Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme, CERV
Call: CERV-2025-CITIZENS-TOWN-NT
Project: 101249580, EcoActive
Project title: EcoActive Citizens for a Sustainable Europe
Building greener, fairer and more active European communities through citizen participation, local cooperation and environmental action.
Website
- EVENT I: Buarcos, Figueira da Foz, Portugal
- EVENT II: Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- EVENT III: Fort De France, Martinique
About the project
EcoActive Citizens for a Sustainable Europe is a Network of Towns project funded under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme of the European Union. The project is promoted by Freguesia de Buarcos, Portugal, and brings together partners from 14 European countries around a shared commitment to sustainability, climate action, democratic participation and European cooperation.
The project places municipalities, civil society organisations, local communities and citizens at the centre of environmental action. Its main objective is to encourage citizens to take part in decision-making processes connected to climate and environmental challenges, contributing to a climate-neutral, green, fair and social Europe.
Through thematic transnational meetings, conferences, workshops, round tables, study visits, exchange of good practices, awareness campaigns and dissemination activities, EcoActive strengthens cooperation between European towns and communities. The project focuses on key themes such as coastal sustainability, circular economy, sustainable resource management, biodiversity, renewable energy, environmental education and civic engagement.
EcoActive also aims to create a European network of active citizens and local actors who can multiply the project’s impact in their own territories, helping communities to adopt greener practices and to understand that local action can generate meaningful European change.
Participating countries
The EcoActive partnership involves organisations and municipalities from Portugal, Spain, Malta, Cyprus, Latvia, France, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Italy, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia.
EVENT I: Buarcos, Figueira da Foz, Portugal
Coastal Sustainability: The Sea, the Land and the Community
Date: 25 to 28 February 2026
Location: Buarcos, Figueira da Foz, Portugal
Type of event: Workshop
Participants: 62 participants from 14 countries
The first transnational meeting of EcoActive Citizens for a Sustainable Europe took place in Buarcos, Figueira da Foz, Portugal, from 25 to 28 February 2026. As the opening event of the project, it played an essential role in building trust among partners, creating a common working vision and setting the foundations for the project’s future activities.
The meeting focused on coastal sustainability, exploring the relationship between marine ecosystems, land management and community participation. The programme connected environmental protection with active citizenship, showing how local authorities, civil society, experts, educators and citizens can work together to respond to climate and environmental challenges.
The event combined institutional dialogue, expert knowledge, participatory workshops, intercultural exchange and practical learning. Participants presented their organisations and local realities, exchanged expectations and contributed actively to discussions on sustainable coastal development, blue literacy, marine resources and local environmental practices.
Key activities included workshops and conferences on sustainable fishing and blue literacy for sustainable development, study visits to local environmental and maritime sites, presentations of good practices from the participating countries, and the creation of shared knowledge outputs. Participants also took part in a symbolic Brotherhood Ceremony, confirming the commitment of the partnership to future cooperation, European values and sustainable development.
The event successfully created a strong basis for transnational cooperation. It raised awareness of coastal and marine sustainability, strengthened European identity and encouraged participants to act as multipliers in their own communities.
Event materials:
EVENT II: Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Circular Economy and Sustainable Resource Management
Date: 1 to 4 March 2026
Location: Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Type of event: Seminar
Participants: 77 participants from 14 countries
The second transnational meeting of EcoActive Citizens for a Sustainable Europe was held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, from 1 to 4 March 2026. The event focused on Circular Economy and Sustainable Resource Management, offering participants a practical and transferable vision of how communities can reduce waste, reuse resources and promote responsible consumption.
The meeting brought together local and international participants, including civil society representatives, youth workers, educators, students, environmental practitioners, local actors and active citizens. The programme was designed to connect environmental protection with education, social inclusion, democratic participation and local governance.
Participants explored circular economy through institutional visits, expert sessions, school-based activities, presentations of good practices and study visits. A key moment of the programme was the visit to the local grocery market, which introduced participants to short supply chains, responsible purchasing and sustainable food systems.
The event also highlighted the role of young people and women in environmental change through the session Young Women Leading the Circular Economy in Galicia, hosted at Secondary School Lamas de Abade. This activity connected European cooperation with education and youth participation, showing how schools can become active spaces for sustainability awareness and civic engagement.
Another important part of the programme was the visit to the Parliament of Galicia, where participants learned about the role of regional governance in supporting environmental policies and circular economy strategies. Technical sessions at the Palace of San Roque provided deeper insight into waste management, reuse systems and social innovation.
The study visit to the Arroupa Store was one of the most concrete examples of circular economy presented during the meeting. The initiative links textile reuse with social inclusion, demonstrating how environmental action can create social and economic value while supporting people at risk of exclusion.
Throughout the event, partners presented circular economy initiatives from their own countries, creating a shared European knowledge base and identifying practices that could be adapted across different local contexts. The meeting reinforced the idea that circular economy is not only a technical issue, but also a civic process requiring awareness, cooperation and participation.
Event materials:
EVENT III: Fort-de-France, Martinique, France
The Role of Women in Combating Climate Change
Date: 5 to 9 May 2026
Location: Fort-de-France, Martinique, France
Type of event: Workshop
Host organisation: Association pour le Soutien à la Citoyenneté Européenne
Participants: 56 participants from 14 countries
The third transnational meeting of EcoActive Citizens for a Sustainable Europe took place in Fort-de-France, Martinique, France, from 5 to 9 May 2026. The event brought together 56 local and international participants from 14 countries and was hosted by the Association pour le Soutien à la Citoyenneté Européenne within the framework of the CERV Network of Towns project.
Under the theme “The Role of Women in Combating Climate Change”, the meeting placed particular emphasis on women as active agents of environmental change. Discussions and activities highlighted their contribution to climate education, community resilience, biodiversity protection and sustainable local development. The event also connected the specific reality of Martinique, as an island territory exposed to climate change, with the wider European commitment to a climate-neutral, green, fair and social Europe.
The programme combined climate education, female empowerment, institutional dialogue, field observation, cultural exchange and citizen participation. Participants shared selected ideas and good practices with secondary school students, creating an intergenerational space for dialogue between European partners and young people. This activity showed how schools can become active spaces for eco-citizenship, environmental awareness and practical climate education.
A central moment of the meeting was the conference “Women on the Front Line of Climate Change”, delivered by Ms. Myriam Moïse, university researcher and professor. The session analysed the impact of climate change on the island of Martinique and explored the role of women in understanding, communicating and responding to environmental vulnerability. The programme also included an institutional meeting at the Fort-de-France Town Hall, where participants were welcomed by Mr. Didier Laguerre, Mayor of Fort-de-France, with a reply by Ms. Rosa Batista, President of Buarcos and project promoter.
The event further included a boat study tour focused on the effects of climate change in Fort-de-France Bay, cultural immersion activities in Martinique, dissemination actions, evaluation sessions and coordination for the next project meeting in Treviso, Italy. These activities helped participants link climate reflection with the maritime identity of Martinique and observe how coastal and island territories face concrete environmental risks such as pressure on natural resources, coastal vulnerability and climate-related impacts.
Overall, the Fort-de-France meeting strengthened the cooperation already developed during the previous EcoActive meetings in Portugal and Spain. It raised awareness of the specific vulnerability of island territories to climate change, while also reinforcing the importance of gender equality, youth participation, local governance and transnational cooperation in building more resilient and sustainable communities.
Event materials:
Follow the project
More information, event materials, photos and dissemination outputs will be published as the project continues.
Hashtags: #EcoActive #CERV #NetworkOfTowns #EuropeanUnion #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #ClimateAction #ActiveCitizenship
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
