EVENT FEATURES
Echo Village
The echo-village hosts environment NGOs and non-profit booths, alongside eco-product stores and organic food and drinks stands. The echo village provides numerous education opportunities and showcase new products and services to engage attendants and support local and global causes.
The ‘Kids & Teens Creative Area’ will engage the younger population by encouraging them to explore environmental issues in a creative way.
The echo-village is completely self-sustained, using alternative green energy, off-setting our eco footprint and carbon use, as well as integrating green waste management.
Live Music Concerts
Live music concerts are held within the echo village during the full weekend, combining world, soul, rock and pop music. 25 celebrity music stars and local artists promote eco-lifestyles by performing in the echo music festival.
Additionally, each artist records an exclusive eco-song, participates in the creation of an exclusive music video produced by world-famous Michel Gondry. The exclusive video and single will be released digitally worldwide during the echo festival. A DVD and a CD of the live music concerts will also be released and all profits will be donated.
Confirmed artists so far include Snow Patrol, Hooverphonic, Axelle Red.
Fine Arts Exhibit
The echo festival produces fine arts exhibits that incorporate green architecture, design, painting, film, photography, sculpture, installation, green technology and multimedia as a powerful and emotional communication experience.
The exhibit features international architects, designers and artists giving their perspective on environment issues and proposing creative and innovative art works and new architecture and technological solutions.
The opening reception during the echo festival is a memorable spectacle with a private artists guided tour. The exhibit will be hosted for 3 months in a local showroom within the Tour & Taxis complex.
Fashion Dance Show
World-famous designers, models, dancers and choreographers celebrate World Environment Day by presenting eco-lines of natural, safe and environmentally friendly clothing.
Hosted by fashion and dance icons such as designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, choreographer Thierry Smits or super model Carmen Kaas, the show features fashion and dance alongside models, music and projections.
Accessories and clothing products are made available for sale o -site and through the echo website. Benefits go to the echo organization and UNEP global and local projects.
International Symposium
The echo festival hosts an international symposium with political, business, science, spiritual and philosophy leaders together with artists and activists to debate and share ideas and perspectives on environment, sustainability and cultural issues.
Through round tables and panels, guests will answer questions gathered and generated via interactive tools via the internet to engage a worldwide audience. Debates will be monitored, recorded and distributed online as a living record of our current thoughts on environment issues.
Guests will be invited by UNEP’s Brussels office.
International Eco Bus Tour –University Battle of the bands
The Echo Festival, in partnership with Green Gigs, and WWF, launches
a converted eco bus tour throughout European universities during November
2008 and April 2009, to promote, launch, and maintain a University
band competition. The top 5 university bands, voted on our site www.echofestival.org,
will participate in the live echo festival concert on Sunday June
7th, 2009 with a chance to meet and be amongst the bigger well known
acts. Their eco song will also be used online as well as on the CD
and DVD!
In the future, the eco bus tour will launch a call to all artists,
art, fashion, music, and debate, to bring a university interest across
Europe, while building our online community interaction and participation.
By signing up to the site, artist can upload pictures, music, videos,
bios and promote their band to their school and to a large public.
Students and others signup to vote for their favorite artist, which
at the end of April becomes chosen from Online votes!
MTV switch is already a media partner, and give us use of their PSAs
on the bus through digital screens and projections, and on all our
media to give to student bodies, encouraging simple actions to create
powerful sustainable change.
Vurse is providing the first 2 bands FHR (French Horn Rebellion USA)
and LE BARON 5 (Belgium) as 2 competing bands to launch and promote
the bus tour, the festival, getting people to sign up and get students
enthusiastic!
Echo Film & Video Screening
The echo film screening will showcase environmental films, videos,
ads, psas and animations from across the world, that focus on communicating
environmental messages through moving pictures. This will include
UNRIC’s and Scorceses’ foundation collaborative effort
that brings 32 directors that have created films based on several
sustainable issues, including the environment. MTV Switch original
psa will also be featured inspiring good simple action.
Together with other short films, documentaries, animations, and full
feature films, the echo festival will host a programmed screening
of several rooms, showcasing different eco-films over the course of
the Art Expo, to spread the message using the powerful medium of moving
picture.
Echo Awards
The echo Awards is a celebration of environmental creativity promoting
eco-lifestyles, rewarding participants in various fields including
Fine Arts, Music, Fashion, Technology and Organisation.
The judges panel consists of members of the ECHO organization, UNEP, GreenGigs and Saatchi & Saatchi, etc. Live public online voting is also developed to allow community involvement.
Award winners receive a unique sculpture and their work will be part of UNEP’ permanent art space.
