Organising towards action and accountability
In January 2025, members of the EU Citizens' Campaigns Network travelled from across the country to take part in an in-person Strategy Day, even braving the winds and disruptions caused by Storm Éowyn! We were driven by a shared purpose: to strengthen our Network, empower each other and create a clear roadmap for action.
We came together at a crucial moment: with the new Government in power for a little more than six months, now is the time to push Parliament to take meaningful action on the top issues affecting our communities, as outlined in the EU Citizens’ Manifesto for Change and presented at our recent Summit for Change.
Our focus was on three key areas:
- Building connections: strengthening relationships with new members and reinforcing our collective leadership.
- Defining our strategy: Setting clear, actionable goals for our three Action Teams.
- Developing skills: Equipping ourselves to be stronger, more effective community leaders and campaigners.
One of our key learning sessions was on negotiating effectively: through a dynamic role-play exercise, we split into two groups - policymakers and community leaders - to negotiate improvements on the digital status system.
The group of community leaders made the case for a secure QR code system and an optional physical document for those excluded by digital-only status. Each team had a short amount of time to find common ground, putting their advocacy skills to the test and experiencing the difficulties of pushing for systemic change. Network members will be applying these skills in Parliamentary constituencies across the country throughout 2025, as we seek to secure support from more MPs.
We also explored our role as connectors - bridging communities, amplifying voices, and ensuring that the most marginalised among us are heard and centred in our work. We explored how to move beyond traditional equality and diversity frameworks towards co-liberation - a shift in thinking that recognises our inter-dependence on each other despite our different identities and experiences in the world.
Discussions centred on:
- Power dynamics: Understanding when we hold power and when we do not. Interrupting moments of inequity.
- Multiple social truths: Recognising our lived experiences are different, acknowledging some people’s truth gets less space and is centred less than others, and learning how to focus on impact rather than intentions or binary right and wrong thinking.
- Transformative engagement: Creating spaces where all voices are genuinely heard rather than replicating existing power structures.
Co-liberation is about dismantling the barriers that divide us and building a movement that is, equitable, inclusive, and truly transformative – values that we are embedding in our EU Citizens’ Campaigns Network.
Our Action Teams are centred on Access to Welfare, Fixing the Digital Status and MP Engagement. Each team refined its strategies, planned specific campaign actions and identified key allies who we aim to mobilise. Members left the Strategy Day with clear next steps and feeling energised, focused and ready to act. As our campaigns take form, there will be opportunities for the wider community to take action too.
What’s next?
This Strategy Day renewed our commitment to organising our communities across difference in order to build the people power we need to secure the backing of decision-makers such as the Immigration Minister Seema Malhotra, and see our EU Citizens’ Manifesto for Change implemented.
Social movements are only ever as strong as the people behind them. We’re hopeful that we are leaving this Strategy Day with new skills, stronger relationships and a renewed sense of purpose. Now, it’s time to put our plans into action—mobilising communities, influencing decision-makers, and keeping EU citizens’ rights firmly on the agenda.
