What is Ulex?
• high-quality trainings building social movement capacity for social justice and ecological integrity
• a residential training centre serving the needs of social movements for the long haul
• collaboration and innovation enabling the responsive development of social movement training in Europe
• a hub strengthening connections for pan-European solidarity and social movement resilience
Why now?
We’re living at a historical point of disruption which contains both great peril and promise. The stalled engine of neoliberal growth, bankrupted political leadership, an increasing sense of distributive injustice, and the fierce urgency of the ecological now are the cracks out of which something new can emerge. The Ulex Project is about supporting our movements to contest our future – for social justice and ecological integrity.
Why Ulex?
Building collective agency and personal empowerment is not easy. High quality training helps. It increases our skill base, sharpens analysis, supports our organisations to embody our values, and empowers individuals to bring their best to our struggles.
The stalled engine of neoliberal growth, bankrupted political leadership, an increasing sense of distributive injustice, and the fierce urgency of the ecological now are the cracks out of which something new can emerge.
There is an identified need for effective training structures at a pan-European level. Over the last five years we have innovated, piloted and networked. We’ve trained hundreds of activists from over 20 countries, during tens of thousands of hours of residential trainings. We’ve supported diverse organisations and collaborated with numerous international organisations and facilitators. Now we are drawing on that experience to facilitate the Ulex Project, to build an effective pan-European training programme for social movement impact and resilience.
The problems we face are interconnected. Systemic problems require systemic solutions and connected approaches. In our globalised world social movements and changemakers need increased connections: across borders, across issues, across constituencies. Creating and strengthening such connections enhances both impact and resilience. Sharing experience and learning increases movement responsiveness and vitality. That is why Ulex brings people together from across Europe from diverse groups and movements to learn together and build solidarity.