European Democracy Network | International network of social activists in Europe to defend freedom, democracy and fundamental rights

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About the project

As transnational partnership we initiated the European Democracy Network (EDN)
to support, empower and connect activists who stand against the erosion of democracy
and fundamental rights, and advocate for legal, political, social and climate justice.
We believe that we can only encounter the shrinking of civic space in transnational solidarity and across issues.

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Democracy

Democracy and its underlying fundamental rights are in decline in Europe. More and more right-wing populist parties and leaders are taking over governments and dismantling the democratic constitutional state – even in the so-called consolidated democracies. In this context, we believe it is necessary to support activists and initiatives who are under threat.

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Activism

We are connecting and supporting a dozen of activists, from the partner countries of the project (Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary and Poland) and from outside the partnership (Slovakia, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine). We all stand in solidarity for social justice, human rights and environmental protection, against the rise of nationalism and white supremacy.

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Empowerment

The core activities of the project are workshops and trainings responding to the needs of the EDN activists where they learn from each other, develop their skills and abilities in areas such as Community Management, Public Speaking, Critical Whiteness, Digital Security, Online Communication, Stress Management and Resilience.

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Network

The EDN activists meet regularly in each of the six partner countries of the project. During 2,5 days meetings and training sessions, they learn various competences in skills empowering their activism. Every time they meet and exchange with other local or international activists, European public and the media to build connections and share experiences.

Network Activities

Screenshot from the zoom conference

Democracies in the Making!

Online Learning Exchange, November 2020

How can civil society and activist movements resist and handle attacks by authoritarian governments on democratic values and basic rights, also in times of the COVID-19 pandemic? How can new forms of interventions inspire these movements and revive democracy? On Saturday 28.11., our Online Learning Exchange will connect activists defending democratic values and changemakers designing and implementing new models of participation and deliberation.

Jean-Marie Fardeau VoxPublic

CSOs under attacks in France

Paris, January 2020

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in France are under various forms of attacks. Jean-Marie Fardeau, Director of Vox Public, tells the stories of shrinking of space for civil society in the country. With the support of Civitates, Vox Public created a coalition composed of civil society actors that experience the shrinking of space for civil society in different fields, including that of migration, anti-discrimination, freedom on the internet, etc.

Meet the current EDN activists (1st Generation)

Aktham Abulhusn

Aktham Abulhusn

Berlin, Germany / Syria

Aktham took part in the uprising in Syria on March 2011, and came to Berlin in 2015 where he now works as a volunteer for Start with a Friend e.V., a non-profit organization that promotes active participation of newcomers in life of their new communities.

Alper Sagban

Alper Sagban

Kandel, Germany

Alper is a member of the Kandel gegen Rechts (KgR) group. Together with other activists, he coordinates protests and rallies to oppose the right-wing populism in their town of Kandel.

Asuman Kırlangıç-Joumarin

Asuman Kırlangıç-Joumarin

Berlin, Germany / Turkey

Asuman is a member of the community Academics for Peace that works with persecuted academics from Turkey. In 2017 Asuman and other members of the community founded Off-University, an online university promoting emancipatory forms of learning through classes taught by persecuted scholars.

Charlotte Métayer

Charlotte Métayer

Paris, France

Charlotte is the coordinator of the International Centre of Popular Culture (CICP), a centre based in Paris, France, housing 80 associations of international solidarity and supporting civil society movements with resources.

Igor Isajew

Igor Isajew

Warsaw, Poland

Igor is a Ukrainian journalist in Warsaw. After the right-wing government took over the public media, he lost his job at The Polish Public Radio. He is now the editor-in-chief of the portal PROstir.pl founded by Ukrainians living in Poland and he is active in the civic movement Obywatele RP.

Iwona Wyszogrodzka

Iwona Wyszogrodzka

Warsaw, Poland

Iwona is a member of Obywatele RP and The Polish Women’s Strike. Both organisations are non-violent movements and have an ambition not only to be against, to protest, and to provide evidence for the violence of the nondemocratic system in Poland, but also to change it by proposing alternative, pro-democratic and pro-choice solutions.

