On 28 October 2021, the Institute for Applied Material Flow Management at Trier University of Applied Sciences successfully held the first International Upcycling Network Conference (IUNC) as a hybrid event. The conference gave an insight into a resource-efficient circular economy andpresented the practical results of the research project UPZENT – “Upcycling-Zentrum: ein partizipatives Geschäftsmodell zur Sensibilisierung undUmsetzungeiner ressourceneffizienten Kreislaufwirtschaft” . TheUpZent project is fundedby the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the funding measure “Resource Efficient Circular Economy – Innovative Product Cycles” (ReziProK). The conference enabled participants to learn about potential fields of action for the circular economy and upcycling from different perspectives and to network with a broad international community. As a result of the event, the international partners from Chile, Mexico, Japan and Sri Lanka will sign a cooperation agreement to further develop the International Upcycling Network. The event was attended by about 60 people, including representatives of the ReziProK projects, national as well asinternational UpZent partners and other interested people from different countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Dubai, Gabon, Japan, Mexico,

Morocco, Portugal, Senegal, Sri Lanka and the USA. The event was organised in cooperation with the individual UpZent project partners. These included the K8 Institut für strategische Ästhetik gGmbH, the AQA gemeinnützige Beschäftigungs- und Qualifizierungsgesellschaft des Landkreises Neunkirchen mbH and the FAUK e. V. Förderverein Arbeit, Umwelt und Kultur in der Region Aachen.

You can find more information about the UpZent project at www.upzent.de or https://innovative-produktkreislaeufe.de.