How do disinformation, environmental conflicts and declining trust affect democratic participation in peripheral and border regions? What support do local communities and civil society organizations need to respond?

Our Futures Report, prepared as part of the cross-border project Peripheral Futures, brings together insights from civil society organizations, journalists, researchers, activists and young people from Slovenia and Croatia. It is based on the mapping of 80 organizations, questionnaire responses from 38 civil society actors and discussions held at the cross-border forum IMAGINE. INSPIRE. IGNITE. in Krško, Slovenia.

Disinformation is a question of trust and participation

Initial mapping of civil society organization and young actors in the Parapheral and border regions showed that disinformation frequently affects themselves, as well as it influences debates on human rights and democracy, green transition, culture and climate change. Across both countries, Slovenia and Croatia, social media was identified as its main amplifier, alongside local media, politically biased portals, political actors and informal community networks. Disinformation rarely appears as entirely fabricated content, but rather in the form of selective framing, omitted context or unverified claims. Such narratives spread particularly easily where trust, media literacy and transparent institutional communication are weak, and where people feel excluded from decisions affecting their communities. 

From mapping to cross-border dialogue

The findings from the mapping process informed the programme of the cross-border forum IMAGINE. INSPIRE. IGNITE., held in Krško, Slovenia on 15-16 May 2026. 

The forum about disinformation and environmental justice brought together 35 participants from Slovenia and Croatia to exchange experiences and discuss democratic participation, youth engagement, local media and responses to disinformation.

The discussions confirmed the importance of connecting people across borders and professional fields. Participants gained a better understanding of work taking place outside their usual professional circles and valued the opportunity to share experiences and struggles from both sides of the border. This helped them recognise that many apparently isolated local environmental struggles involve similar pressures, information gaps and inequalities in access to decision-making, while creating opportunities for mutual learning and future cooperation.

Recommendations for action

The Futures Report presents recommendations for five key groups:

1. civil society organizations and activists
2. local communities, municipalities and local institutions
3. decision-makers and public institutions
4. media and communication professionals
5. funders and support programmes

The recommendations about disinformation emphasise the need to rebuild trust, communicate complex environmental justice issues through accessible and locally grounded language, involve communities early and meaningfully in decisions that affect them, support independent local journalism and civil society, and invest in long-term cross-border cooperation.

Two versions of the Future report were prepared,in Slovenian and Croatian, each adapted to its national context. A brief in English summarises the Report’s main findings and recommendations for an international audience.

Read our Futures Report

• Slovenian version
• Croatian version
• English summary

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“Co-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 European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”