Learning and Inclusion for SusTainable Community ENgagement

ongoing

Recent research and EU-funded programming on community engagement and civic participation have shown that small community organisations, local movements, collectives, associations, and grassroots may lack the updated knowledge and tools to apply participatory research work and bottom-up community engagement methodologies to efficiently engage with participants from vulnerable populations. The LISTEN project is designed to support the integration of trust, dialogue, and creativity in the programming of small and local community organisations in Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, and Portugal, by strengthening democratic participation and engaging citizens and communities in the process of consultation, design, and implementation of tailored activities, solidarity actions, and social services that respond to their real needs. The project targets small community organisations, associations, movements, and collectives and the people who face a serious risk of social exclusion, due to factors related to race, gender, language, education, employment status, etc. It will achieve its goals and objectives by: - Bridging evidence-based participatory and community-centered research, knowledge, and best practices with meaningful field activities on the ground. - Engaging civil society actors and small organisations in active consultation with community members, aiming at co-designing activities and services that respond to the real needs of the most vulnerable. - Advancing the capacity building for small community organisations and civil society actors to directly involve citizens, with a bottom-up approach, through interactive workshops, hands-on training sessions, art-based interventions, and innovative learning-by-doing approaches.