Belgium will host Europe’s biggest sportainment park
The facility will be located in Hasselt and is set to welcome its first visitors this spring
It looks like a store, but it is actually a leisure time library and this sports equipment can be borrowed for free, Source: Fritidsbanken Sverige
It consists of two sections, one where you can borrow sports equipment, and another where you can try art stuff
Why is it that we have normalized borrowing books from a library but not any other useful items? The Swedish non-profit Fritidsbanken Sverige has not only asked that question publicly, but it has also set out to answer it since 2013 when it opened its first “leisure time bank” (the meaning of Fritidsbanken) to let people share and borrow sports equipment. Plus, it’s free of charge!
There are already more than 100 such leisure time banks across Sweden, and the latest is set to open doors this month in the northern municipality of Skellefteå. This time, however, the local branch will be unique in the sense that it will also include a “culture bank”, meaning that residents will also have the option to borrow art items, such as musical instruments, for example.
The idea behind these item libraries is to encourage residents to explore safely and economically new hobbies and pastimes, enriching their personal lives and development in the process. Users can have access to games, crafts, sports and outdoor equipment.
Additionally, the initiative implants the mentality of extending the life span of everyday household products, which rather than ending up in the landfill can continue to be used. The collection of the banks has thus been generated from donation drives in the cities.
“We have received a good response to our advertising and things that may have been unused in storage at both private individuals and businesses are now useful with us instead. We aimed to have around 1,000 registered gadgets to lend from the start and we’ve succeeded in that, so now we are increasing. We gratefully accept all gifts we receive and make sure they are put to good use,” said Johannes Lindberg, the director of the leisure time bank in Skellefteå.
Loaning the items is free of charge, for a period of 14 days. Residents can consult online about what items are available but cannot reserve them. Borrowing happens on a “first-come, first-serve” basis.
Citing concerns about humaneness, the legislation aims to discourage the proliferation of the so-called designer pet breeds
Naturally, many aren’t happy - not because of the reduced possibility for prayers, but because they felt it was an attack on welfare
The facility will be located in Hasselt and is set to welcome its first visitors this spring
Some autonomous shuttles in France are now doing their rounds without a human supervisor inside
Europe is striving to cut the costs of operating wind turbines on water
38,000 of these fellas help to purify the city air, so why not become friends with them?
2020 and 2021 were zero years for these types of events, but the break has not diminished its reputation
As Europe strives to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, Turku and Dijon are among a group of cities seeking to reach this goal two decades earlier
Some autonomous shuttles in France are now doing their rounds without a human supervisor inside
2020 and 2021 were zero years for these types of events, but the break has not diminished its reputation
Citing concerns about humaneness, the legislation aims to discourage the proliferation of the so-called designer pet breeds
The facility will be located in Hasselt and is set to welcome its first visitors this spring
The European Commission has published its first progress report charting the achievements of the socio-cultural movement that combines beauty, inclusion and sustainability
The 2023 edition of the creative initiative promises to be bigger, bolder and more inclusive
This initiative seeks to integrate the values of the New European Bauhaus into the European Commission’s 100 Cities Mission
Veni Markovski’s take on dealing with disinformation in the European Union's poorest country – Bulgaria
A conversation with the mayor of Utrecht on the occasion of her mission to COP27
A conversation with the President of the European Committee of the Regions, about energy, climate change and the underrated importance of cohesion policy