Activists from universities, NGOs and the legal profession all took part in the training – the first in a series of four workshops – to address the rise in restrictions to, and infringements of, free movement rights across Europe.
The participants were given a comprehensive overview of EU citizenship and free movement rights, were informed about the mechanisms for defending those rights, from the local to the transnational level, and experimented with participatory approaches to campaigning for EU citizens’ rights.
They also shared their own visions of free movement, and the current challenges to those rights, with Polish activists and migrant rights’ organisations, from the rise in nationalism and the far-right to the development of positive narratives for free movement in Europe.
In the coming months, the participants will continue to develop their campaigns and exchange ideas on how to strengthen free movement rights in Europe and elaborate creative narratives and innovative actions for their enforcement.
The next training event will take place in Madrid from 25-29 October at the European Alternatives’ TRANSEUROPA Festival, before the activists launch their own free movement campaigns in early 2018.
ECAS’ partners in the ACT for Free Movement project are the European Alternatives, Gothenburg Rescue Mission, EU Rights Clinic, Krytyka Polityczna and The Good Lobby. The project is funded by the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM).