Feminists in the Environmental Movement

Our planet is in danger, and those fighting for their homes daily are not heard! Local Reporters in 7 countries of Central and Eastern Europe have visited the areas harmed by climate change and harsh industries, and listened to the inspiring stories of young women living in rural areas. 

Through an ecofeminist lense, this publication explores the connection between feminism, youth, and the environmental struggles in Central and Eastern Europe. As part of the Feminists in the Environmental Movement project, we have explored these concepts within urban areas, but the struggle in rural and de-urbanised areas remained under-examined. While green successes and support often concentrate in urban centres, engaging and mobilising rural communities is crucial to achieve a socially just green transition.

This publication includes extensive research on the lives of young female activists in rural and de-urbanised areas, the stories of their struggles, victories and hopes for the future. It aims to raise voices of people who are usually unheard in the European landscape. While reading the different articles, you will explore the lives of women in rural areas, their perspectives and tools to cope with the local issues, and the multiple forms of oppression they face.

Publication

Open call for Participants: Study Session “Green Cities for Sustainable Planet” 

Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe (CDN) is announcing a call for participants for the Study Session “Green Cities for Sustainable Planet”.

The event will take place from 7th to 12th of November 2022 in the European Youth Centre in Budapest, Hungary. The arrival date for the participants is 6th and departure date is 13th.

With this activity we aim to empower 35 young Eastern Europeans in tackling climate change through exploring the intersectionality of globalisation, capitalism and environmental issues – this event will provide a holistic approach towards climate change by focusing on communities, economy, human rights and urbanism and support the participants in developing new attitudes towards climate change, through exploring how governments, businesses and citizens can enable the urban and economic shift to a greener transition. 

This will be done by meeting the following objectives:

  • To deepen participants’ understanding of climate change by exploring the role that cities should play in fighting climate crisis and how latter is connected to urbanization and post-growth economics;
  • To equip participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to practice and advocate for city-level climate, economic and social justice;
  • To provide the participants with the space to create a practical guide on transitioning one’s lifestyle and living environment into a more green and environmentally friendly one. 

You can read more about the project on this page.

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Study Session  “Green Cities for Sustainable Planet”

Climate change is the most serious threat to humanity in the 21st century. According to UN Habitat, cities consume 78% of the world’s energy and produce the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions. As urbanisation is expected to accelerate even more, cities will have even bigger impact on the environment and climate. Many of them are also the first to experience number of consequences of the changing climate – rising sea levels, extreme heat, water scarcity and air pollution among others. Interestingly, the entities with the most ambitious climate goals are rarely countries – usually, they are cities. 

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The Future of Eastern Europe Conference

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30 years ago a major shift has happened in global politics and Eastern Europe – states dissolved and collapsed and new ones have been established, the system has been changed. During this period there was a promise that after a long struggle we would achieve democracy and well-being.

 

But as we look back from today it is clear that this has not happened and if it did it was not sustainable.

 

These last decades have been full of hope and misery, protests and revolutions, conflicts and wars, economic uphills and downfalls, democratisation and backsliding.

 

This story has not ended, it is developing and continuing, there are more challenges and opportunities ahead. And all of us, Young Greens and activists in Eastern Europe, are part of this.

 

Therefore we in CDN decided to organise a conference where we would discuss all these issues we are facing.

 

How did we end up where we are now? What is the role of global powers such as the EU, Russia and China in our region? Should we be hopeful for the future as we see emerging environmental movements and progressive political actors? Can we achieve climate prosperity and what challenges do we have regards energy and transition?

These will be questions that we will ask during the conference and try to find answers to through panel discussions with invited speakers, informal talks and sharing our perspectives.
 
 
With this conference, we are aiming to provide a space for Young Greens from EE to discuss what is the common vision for building an authentic Green movement in EE and what is our role in it. We want to explore existing good potentials a have the space to meet with other progressive political actors from the region.
 
 
The Conference is a part of the transnational project “Future of Eastern Europe and (Eco)democracy” that we are organising in cooperation with the Green European Foundation, Green Institute of Greece, Sustainable Development Forum Green Window, Green Green Thought Association and Ecopilis Foundation.
 

Although the Conference was planned to happen prior to the CDN General Assembly in March 2022, taking everything into consideration minding everyone’s concerns and safety, the Executive Committee (EC) has accessed the ongoing situation and has come to a conclusion in agreement with GEF partners for the Conference to be postponed.

Having this in mind, The Future of Eastern Europe Conference will be taking place in Riga, Latvia on 6-7th June 2022.

Location: Rija VEF Hotel, Brīvības 199c, Riga, Latvija, LV-1039 

Practicalities:

Language: The main language of this activity will be English. But not being comfortable with interacting in English should not prevent you from applying. CDN strives to create an inclusive atmosphere at the events, where participants are encouraged to express themselves and ask for clarifications or translations from peers that speak the same language.

Costs: Anyone is welcome to take part in the conference with their own expenses. There is no participation fee.

In addition, CDN can cover the participation of a limited number of applications of young greens and activists from Eastern Europe (with a maximum age of 30). Meaning the cost of travel, and lodging (accommodation in multi-bed rooms, vegetarian/vegan food and refreshments).

In any case, take into consideration choosing the most economic and environmentally friendly means of travel (lowest price + travel time + CO2 emissions) and in case the trip would take less than 15 hours only travelling by land (train+bus) is reimbursed (IRPs §9.1).

Deadline: 20th of May (if applying for CDN to cover your participation.)

You will be informed by e-mail approximately 1 week after the deadline. Please add office@cdnee.org to your contacts, so that you do not receive our reply in the spam folder.

In case of having any questions, do not hesitate to write us at office@cdnee.org

 

Programme

Time Zone: Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) / Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) + 3

Day 1, Monday, June 6

10:00-10:15 Opening of the conference
 
10:15-11:30 Eastern Europe as a region – a story of turbulent transformation (Live Stream)
 

Speakers: 

– Sonja Schiffers, Director of Heinrich-Boell Foundation, South Caucasus Office

– Anastasiya Dorofeeva, Belarusian Green party, Belarusian anti-nuclear campaign, hub “Green foundations”

 
Description: For more than thirty years Eastern Europe is a region of independent nation-states. During this period there was the promise that after a long struggle democracy and well-being would be achieved. Looking at it today, it is clear that most Eastern European countries are far from democracy and the well-being of citizens.
In this session, we will try to analyse and reflect on the last decades of Eastern Europe, mainly focusing to find the roots of current problems and possible solutions by looking back at the recent history – what shaped the region, how the democratisation and transition took place.
 
 
12:00-13:30 Influence of Global Powers: Eastern Europe at the crossroads between democracy and autocracy (Live Stream)
 
Speakers:

– Anton Cherepenko, the Free Hong Kong Center in Kyiv

– Zarina Burkadze  Associate Professor of Political Science, Ilia State University

– Raluca Besliu, contributor of Green European Journal focusing on Eastern European affairs

– Teo Comet, European Greens

Description: Discussing political dynamics and transformation of Eastern Europe cannot take place without paying attention to global powers and their involvement in the region. 
With this session we aim to map global powers: EU – China, Russia and US – and their interests; What role do they play in supporting democracy and progressive agenda or the opposite – encouraging and financing anti-democratic, right-wing and authoritarian forces. 
 
15:30-17:00 War in Ukraine: Context, Present and the Effect on the region (Live Stream)
 
Description: Russian aggression against Ukraine is continuing. Every day we are witnessing atrocities, war crimes and violations of international law from the Russian side, at the same time Ukraine is bravely defending its people, sovereignty, democracy and even Europe as a whole.
In this session, we will take a look at a few different aspects of the conflict: the context of the war, the historical roots of Russian aggression, the current events, as well as what greens should do to help Ukraine, and how the ongoing war affects countries in the region.
 
