The programme opened with a welcome and introduction to the NEB MiniFest, presenting the Local Chapter, its mandate, and the purpose of the gathering. This was followed by an introduction by a representative from the Joint Research Centre (JRC), outlining the New European Bauhaus core values and operational principles, and explaining how these form the foundation of the NEB Compass in guiding the initiative toward inclusive and sustainable living environments. The session concluded with NEB Compass presentations featuring NEB-aligned projects from across Europe, illustrating how collaboration and creativity have been applied in both large- and small-scale contexts to shape high-quality, people-centred places.

The session continued with the panel Weaving Complexity into Change, which brought together perspectives from multiple sectors to examine the challenges and opportunities inherent in transformative processes. Moderated by Rosa Danenberg, PhD, researcher and urban planner at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), the panel featured contributions from Östen Ekengren, CEO of Stockholm Green Innovation District; Diana Monsberger, co-owner of Blivande and social entrepreneur; Jan Åman, writer, curator, and co-founder of Färgfabriken; Philippa Staffas, business developer and strategist at Centrum för AMP; and Emilia Smeds, researcher in urban planning and urban innovation at KTH.

The afternoon concluded with the thematic session Growing Beauty, featuring a series of creative, interdisciplinary workshops exploring how beauty can be discovered, cultivated, and sustained within urban environments. Approaching the theme from three distinct perspectives, the workshops invited participants to engage hands-on with ecological materials, non-human urban habitats, and collective storytelling. Activities included an introductory workshop on designing and growing mycelium-based art objects using sustainable and biodegradable materials; a participatory workshop focused on designing and building sand-bed habitats for wild and solitary bees, highlighting porous urban ecologies; and a Playback Theatre workshop led by Teater X, where participants shared stories from their neighbourhoods that were interpreted through improvised performance combining movement, music, and poetry, creating a unique and site-specific collective experience.

The festival concluded with a cirkus perfomrance centred on creativity, hope, and shared visions of a more beautiful future. The evening featured the circus performance Entwined, an expressive exploration of connection, communication, and interdependence, inviting audiences of all ages to reflect on both the joy and complexity of being intertwined through energy, emotion, and human interaction.

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