Symposium overview
The upcoming Frontiers symposium focusing on Community-led circular solutions for inclusive climate action, will take place from 30 September to 2 October 2026 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in partnership with WIEGO, as a chair of the Circular Economy Thematic Chamber of the Fórum Brasileiro de Mudança do Clima (Brazil’s Climate Change Forum). Members of the CE Chamber, including ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, and Instituto Clima e Sociedade (Institute Climate and Society), will also be engaged as working group partners.
The event will bring together leading researchers, innovators and practitioners to explore how more inclusive and equitable circular economy transitions can be achieved, focusing on participation in decision-making, governance, and addressing inequalities across systems such as waste, mining, and infrastructure. It will highlight the role of Indigenous peoples, local communities, workers in the informal economy, and other community-led circular ecosystems in driving innovation and place-based solutions, as well as the enabling conditions needed to scale these efforts, including finance, engineering skills, and resilient infrastructure that support long-term social, economic, and environmental resilience.
The event will offer a unique opportunity for delegates from different disciplines to connect and network with experts from around the world, and to explore cross-cutting issues through three different sub-themes:
-
Participation, decision-making, and climate governance in circular systems: looks at who gets to shape circular economy decisions, and how those decisions affect communities, workers, infrastructure, and natural resources. Participants will explore how governance systems in areas such as mining, resource recovery, waste and urban infrastructure can either exclude people or create fairer pathways for climate action.
-
Community-led circular ecosystems and innovation: will explore how practical knowledge can be recognised, shared, and scaled without losing its connection to place and community priorities, focusing on Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), workers in the formal economy and other place-based actors. It will focus on the engineering solutions and innovations that can reduce resource use, lower environmental impacts, extend the life of products and infrastructure, and strengthen climate resilience.
- Enabling conditions, finance, and resilient productive systems for circular economy: examines the institutional, financial, infrastructural, and skills-related conditions required to support inclusive circular transitions at scale. With attention to IPLCs who are often at the forefront of circular economy practice and innovation in place-based systems, this sub-theme explores how policy frameworks, investment, infrastructure, engineering skills development, and capacity strengthening can enable community- and work-based initiatives to thrive. It considers the conditions needed to improve safety, durability, and climate resilience while supporting the generation of circular value, sustainable livelihoods, and resilient productive systems.
Symposium details
- Event format: this is a fully in-person event with no virtual or hybrid option, structured around three cross-disciplinary, challenge-led sessions. Please familiarise yourself with the structure by reading some of our previous event reports
- Arrival: the evening of 29 September for a welcome dinner and networking to kick off the event.
- Who attends: Participants are from all disciplines (i.e. not just for engineers) and sectors, and from all around the world.
- Working language: To support exchange and collaboration among participants from across the globe, the working language of the symposium will be English. The event is designed around interactive discussions and group activities, and a shared working language helps ensure all participants can engage fully and build relationships that continue beyond the event.
- Event cost: There is no cost to participants for attending the event. We welcome a diverse group of participants and offer to cover your travel, accommodation and subsistence costs during the event. We actively encourage candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds. Please note: we do not cover usual salary costs.
How to apply?
Complete your expression of interest by 17 August 2026.
Post-event funding
Seed funding grants worth £20,000 over one year are awarded to successful collaborations developed via the symposium. See here previous grant awardees to familiarise yourself with the types of projects.