 
17:30-19:00 Energy – a veto point and/or a chance for democracy? (Live Stream)
 
Speakers:

Manana Kochladze, Bankwatch Strategic Area Leader – Democratization and Human Rights

Yevheniia Zasiadko, Head of climate and transport department at Ecoaction – Centre for Environmental Initiatives
 

Workshop: 

Sandy-Kyriaki Fameliari, ElectaEnergy Cooperative
 
Description: The energy we choose reflects the systems we support. In this session, we will discuss energy as the core factor for sustaining authoritarian regimes and the way the energy sector influences political dynamics. As well as we are going to focus on the possibility of democratisation through energy – decentralisation, renewables and the prospect of energy cooperatives in Eastern Europe. 
 

Day 2, Tuesday, June 7th

10:00-11:30 Eco-Democracy as a new paradigm for Eastern Europe
 
Facilitators:
– Annie Maniadi and Dimitris Papageorgiou, Green Institute of Greece
 
Description: The Workshop aims to add a philosophical, ethical and institutional dimension to the conversations on the Future of Eastern Europe happening at the Conference. It hopes to bring together the different voices and ideas from the wealth of participants and facilitate a meaningful discussion on how to put Ecology at the Centre of Democracy.

How can we make democracy more ecological? What kind of changes do we need to apply to our thinking about participation, institutions and decision-making to put ecology and the environment at the forefront of our political systems?

These are some of the questions that we’ll be asking and trying to answer at our Ecodemocracy Workshop!                                         
 
 
12:00-13:30  Conflicts in Eastern Europe: the theory and beyond
 
Description: The session aims to provide participants with the basis of conflict theory and conflict resolution and analyze the conflicts in EE through case studies.  The session encompasses theoretical and practical parts that will be conducted through non-formal education methods. The objectives of the session are 1)to understand the concept of conflict (origin, causes, consequences), 2) to discuss the mechanisms of handling conflict, particularly, conflict resolution, and 3) to explore the conflicts that happened in EE in recent years, their consequences and current state.
 
 
15:30-17:00 Open Mic
 
 
17:30-19:30 Movements into politics: Green Wave in Eastern Europe (Live Stream)
 
Speakers:

– Justine Pantelejeva, ProgresÄ«vie, Latvia

– Sopo Shubitidze, Mtsvaneebi, Georgia 

Predrag Momčilović, Ne davimo Beograd, Serbia

Stefan Vukmanovic, Ura Montenegro

Koray Doğan Urbarlı, Green Party Turkey 

 

Description: For the last decades, if you checked the electoral map of Europe intending to see how Green parties have been performing, you would see a clear pattern: Greens in the west and north do well – they get elected in national and regional parliaments, city councils, win mayorships and even participate in governing coalitions; while in the east – you would see a grey colour representing either absence of Green parties from the political landscape or lack of support and therefore relevance. However, in recent years the pattern is dissolving and becoming a blur, the Green wave spreading to the East.

During the panel, we will discuss the ongoing Green wave with newly established Green political parties across Eastern Europe with the aim to analyse current success, find the patterns and similarities, understand the importance of grassroots movements and civil society, map challenges, envision the future and their influence on the political landscape.

This event is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of CDNEE and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this event.

PDF Version

Call for trainers “Skills for massive youth activisation”

CDN is opening the call for trainers for the 2nd phase of this year’s Annual Work Plan, “Skills for massive youth activisation”, which is a 5-day international training course that is going to take place in Riga, Latvia between the 8th and 12th of June 2022.

Working time: Session length – 1,5 hours; online work before the event (~10 hours per session).

Remuneration: EUR 150 per session

We are looking for someone with the following profile: 

  1. Comprehensive understanding and respect of Green values;

  2. Excellent written and spoken English;

  3. Excellent organisational skills;

  4. Efficient communication skills (in online and offline settings);

  5. Experience in non-formal education and moderation;

  6. Ability to take initiative and work in an international environment;

  7. Experience in activism is an asset;

  8. Preferably younger than 30 years of age and not older than 35 at the moment of applying.

We are looking for trainers for the following sessions:

1. Creative campaigning module:

1.1 Developing art campaign (3 sessions)

In these sessions, we expect the trainer to shortly walk the participants through the process of developing an art campaign and than mentor them through making an imaginary art campaign that is related to activism. We want the trainer to help the participants think outside the box and provide support if they get stuck. We also want the sessions to be as interactive as possible. The participants will already be introduced to some basic creative campaigning concepts and will have had sessions on visual and audiovisual creative campaigning and urban intervention examples. We need an experienced trainer to help them with practical advice on what steps need to be taken to successfully develop an art campaign and to mentor them through the common challenges.

2. Debates and public speaking module:

2.1 Debating (1 session) 

For this session, the trainer is expected to introduce the participants to the basics of debating and public speaking. The trainer should help the participants to take their debating skills to the next level, by focusing on both the content and structure of high-quality debates.
 The trainer should have experience with both debating and non-formal education.

2.2. Developing speeches and polishing (3 sessions)

In these sessions, we expect the trainer to work with the participants and do the practical exercises developing their speeches for the Local Actions. Participants should learn about how to adapt to different audiences, how to involve the audience and how to match non-verbal and verbal communication in order to deliver the message successfully. The trainer should have experience in empowering young people and enabling them to make their voices heard through captivating speeches with both meaningful content and rhetorical effects.

3. Movement organising skills

3.1 Recruiting new members in the movements/organisations (1 session)

For this very important and complex topic for all activists and organisations, we would like to attract a trainer with practical experience. In this session, we expect the trainer to cover the following topics:

– Tools to recruit new members;

– How to communicate with new members and how to involve them in current actions;

– How to motivate them;

– The practical task for the participants on this topic.

3.2 External communications – positioning of the movement (1 session)

– Definition

– Types of external communication

– Goals and strategies

– Benefits (with specific examples)

– Practical part – working with participants on press releases, positioning on the social media, networking in the name of their organisation with the partners and so on.

4. NFE methodologies

4.1 NFE methodologies in-depth and Developing the NFE elements of LAs (2 sessions)

In this session, we expect the trainer first to deliver a presentation on out of the box methodologies for NFE events. Participants will be already familiar with the methodologies such as fish bowls, role plays, world cafe, etc. We would like to hire a trainer with experience in NFE methodologies that are most useful for involving the apolitical youth in the life of society. This training aims to equip the young people implementing the local actions with NFE skills that they will use in their LA, aiming to mobilise youth for participation in the political life of the society.

You can see the updated agenda of the event with dates HERE.

Practicalities: 

Accommodation, food, working space, travel and visa costs for the preparatory team will be fully covered. For the selection of travel means the condition is to combine the most economic and environmentally friendly way (lowest price + travel time + CO2 emissions).

We encourage Eastern Europeans, Women, queer people and people from other marginalised groups to apply. Payment for the service will be done in cash for trainers that do not have an EU bank account and via bank transfer to those that have it within 2 weeks’ time after the end of the event.

The interested candidates are invited to send their CV, short (0,5-page bio/presentation of their experience and skills and filled out session outline to project.coordinator@cdnee.org by 23rd of May 23:59 CET. 

The selected trainers will be contacted within a week after the Deadline and invited for a call with the members of the preparatory team of the event to continue working on the session together. Please add project.coordinator@cdnee.org to your contacts, so that you do not receive our reply in the spam folder.

 

Call for the PT of “Green Cities for Sustainable Planet”

Cooperation and Development Network (CDN) is announcing an open call for members of the preparatory team (prep-team) for the study session “Green Cities for Sustainable Planet”  which will take place from 7th to 12th  of November 2022 in the European Youth Centre in Budapest, Hungary. The arrival date for the participants is 6th and departure date is 13th. More information on the project you can find here.

With this activity we aim to empower 35 young Eastern Europeans in tackling climate change through exploring the intersectionality of globalisation, capitalism and environmental issues – this event will provide a holistic approach towards climate change by focusing on communities, economy, human rights and urbanism and support the participants in developing new attitudes towards climate change, through exploring how governments, businesses and citizens can enable the urban and economic shift to a greener transition. 

