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AT A GLANCE
The EnviRights project aims to strengthen the protection and promotion of freedom of expression, assembly, and association for environmental and climate activists – particularly young people – across the European Union. It targets civil society organisations, youth movements, disadvantaged groups (including women, non-binary, ethnic minorities, and activists with disabilities), public officers, media operators, policymakers, and the general public.
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OBJECTIVES
Specific Objectives:
- Improve the effectiveness of monitoring environmental activists’ rights across Europe.
- Build activists’ capacity by strengthening awareness, resilience, and coping skills.
- Promote greater understanding and acceptance of environmental activists’ concerns among public officers, media operators, and policymakers.
The EnviRights project responds to the urgent need to safeguard participation in democratic life by ensuring the protection of fundamental rights in the field of environmental activism. While freedom of expression and demonstration is guaranteed by Articles 11 and 12 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, climate activists—especially young people—face growing restrictions, selective enforcement, and social hostility in many European countries.
The project seeks to address these challenges through three interconnected strategies. First, it will improve monitoring of environmental activists’ rights across Europe by mapping both formal and informal climate movements, identifying best practices, and designing a unified European-wide monitoring system. Second, it will build the capacity of environmental rights defenders through a tailored training programme that addresses legal, communication, psychological, and resilience skills, with particular attention to disadvantaged groups (women, non-binary activists, minorities, youth, and those facing socio-economic barriers). Third, it will promote broader institutional and societal understanding by training public officers on proper application of legal protections, equipping media operators with a communication kit to avoid discriminatory narratives, and fostering dialogue with policymakers through advocacy tables and a recommendations paper.The partnership will bring together civil society organisations, a local municipality in Hungary, and an academic institution (University of Turin), combining expertise in youth engagement, training, monitoring, and advocacy. By targeting CSOs, individual activists, public authorities, media professionals, policymakers, and the general public, the project will contribute to a safer, more inclusive civic space in the EU. Ultimately, EnviRights aims to empower environmental activists, ensure better protection of their fundamental rights, and strengthen democratic dialogue on climate issues across Europe.
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HASHTAGS
#freedom #expression #information #assembly #association #empowerment #environment #rights #activism #monitoring #capacitybuilding #advocacy #policymaking
