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
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:
Dissemination and impact so far
Through the first two completed meetings, EcoActive has already gathered 139 direct participants from 14 European countries. The project has created opportunities for citizens, local authorities, educators, civil society organisations and environmental actors to exchange knowledge, compare local realities and develop common approaches to sustainability.
The first event in Portugal focused on coastal and marine sustainability, while the second event in Spain explored circular economy and sustainable resource management. Together, these meetings have strengthened the European dimension of local environmental action and supported the creation of a growing network of citizens committed to a greener and more participatory Europe.
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.
