GROMADA
The ‘Gromada’ project, in full ‘Supporting Higher Education institutions in their cooperation with Ukrainian counterparts to respond to the war in Ukraine’, funded through an Erasmus + multiparters grant and running for two years from December 2023 to November 2025, responds to environmental consequences of the war in Ukraine by involving European High Education Institutions (HEIs) to support Ukrainian civil capacity for environmental recovery. In doing so, GROMADA intends to create a model for European HEIs in becoming more socially responsible and active in responding to humanitarian and environmental crises. Gromada is at the heart of Systasis’ mandate to promote knowledge about environmental law, alternative tools and solutions for preventing and resolving environmental conflicts, and related human rights.
Specifically, the project intends to:
integrate environmental civic monitoring and citizen science, cooperation between lawyers and Ukrainian communities, and a roadmap for civic engagement in Ukraine’s environmental recovery. By using innovative and engaging learning methods, project partners will develop online lectures and resources that are specifically adapted to the needs of staff and students. In this way, the project enhances European universities’ capability to fulfil their educational and social mission by promoting environmental citizenship, especially in conflict-affected communities;
promote awareness for a healthy environment as an essential human right for Ukraine’s recovery. The project also reinforces the importance of public participation in response to the triple crises of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change – all of which have been exacerbated by the war. The right to access accurate information on the status of the environment is a key pillar of environmental democracy. This right can be particularly at risk during conflicts and the project will address this risk;
develop competencies through civic monitoring and citizen science to support conflict-affected communities in protecting their natural heritage, and promoting environmental accountability. These competencies are directly transferable to other community initiatives intended to monitor the efforts of authorities to adapt to future environmental challenges in Ukraine. This also supports plans to encourage Ukraine’s energy transition away from fossil fuels;
bring together European HEIs, a business partner and a specialised NGO, which are collectively committed to legal and societal capacity building to support the full enjoyment of environmental rights in Ukraine. This will empower European HEIs to support active citizenship and promote EU values, while responding to the need for European HEIs to enhance cooperation between legal actors and communities for environmental citizenship and peacebuilding in Ukraine.
I) the integration of environmental legal and policy frameworks in collaboration with local communities through open innovations in war and post-war scenarios;
II) the empowering of academic staff, students and local communities to engage the public and advocacy for environmental citizen science and peacebuilding;
III) the adoption of cross-country and intersectoral approach which can facilitate knowledge-sharing and transfer of best practices between different countries and regions, ultimately leading to more effective but also context-specific environmental recovery efforts.