Haus am Katzenturm Association

There is a very large number of highly professional and committed non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations/associations in the field of nature and environmental protection in the Lake Constance region. Their topics range from biodiversity, soil and water protection to sustainable garden design and sustainable mobility. Most of them are highly specialised and their employees and members have a great deal of detailed knowledge of the challenges and solutions in the Lake Constance region. What unites them ideologically is the protection of this unique natural and living environment, including with regard to the climate crisis. These NGOs and associations are well networked at a national and regional level, but not much beyond that.

In the summer of 2022, the association “Haus am Katzenturm – Verein zur Zusammenarbeit von Naturschutzorganisationen” was for this reason founded in Feldkirch/A. The Haus am Katzenturm was made available to the association by the owner for at least ten years at a favourable rent. It offers office space and a large shop on the ground floor, right in the middle of Feldkirch’s busy city centre. As a partner in the project, CIPRA International brings decades of experience in the field of transnational cooperation.

Partners:

• Alpenverein Vorarlberg
• BIO AUSTRIA Vorarlberg
• Bodenfreiheit (ground clearance)
• CIPRA International Lab
• Inatura
• Klimabündnis Vorarlberg (Climate Alliance)
• Naturschutzbund (Nature Conservation Association)
• Naturwacht (Nature Watch)
• Obst- und Gartenkultur Vorarlberg (Fruit and Garden Culture)

Project goals:

Joint strategy/concept development with NGOs from the Lake Constance region, such as:

(a) the shop in the Haus am Katzenturm can be used for issues relating to nature, environmental and climate protection in order to make these complex topics visible to a broad population with state-of-the-art communication and to promote shared responsibility for them;

(b) the Haus am Katzenturm can be established as an attractive network meeting point for NGOs in the Lake Constance region in order to promote exchanges of experience and knowledge transfer and to create the basis for further joint projects;

(c) the Haus am Katzenturm supports the utilisation of common synergies and resources for NGOs in the Lake Constance region and thus increases the effectiveness of activities and awareness-raising in the areas of nature conservation, environmental protection, the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises, and sustainable development in the Lake Constance region;

(d) the strategies NGOs that can use to promote voluntary engagement across all age groups with a focus on young people, so as to sustainably address major challenges in nature and climate protection in the Lake Constance region.

Activities:

- Networking: research and involvement of NGOs from the Lake Constance region

- Workshop series: at least three consecutive workshops in Feldkirch on state-of-the-art communication of nature and environmental protection issues with reference to the Haus am Katzenturm shop

- Lecture series: at least three lectures with discussion forums in Liechtenstein on the topics of promoting volunteering and engagement in NGOs, state-of-the-art climate communication, and the Alpine Convention in the Lake Constance region

- Sustainability festival: organisation of a networking festival for transnational cooperation

- Public relations: media releases, newsletter articles, communications platform

Duration: 01.03.2023 – 29.02.2024

Contact: 

Haus am Katzenturm – Association for the cooperation of nature conservation organisations

[email protected]

Hirschgraben 15, 6800 Feldkirch, Austria

Shop: Herrengasse 14, 6800 Feldkirch, Austria

Haus am Katzenturm – a platform for the transnational exchange of nature conservation organisations in the Lake Constance region

Image caption:

The IBK Small Projects Fund is supporting the Haus am Katzenturm association in setting up a transnational platform for environmental and nature conservation organisations. NGOs from the Lake Constance region are networking with each other through various formats (workshops, lecture series, sustainability festival). The project is being realised in cooperation with CIPRA International.