BOLSTER: Bridging Organizations and Marginalized Communities for Local Sustainability Transitions in Europe

In progress

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The BOLSTER project is anchored in the idea that no one should be left behind in the transformation of regions dependent on polluting industries to meet the conditions of the European Green Deal. MKBT is part of an international research consortium alongside universities and NGOs from the Netherlands, Germany, Bulgaria, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, and Poland. Tilburg University is coordinating the entire program.

Funded through the Horizon Europe framework program of the European Commission, BOLSTER is a 36-month project designed to understand how marginalized communities are affected by the European Green Deal and to assess whether involving these communities in decision-making processes strengthens local support for just transition plans. The project is implemented by 13 partners from 12 countries, working together to achieve the project’s goals in a plan structured into seven work packages. BOLSTER will use new qualitative research methods with participatory approaches to improve understanding of the experiences and needs of marginalized communities in 10 regions (7 target regions and 3 study regions).

In Romania, MKBT is researching the Prahova area (as a target territory) and Cluj as a study territory. Prahova has a 150-year history in the oil industry and is one of the six regions in the country eligible for funding under the European Union’s Just Transition Fund. The Just Transition Mechanism inherently aims to include and involve groups whose lives may be negatively affected by the reduction of polluting industries. This refers not only to current employees but also to young people in the area who can hardly imagine a future at home, as well as those who would be disproportionately affected by energy poverty, reduced public investment, or the ramifications of inequalities based on age, class, gender, or ethnicity.

Our research examines decarbonization strategies and how they aim to combat or prevent the exacerbation of inequality. Together with the consortium teams, we will develop models of participatory governance and principles for a just transition, based on local specificities. We will organize urban reimagining workshops with various citizen groups, and together we will implement small community projects to practice civic engagement. Research shows that past transition policies have benefited those who were already privileged, while simultaneously reproducing social inequalities. This trend leads to feelings of resistance and polarization among the population towards green transition plans. BOLSTER’s goal is to test how local transformation policies might look if the affected individuals were more actively involved in the planning process.

Check our Resources and Updates sections regularly to learn more about our work with BOLSTER.

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PM and project team: Ana Elian (PM), Alexandra Lulache, Marina Batog

Working consortia:

International level: Stichting Katholieke Universiteit Brabant (TiU), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Spain SL (RMIT-EU), Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny W Katowicach (UEKAT), Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação, Consultadoria Empresarial e Fomento da Inovação, SA (SPI), Crowdhelix Limited (CHX), University of National and World Economy (UNWE), Sveuciliste u rijeci, Fakultet za menadzment u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu (FTHM), Universite de Liège (ULiege), Asociația Make Better (MKBT), European Citizen Action Service (ECAS), Culture Goes Europe (CGE) și CEE Bankwatch Network (BWN).)

National: Prahova Community Foundation, Concordia Association

Funder: HORIZON – European Commission

More information or resources – links to websites or resources that emerged from the project:

Official BOLSTER website

⟶ About BOLSTER’s progress – interim conference

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