European Economic
and Social Committee
REFLECTIONS BY CIVIL SOCIETY PARTNERS: EU budget
Resilient communities: ECOLISE – A symphony of local voices, actions and ideas
In a world where fake news abounds and autocrats are gaining power, it is difficult to find your way and feel sure about what is right and what is wrong. The world and its people face multiple social and environmental crises, which call for a fundamental transformation of our established societal systems. There is an overload of information and choices to make. People feel increasingly insecure, depressed, anxious or lost.
The feeling of being part of a community helps people to face complex challenges. Reinforcing social networks on the ground, while defining collective objectives and joint actions, increases trust, safety and mental health. The importance of conscious and active local groups is often undermined as being “too local” to make the global shift to sustainability. This is a huge misunderstanding.
ECOLISE, a European network of community-led initiatives, demonstrates that bringing together local voices and citizen power is key to building resilient communities and nation states. Communities form the backbone of economic activity and political culture in a country. If people feel safe, connected to one another and rooted in their environment, this fosters greater well-being, empathy and inclusiveness —and ultimately leads to more democracy.
ECOLISE members aim to improve people’s lives while respecting nature’s limits. More than two million Europeans are already involved in the energy transition, greening urban spaces, community-supported agriculture, and sharing initiatives such as car-sharing and time banks. These initiatives are not only hands-on; they are also strong, workable ideas for locally-driven sustainable development. Social innovation may be just as important as technological innovation — it needs to go hand in hand to build resilient communities.
Achieving the system change our global economy needs depends on the meaningful involvement of diverse local groups, including indigenous and rural communities and active neighbourhoods. Efforts to advocate for more top-down legal frameworks, regulation and enabling policies will only succeed if there is broad ownership and engagement across society. Transformative change requires both individual and collective action. We must support people to become active changemakers — as citizens, as active consumers, within their communities, and in their working lives.
Please read more and sign:
https://timeforcollectiveaction.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ENG-Manifesto-Web.pdf
Leida RIJNHOUT, Director of ECOLISE (European Network of Community-led Initiatives on Climate Change and Sustainability)