Making Land Justice Visible: Strengthening Civil Society Voices

Making Land Justice Visible: Strengthening Civil Society Voices is an awareness and communication project by Policy Lab. In the run-up to Slovenia’s 2026 national elections, the project will help grassroots civil society organisations amplify their work on land and environmental justice by strengthening public narratives, building communication capacity, and increasing civic resilience.

Why this matters?

Slovenia is facing overlapping crises – climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, democratic erosion and rising disinformation. Together, they create fertile ground for narratives that frame environmental protection and CSOs as threats to local livelihoods and national interests.

At the time of democratic backsliding and shrinking civic space, visibility is not a luxury. It’s essential for safeguarding the public interest. Grassroots CSOs are often under-resourced and lack professional communications tools, leaving public debate vulnerable to distortion and hostile messaging. This project addresses that gap by turning communication into a strategic strength for civil society.

The challenge

While many CSOs are deeply engaged in local struggles, they often lack the communication tools, narrative infrastructure, and media access needed to reach wider audiences. Current public debate is easily dominated by:

• simplified or misleading narratives about land and the environment,
• actors with more financial and political power,
• portrayals of CSOs as illegitimate, ideological, or obstructive,
• and a general disconnect between technical policy discussions and everyday realities.

Withour stronger communication capacity and shared messaging, civil society voices remain peripheral, even when they carry essential knowledge.

Focus

The project focuses on strengthening the storytelling and public presence of organisations working at the intersections of land politics, environmental and climate justice, social rights, rural-urban inequalities, and democratic participation. By connecting local knowledge with accessible, evidence-based content, the initiative helps civil society shape narratives, not merely react to them.

Key activities include:

• A coordinated, year-long awareness campaign across online platforms and media, featuring analyses, interviews, opinion pieces, and stories from the field.
• Capacity-building sessions and coalition meetings to strengthen communication skills and develop shared messages, including the International Degrowth School in September 2025
• A communication toolkit and strategy, co-created with participating organisations, offering practical approaches for long-term advocacy.
• Engagement with journalists and media outlets, improving access, visibility, and public understanding of environmental justice.

Impact

Through consistent messaging and collective communication, the project will:

• amplify the voices of grassroots CSOs,
• make land justice issues more visible in national debate,
• counter misleading narratives about environmental protection,
• strengthen civic resilience in the face of shrinking democratic space,
• and support a more informed, engaged, and participatory public.

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“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Netherlands Helsinki Committee. Neither the European Union nor the NHC can be held responsible for them.”

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