Paris, France, October 2018 – Efus will take part, in partnership with the Plateforme de la Vie Nocturne (PVN, Nightlife Platform), in the fourth NIGHTS conference on the management of nightlife organised for 15-17 November in Brussels (BE) by the associations Modus Vivendi, VAD, NEWNet and Transit.
The three-day (and night!) long meeting will address four issues: the development of cities, culture, economy, and safe nights. The management of festivals will be one of the key themes, but the debates will also address all types of nightlife in cities, gathering a large array of nightlife stakeholders, such as municipal practitioners, local elected officials, the police, European networks, night time venue owners, and representatives from the volunteer sector.
Many topics of interest will be tackled such as how to collect statistics on nightlife, the role of mayors and night councils, the development and management of urban spaces, as well as the inclusion of refugees.
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> A workshop on the management and sharing of public spaces at night
On the occasion of the NIGHTS conference, Efus will organise in partnership with PVN a workshop on the management and sharing of public spaces at night. It will address in particular two important topics: the physical design and layout of public spaces and the types of activities that can be organised in and around them.
Indeed, the urban planning of a neighbourhood, of streets, of urban equipment and of public spaces in general has a direct impact on users’ (both residents and visitors) feeling of insecurity. This is even truer at night. This means that public spaces must be designed according to the needs of their various users (young people, seniors, tourists, local residents…) but also according to their day time and night time uses.
Furthermore, urban planning as such is not sufficient. Public spaces must be considered as part of an integrated nightlife strategy, which must include specific activities and adapted support at night.
Efus will debate these questions during the workshop it organises at the NIGHTS conference and has called on members to attend the conference and present their activities and experience. We are thus expecting the following cities to take part: Bordeaux (FR), Brussels (BE), Montreuil (FR), Rotterdam (NL), as well as the Médiation Nomade association. All will present their approach and engage in a discussion with the public.
> The diversity of night and governance methodology
Apart from this workshop, PVN will organise two other sessions. The first one, titled “The diversity of night”, will look at how different groups of people use night time, and how to reconcile the needs of those who want to sleep with those who work and those who party. Other topics will include new nightlife areas on the outskirts of cities or in rural areas and how people, in particular some groups, can access such places.
The second workshop will be devoted to “governance methodologies”: participants will reflect on the political and technical management of nightlife and the various methodologies for evaluating and implementing an action plan.
> The Plateforme de la Vie Nocturne and the NIGHTS conference
The Plateforme de la Vie Nocturne (PVN) shares the same approach to nightlife as Efus, which is mainly centred on culture, public peace, health, and reducing alcohol and drug-related risks. It gathers all sorts of stakeholders (practitioners, public institutions, volunteer associations and civil society representatives) who are interested in the management of nightlife and have a holistic approach.
The partnership between Efus and PVN has already resulted in a number of common projects, in particular the “Alcool, Ville et Vie Nocturne” (alcohol, cities and nightlife) project and support missions to help cities implement their nightlife strategy, for example in La Rochelle (FR) and Saint Étienne (FR).
The first NIGHTS conference took place in Padua (IT) in 2013, as the closing event of the European NEWIP project on health and risk reduction in music festivals. Two other conferences were held after, in 2016 and 2017, both in Berlin (DE).
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More information:
> Programme of the NIGHTS conference
> Register for the seminar