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Call for Participants- Balkan Regional Meeting

CDN is more than happy to announce the upcoming Balkan Regional Meeting! 

During the past few years, we have seen an unprecedented surge of environmental and urban protests, followed by the establishment and surprising success of Green political parties in the Balkans. 

Balkan Regional Meeting (BRM) will tackle the Rise of Green parties in the Balkans and is organised for CDN’s member organisations and other young Green activists from the Balkan region. The regional meeting will be hosted by our MO Youth Movement Revolt and take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 20-22, when the arrival date is 19th and the departure date is 23rd for the participants.

With the meeting, we aim to discuss the emergence of Green political parties in the Balkans, the grounds and roots on which they were founded, policy priorities and structures, the importance of youth involvement and the role of civil society, as well as will focus on the skills and tools needed to participate in politics and increase influence. 

The programme will be based on the principles of non-formal education and intercultural learning. We strive for an active, inclusive environment for direct communication and sharing of knowledge. The sessions will be balanced between theoretical inputs, work in small groups, workshops, discussions, panels, training and other interactive methods of non-formal learning.

Who should apply? We are looking for 25 young people not older than 30 (by the time of applying, IRPs §8.1) from the Balkans interested and/or part of the Green political project, who would like to contribute to the discussions and share experiences from their local context, and are willing to reproduce and use the gained knowledge on the local level.

Practicalities:

Language: The main language of this activity will be English. But not being comfortable with interacting in English should not prevent you from applying. CDN strives to create an inclusive atmosphere at the events, where participants are encouraged to express themselves and ask for clarifications or translations from peers that speak the same language.

Costs: The cost of travel, PCR tests, lodging (accommodation in multi-bed rooms, vegetarian/vegan food and refreshments) and working materials during the event will be fully covered by CDN.

Take into consideration to choose the most economic and environmentally friendly means of travel (lowest price + travel time + CO2 emissions) and in case the trip would take less than 15 hours only travelling by land (train+bus) is allowed (IRPs §9.1).

Deadline: May 1st, 23:59.   DEADLINE EXTENDED

You will be informed by e-mail approximately 1 week after the deadline. Please add office@cdnee.org to your contacts, so that you do not receive our reply in the spam folder.

In case of having any questions, do not hesitate to write us on office@cdnee.org

Call for Local Actions: Mobilising Youth for Participation

Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe is happy to announce the third step of the annual work plan “We are the future, but we are here NOW!”. The call for local actions is an opportunity for the youth organisations or a group of young people that participated in the previous stage of the project to submit the applications consisting of the Local Action Plans and Budget.

The 3rd part of the project, “Mobilising Youth for Participation” aims to give space to youth to reclaim fight for democracy by raising awareness about importance of civic education and youth participation. Local actions will contribute to the objectives of:

  • Engaging young people in shaping democratic decision making processes in their local communities with direct participation of youth in them and promotion of youth inclusion.
  • Creating a network of activists and organisations for future collaboration and transfer of knowledge.
  • Raising visibility of young people and mobilising them for a common cause of ensuring a better future for all youth by giving voice and agency to them.

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General Assembly 2022 – Report

Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe held its 13th General Assembly in Belgrade, Serbia/Hybrid 12-13th of March 2022. The GA was planned to happen in live in Tbilisi, Georgia and practice democracy in physical space once again after long COVID-19 years. However, this was not possible anymore due to the Russian invasion and ongoing war in Ukraine. Taking into account instability in the whole region and consequent risks the Executive Committee had decided to move the event to an online/hybrid format.

The General Assembly once again, decided on the direction the Network should take over the next year by adopting the Activity and Financial Plan, electing the new EC and adding amendments to Internal Rules of Procedure, Political Platform and Strategy Statement 2022-24, Safe Space Policy as well as adopted four resolutions.

Apart from the statutory part, we organised a discussion regarding the current situation in Ukraine and listened to the presentation by Yevheniia Zasiadko, former Executive Committee Member of CDN from Ukraine, about dependence on fossil fuels from Russia and the importance of sanctions and embargo, as well as how can we support. Based on the input and discussion the resolution was developed by the Executive Committee, amendments made by the delegates and finally adopted by the General Assembly.

