Civic Engagement in Rural Communities

About this grant

Established in 2017, Ecoaction is a successor organization to the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine. It is a nonprofit organization that encourages individuals to take common action to protect the environment with a particular focus on supporting rural communities. The program goal is to promote civic engagement in decision making in rural communities and throughout Ukraine. To this end, the grantee will provide training, technical assistance, and local campaign support to at least eight new communities in different regions of Ukraine whose environments are being jeopardized by industrial farming, gas drilling, and illegal waste dumping. The grantee will also conduct fact-finding missions, offer internships, and provide networking opportunities for local activists from different regions in up to another 12 communities. In 2015–2017, the organization from which Ecoaction emerged worked with civic groups in 15 communities to address local environmental issues. It also brought together over 200 community activists at a national campaigning workshop.