János Pálinkás

János Pálinkás

Budapest, Hungary

János is active in C8 – a democratic community that supports the collaboration of active citizens in the 8th district of the Hungarian capital. Together with other activists, János also founded another civic initiative called Beteg voltam, és meglátogattatok (I was sick, and you visited me).

Jonathan Munk Nielsen

Jonathan Munk Nielsen

Copenhagen, Denmark

Jonathan is a chair of the board at the solidarity organisation Global Aktion and he is currently involved in struggles related to Climate Justice, natural resources and political ecology. He is particularly interested in the political economy of food systems and the mobilization of small-scale food producers.

Júlia Konkoly-Thege

Júlia Konkoly-Thege

Pécs, Hungary

Júlia founded the local group The City is for All – Pécs whose members are homeless and formerly homeless people, and people living in housing poverty along with their allies who all work together for a more egalitarian and fair society. She is also organizing a progressive green-activist group called Green Youth Association in Pécs.

Kristýna Kyánková

Kristýna Kyánková

Brno, Czech Republic

Kristýna is a coordinator of volunteers and of the School of Sustainability at Hnutí DUHA – Friends of the Earth Czech Republic. The organisation focuses on environmental issues and civic engagement. Kristýna coordinates over 800 of volunteers and help them participate in various activivities of their organisation.

Miroslav Ragač

Miroslav Ragač

Zvolen, Slovakia

Miroslav is a community organizer at the Center for Community Organizing (CCO) in Banska Bystrica in Slovakia. The NGO is supporting citizens initiatives, providing trainings and organizing consultations with citizens, elected officials and local municipalities representatives in the field of active citizenship.

Samia Hathroubi

Samia Hathroubi

Paris, France

Samia is a speaker, organizer, former director of the youth led organisation Coexister in France. She is currently working for the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and the German Marshall Fund on a Transatlantic Tour to meet, interview and promote the initiatives of activists, community and religious leaders working for pluralistic societies.

Partner organisations

The European Democracy Network (EDN) is coordinated by Citizens For Europe gUG. Its activities are co-designed and implemented by the activists themselves and the project partners from Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary and Poland.

Citizens For Europe

Germany

Citizens For Europe (CFE) is a civil society organization and social business based in Berlin. We work on the local level across Europe changing political and social structures to foster a more inclusive, democratic and participatory society.

Obywatele RP

Poland

Obywatele RP practices non-violent civil disobedience to oppose the actions of the Polish government led by the nationalistic and xenophobic Law and Justice (PiS) party and to defend democracy, freedom of assembly, as well as equal civil and minority rights.

Nesehnutí

Czech Republic

Nesehnutí is an independent social and ecological movement created 20 years ago in Brno. The organisation designs educational bottom-up programmes, awareness campaigns and political actions.

Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ)

Hungary

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) is a human rights watchdog organisation. Its lawyers provide free legal aid assistance for activists and citizens to defend their basic rights “against the undue interference by those in position of public power”.

VoxPublic

France

VoxPublic is a French organisation that empowers civil society actors to challenge public authorities in order to reduce social injustices, discriminations and to fight corruption. To increase the mobilization around these issues, VoxPublic supports social activists in their web and public communication, to lead lobbying actions toward decision-makers.

MitOst e.V.

Germany

MitOst e.V. is an international network of around 1,400 members in 45 countries and 10 alumni groups. Their cooperation programmes and international projects mostly focus on social cohesion, sustainable urban and rural development, active citizenship and cultural exchanges all over the world.

Citizens for Europe.eu (CFEU)

European Union

CFEU is a co-founder of the EDN project. Founded in 2010 by the Swiss foundation Charles Léopold Mayer pour le Progrès de l’homme, CFEU is a community of more than 500 civil society organisations aiming at creating a more participatory and democratic Europe.

Nyt Europa

Denmark

Nyt Europa is an NGO based in Denmark that works on empowering civil society and lobbying for political changes at the European level. Their awareness raising campaigns, educational projects and lobbying actions focus on sustainable development goals, democracy as well as various economic, social and environmental issues.

2024 © by Citizens For Europe | Created by K-Majick @ Cyberleaf Studio

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