PROJECT NAME
Project for Active Citizenship for the Environment and Sustainability (PACES)
PROJECT RATIONALE
Our pre-development work with rural communities in Carlow has highlighted that communities do not fully understand why the European Union has taken a particular stance on a matter which is of great importance to them. For example, questions typically asked by rural citizens can include;
• We know the EU is serious about tackling climate change and protecting our environment but are rural dwellers going to experience greater disadvantage because of restrictions and tarrifs?
• How can we contribute to a sustainable environment when the EU has not put arrangements in place for proper cycle lanes, electric car charging points in our community?
• Who decides to classify an area as a SAC when we know this decision will restrict development in rural areas?
• Why are the EU planning to put restrictions on the use of certain products without having alternatives in place?
• What are the EU’s main goals and what are it’s future priorities ?
• How can my MEP support our community to articulate our frustrations around EU policy?
In a sentence, rural communities in Carlow have told us that they want to contribute to protecting their local environment and resources but are not confident on what SHOULD be done, what CAN be done and what are the PRIORITIES?
PROJECT AIM
PACES aims to create a space for rural communities to engage in dialogue which will facilitate, educate and deepen citizens understanding of the European Union‘s policy making processes, in particular those processes that focuses on Climate Action, Sustainability and the Environment. PACES also seeks to empower citizens to participate in, progress and influence Climate, Sustainability and Environment related policies at local, national and European levels.
THE CHALLENGE
PACES seeks to build a ‘bridge of understanding‘ between rural communities and the European Union by strengthening their existing, but disjointed relationship, particularly in the context of the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework and other Sustainability Policies, including EU decisions, directives and regulations .
THE SOLUTION
PACES will be seek to empower, educate and deepen citizens understanding of the European Union’s Environmental and Sustainability Agenda, in particular the Paris Agreement (and the national climate plan), Rural Development Policy and the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, and will include actions which will focus on building local capacity and developing local structures, particularly voluntary networks, such that the impact of PACES is sustainable. The aim of PACES will be realised through a range of integrated community led actions and could include;
• Community dialogues
• Training Workshops
• Web-site
• Social Media
• Conferences
• Webinars
• Meetings with policy makers
• Case Studies
• Radio shows
During the lifespan of PACES, a focus will be on creating a better understanding of the genesis, rationale and success, or otherwise, of national and EU Environmental and Sustainability policies and in particular, how citizens and communities can best engage in these policy frameworks and communicate a clear message to policy makers at national and European levels.
PROJECT RESULTS
We expect the implementation of PACES to deliver the following results;
• Citizens will have a better understanding of EU Climate, Environmental and Sustainability related policies and the rationale for same,
• Citizens will know how to be more active in national and EU decision making,
• Citizens will learn to apply a ‘think global but act local‘ methodology,
• Citizens will have a better understanding of how communities in other member states are responding to common challenges and harnessing common opportunities,
• Citizens will be better equipped to work together to access EU and national supports and funding to implement innovative sustainable environmental projects at local level.
TRANSNATIONALITY
PACES will embrace transnationality by encouraging co-operation by way of an inter-territorial partnership which will enable citizens participating in the project exchange ideas with citizens from other communities, the EU’s institutions and with other interested parties.
The project will also utilise existing relationships and networks to disseminate project results across the European Union. In particular, ECOLISE, the European network for community-led action on climate change and sustainability, but also other networks, such as the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD).
Volunteerism
The project will use volunteers to develop meaningful opportunities for mutual understanding on how decision making processes can contribute to sustainable results across the local Environmental Agenda, including reducing carbon emissions, sustainable management of bio-diversity and identifying optimal responses to counter the erosion of the natural environment. PACES will consider engaging with the European Solidarity Corps to further promote and embed the volunteer movement a key element of citizen engagement.
Transfer of lessons learned
To increase the value of the project to the European Union the project will be underpinned by horizontal themes of evaluation, dissemination and transfer of lessons learned by using a range of dissemination and communication tools.
Project Scale and Budget
The project will have a total of 4 partners, of which one will be Carlow Development Partnership. The second partner will be ECOLISE, a European Network for Community Led Initiatives on Climate Change and Sustainability. ECOLISE will be responsible for the dissemination strategy underpinning PACES.
Carlow Development Partnership and two of the partners (not ECOLISE) will work with at least 300 participants each, generating a total of 900 participants for the project. Each partner will be required to implement a suite of agreed community led actions.
The budget for each partner will be agreed as part of the collaborative planning process.
Expressions of interest should be made before the 31st of July, 2019.