Yesterday (29 September), a delegation of people from the ECESP Coordination Group, the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Commission, all of whom are actively involved in the ECESP, attended the Circular Economy Garden Party hosted at the Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun, Dublin.

The Rediscovery Centre is a longstanding member of the ECESP's Coordination Group and active on the circularity front at both community and policy level in Ireland. The Garden Party, a Presidency Associated event, celebrated the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU and the forthcoming publication of the EU's first Circular Economy Act. It was also a great opportunity for networking and discussing circular initiatives and policy.

Today (30 September), this momentum will continue with the Circularity Communicated Conference 2026, the inaugural conference of the circular.ie project. This project, funded by the Government of Ireland and powered by the Rediscovery Centre, aims to bring the circular economy closer to people by means of tips and tricks, practical information and local-level events. It takes the circular economy from a distant, policy-based concept to a tangible set of principles and recommendations that people can make part of their daily lives. The conference aims to show policymakers, communication specialists and stakeholders generally just how the project is using strategic communication and public engagement to drive behavioural change. 

Cillian Lohan and Ladeja Godina Košir are part of the ECESP delegation. Cillian, an EESC member who has been involved in the platform from the very beginning, coordinated the work on the EESC's opinion on the CEA, with expert input from Ladeja, who is ECESP co-chair. During the garden party, Ladeja spoke about this opinion. Founder and Executive Director of Circular Change, one of her areas of interest is how transition brokers can drive the circular economy. As she said, 'We need transition brokers to make change happen. We need to make transition brokers a recognised profession.' 

She and Cillian will take the floor during the conference, talking about aspects like the civil society perspective and inclusive circularity. Cillian is truly impressed by what the Rediscovery Centre is achieving, calling it 'a brilliant example of how storytelling and reaching out to people and connecting them can help make circularity happen.'

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More information on the conference