an aerial silk performance.
Working with the City of Leuven
This year's festival was a joint initiative of Impact Leuven, the City of Leuven and Sthilo vzw. For several years, its aim has been to highlight sustainable initiatives in an enjoyable, interactive way. The City of Leuven was an ideal partner. ‘Our maakleerplek is the perfect location for this festival,’ says Lalynn Wadera, alderwoman for economy, education and city buildings. ‘This is the place in Leuven to make, learn and experiment sustainably. Think of the Repair Café, where you can repair things or have them repaired, or the High Tech Lab, where you can recycle plastic. The festival gives us another chance to put maakleerplek in the spotlight.’
© Michael Dehaspe
© Michael Dehaspe