‘We consider this work systemic change. Which means that while we are focusing on community action, this also sparks personal reflection about and commitment to improving the state of our planet.’
Community Facilitator: Jordi Mateu, founding member of the network
Project: GIrona pel Clima (GxC)
Location: Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Funding: Very little. The municipality approved the budget for 2022 without the costs needed for the Transition Plan! The mayor assured us they could cover the costs from their sundry funds, but it shows a lack of political will.
Local context: Girona is in the northeastern part of Catalonia. The population is 750,00. Its capital and largest city is Girona, with a population of 100,000
Photo from El Punt Avui newspaper
Goals: To reverse the rate of climate change within the next decade.
Process: Girona pel Clima (GxC) is a network of 6 regional organisations, including 68 NGOs dedicated to social and ecological justice. We work by campaigning for community dialogue about, and co-creation of, public policy related to climate action. After successfully campaigning to have Girona city declare a climate emergency, we are currently supporting a participatory process to create an Ecosocial Transition Plan (ETP) for the city. The next step will be to continue collaborating with the local government in creating an independent Observatory that they will heed (to ensure the implementation of the ETP).
Insights: We are learning that we need to be really prepared in order to do this kind of work – how to work with a municipality, how to organise a participatory process, how to co-produce public policy.
We are learning not to be so ambitious – we are now aiming just to agree the fundamental measures of the ETP, as a starting point, to build up from there.
We are learning that it is really challenging to sustain movements, to give continuity, especially when it is not professionalised.
We hoped that dynamic facilitation of the participatory spaces would make the process of creating the ETP enjoyable, but in reality everything was so rigid and there was always too much time given to presentations, so that the people didn’t have time to express their opinions and ideas.
This is a case study from the Community Climate Coaches (CCC) Erasmus+ project, where we highlight the work of one Coach. Find out more about this type of coaching, how to become one and resources for this journey here.
CCC is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme. Proj. ref.: 2020-1-IE01-KA204-066023