The newly elected Executive Committee consists of Selma Levrence (Protest); Edna Sadikovic (Revolt); Onur Elmas (Young Greens of Turkey); Kateryna Andrieieva (Belarus Young Greens); Lusine Kosakyan (Frontline Youth Network) and Pablo Luīze Pastore (Protest).

Moreover, we are happy to welcome Youth Forum URA as the newest Member Organisation as was approved by the General Assembly.

We want to say a big thank you to all delegates, candidates and guests who contributed to another amazing GA which we leave with big plans and EC motivated to pursue. We should also should express our gratitude to Young Greens of Georgia for fruitful cooperation and support in organising the GA as well as an understanding for the last-minute cancellation.

Here are the documents amendment and/or adopted by the General Assembly:

Statutory:

• Internal Rules and Procedures

• Political Platform

• Strategy Document 2022-2024

• Activity:

• Plan

• Report

• Financial

•  Plan

•  Report

• Safe Space Policy

• Minutes of the 2021 General Assembly

Resolutions: 

• ReClaim The Rainbow

• The Future of Work

• Cities for All

• Geopolitics of Eastern Europe: In Solidarity with Ukraine and Against Russian Aggression

You can can find the Minutes of the 2022 General Assembly to be adopted by the next GA blow:

Balkan Regional Meeting 2022 – Call for PT

During the past few years, we have seen an unprecedented surge of environmental and urban protests, followed by the establishment and surprising success of Green political parties in the Balkans.

Balkan Regional Meeting (BRM) will tackle the Rise of Green parties in the Balkans and is organised for CDN’s member organisations based in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and other Green activists from the Balkan region. The regional meeting will be hosted by our MO Youth Movement Revolt and take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 20-22, when the arrival date for the PT  is 17th and Departure 24.

With the meeting, we aim to discuss the emergence of Green political parties in the Balkans, the grounds and roots on which they were founded, policy priorities and structures, the importance of youth involvement and the role of civil society, as well as will focus on the skills and tools needed to participate in politics and increase influence. 

In order to achieve these objectives, we are looking for motivated members of our Balkan MOs to join the Preparatory Team (PT) and help us prepare for the upcoming event! Hereby, we would like to offer you the opportunity to apply for the PT. Prep-team members should speak English, be available during the preparation period, be responsible for fulfilling their tasks, have good organizational and digital skills, be good team players and committed to the aims of the project and CDN’s values and be familiar with non-formal education methods. Background knowledge on the political landscape, involvement with the mentioned Green parties, peculiarities of the Balkans and previous experience with CDN activities is a benefit but is not necessary.

 

Main responsibilities of the prep-team:

  1. Active participation in the regular online meetings prior to the event (2-3 hour meetings every two weeks);
  2. Preparation of participants for the event and providing them with all the necessary information regarding the program;
  3. Preparation and facilitation of the programme of the event; designing and preparing sessions based on non-formal education methodology, invitation and communication with speakers, experts, trainers and partners in accordance with the project aims;
  4. Taking care of the general well-being of the participants;
  5. Full participation during the entire event and prep team meeting before and after the event in May (18-19, arrival on 17th, )
  6. Supporting the finalisation of the outputs;
  7. Helping with the reporting of the event.

 

Being a prep-team member at the CDN event would offer you:

  • Working in a lively environment;
  • Experience in managing events – preparation, implementation and reporting;
  • Getting familiar with Green values and CDN work;
  • Getting to know local activists and their work, as well as connecting with other MOs in the Balkan region;
  • A possibility to develop your facilitation and group work skills;
  • A lot of work and a lot of fun!

 

Practicalities: 

Accommodation, food, working space and travel costs for the PT will be fully covered. For the selection of travel means the condition is to combine the most economic and environmentally friendly way (lowest price + travel time + CO2 emissions). 

In case you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact us: office@cdnee.org.

Deadline: Sunday, March 27th, 23:59.