This program aims to organize frontline communities in Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic in a locally  rooted, internationally coordinated campaign for a Just Transition. We tested transformative ways to engage and organize frontline communities affected by climate change and inequality to lead their own transformation and participate in democratic processes for a Just transition. The rationale is that frontline communities that are the most affected by the impacts of climate change and systemic injustice are often not meaningfully engaged in the Climate Justice Movement and in discourses on what a transition to a sustainable society should look like. In particular, in Central and Eastern decision makers are often voting at EU level in opposition to European climate policies and will continue to do so without a strong demand for a just transition from their citizens. This calls for a need to work in these countries to build bottom-up power of frontline communities to organize for a Just Transition locally and at European level.  

We conducted a community organizing process in frontline communities in Slovakia, Poland and Czech Republic, building relationships, supporting the development of their organizing and leadership capacity and facilitating collective analysis, and campaigning for common issues. We used community organizing as a strategy for bottom-up systemic change and power shift.