Community Organizing Networks to Create a European Innovation Vector for Engagement (CONCEIVE)

The project aims at connecting civil society leaders from Western European cities that engage locally for better living conditions. For that purpose, initiatives in Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Dui...

The project aims at connecting civil society leaders from Western European cities that engage locally for better living conditions. For that purpose, initiatives in Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Duisburg, Turin and Rome that adopt Community Organizing (CO) as a tool of political engagement are linked through a) one meeting of 30-50 local leaders (heads of civil society organizations, religious representatives, informal groups members, etc.) in every participating country to support mutual learning from local experiences and b) new and translated materials on Community Organizing in Europe in German, Italian and Dutch languages for teaching purposes. The activities c) are supported by a European organizing committee that will foster these local learning experiences and connect them on a European scale. Thanks to this project, local community leaders in Western European cities will get engaged with each other and create a European network of solidarity. Experiences from one country could be reflected in another and leaders will be able to get directly in contact with each other to learn each other’s best practices and help in times of need.

By meeting in every country, the leaders engaged with the local political context, the engaging groups and the context of Community Organizing. The meetings helped establish recognition over national differences. Even with the challenge of language barrier, people engaged with each other actively. This led to an increased motivation to be engaged with organizing in the local context. The sense of belonging to a wider (though different) movement inspires the local initiatives. Comparing the elements of Community Organizing in the respective contexts also shed light on the own context. For example, in comparing the role of the church, or the amount of access / participation in the different government bodies we came across different realities and different strategies. Also, the thematic exchange (visiting associations, exchanging ideas for action on housing, energy crisis, gentrification and societal inclusion among others) created new starting points. Further the dilemmas that the different community organizations meet in terms of mobilization, finance were exchanged. Also, with the brochure there is a written document that will be a basis for deeper discussion as well as expanding it to other countries and languages.