Over 250 events took place in September as part of the the 6th “European Day of Sustainable Communities” (#EDSC2022). Highlights included everything from an Environmental Justice Film Festival in a community run football club in Dublin to a beautiful little DIY fanzine making workshop in Croatia. Scottish Communities CAN found volunteers to help plant trees for a new community orchard, while young Istanbul architecture students told the UrbanCommunity how they were “Reclaiming the city”. The UK Permaculture association put on an amazing series of events for “My Green Community” Some great grassroots initiatives are underway in Portugal, including a “Regenerative Tribes Gathering” and an “African Way Eco Camp” in Alentejo. And, we saw loads of events across France thanks to the Collectif pour une Transition Citoyenne who put on the Fete des Possibles with a total of 70 events.

This year we partnered with World Cleanup Day again, which brought in many wider areas of action, such as Armenia. We saw 3 student-led climate strikes add their events to the EDSC map: Limerick (Ireland), Lisbon and Madrid and also had 3 events happen in the Americas. By the months end, 258 EDSC events happened in 28 European countries. We only managed to mobilise a third of Europe’s countries, highlighting much opportunity for widening and deepening our collective efforts in 2023.

We would love to see photos and videos from your EDSC events! Share them there.

During a Communities for Future session on 19 September, we heard from four impressive young leaders who are envisioning and walking pathways towards a positive future. They shared the work they are doing in their communities - from supporting young people undergoing inner transformations to lobbying governments for free school meals. We hope that this session ignites more intergenerational exchange between youngsters and elders among our network. Watch the recording and read the full write up of the event. 

ECOLISE took part in the European Rural Parliament (ERP) in Kielce, Poland, from 12 - 15 September, hosting a Climate Conversation Café in cooperation with Forum Synergies on “The European Green Deal: What’s in it for community-led initiatives”, as well as organising two workshops.

350 people from around 40 countries were part of the four day conference - most of them associations, local action groups, government and policy stakeholders from all levels, but also a considerable share of young people. ECOLISE was invited to speak at the plenary on the last day of the conference - watch the recording or read about the conference. ECOLISE called for a political appreciation of rural areas as stewards of the land in rural areas, safeguarding natural wealth and biodiversity, as well as for a stronger political recognition of community-led action in a systemic answer to the planetary crisis.

Following the Policy Consultation kick-off event at the end of September, we want to consult with you – the ECOLISE network and interested groups – on the principles that will form the basis of a policy position paper.

We are in the process of developing 10 theses on transformative community-led local development.

We invite you to share your perspective in this online event on 19 October 2022. Register here and see all upcoming policy events.

ECOLISE is recruiting one team member and two consultants:

• Communications role
  
• People Care (HR) coach
  
• Governance transformation coach
  

ECOLISE, through the SPARK project, wants to fund 5 Climate Outreach training sessions to be delivered by community-led initiatives (citizens/grassroot’s movements, NGO’s, etc), taking place from 1st November 2022 to July 2023. Some examples of topics you can cover are: Just Transition, Youth, Communication, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Ecofeminism. If you have an idea of a training or are already preparing one and would like to get some funding please fill in this form. Deadline 17th of October 2022.

You can also download this Ecofeminist toolkit created by WECF, also a partner of the SPARK consortium to get some ideas. 

Youth activists from the EU and Nigeria are calling on Finance Ministers, ahead of #ECOFIN on 4th of October, to recognise the EU’s historical responsibility in the climate crisis and pay up for Losses and Damages in the Global South.

Watch the video and spread the word on Twitter and Facebook

The 4th Atlas of Utopias initiative will be launched on October 6th by the Transformative Cities platform,which ECOLISE is a partner of. The Atlas of Utopias is a unique collection of community-led transformations of water, energy, food and housing systems from all over the world. The cases collected in the Atlas of Utopias show how public solutions based on principles of cooperation and solidarity, rather than competition and private profit, have been successful in meeting people’s basic needs.

Since 2017, we have been celebrating collectives around the world that have transformed their community in systematic ways with the Transformative Cities People's Choice Award. The Atlas of Utopias is a refreshing mosaic of hopeful initiatives. It showcases collective transformations that ensure access to basic rights: water, energy, housing and food.

Check out this year’s finalists and cast your vote at Transformative Cities.

The Climate Campaigners app offers diverse Challenges that can help you to live more CO₂ neutral. You’ll be surprised by what’s possible. Choose the #CCchallenges that matter for you & your community, from reducing waste to greener mobility. Get lots of tips and inspiration, and track and analyse your CO₂ savings – in detail and in real time. And that’s not all! The CC app is much more than just a CO₂ footprint app.

Get the iPhone or Android app. Follow Climate Campaigners on Instagram and Facebook.

EUTeens4Green is offering financial support of up to €10,000 to young people aged 15-24 willing to run actions in their community to increase the participation of people affected by the shift to a green economy in one of the EU Just Transition regions.

Apply by the 3rd of November.