Call for consultants: mapping local climate justice organisations in Southern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Nordics

About Systemic Justice

Systemic Justice works to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice. Centring affected communities in joint litigation, Systemic Justice works to broaden access to judicial remedies for those fighting for justice and equality. We are the first organisation in Europe that works with community partners on strategic litigation by taking a community-driven, intersectional approach; that is Black-led; and has a majority BPOC team. We approach our work through an intersectional lens, and across the digital and non-digital context.

We work across three key areas to build and maintain the systems change that we need: building the power of organisations and movements fighting for justice and equality; launching community-driven litigation; and scaling impact by promoting equitable working models with the broader field of litigators.

Background

At Systemic Justice, we take seriously our commitment to imagine a more just future for those who are racially, socially, and economically marginalised, through the provision of robust, high-quality community-driven research and information that explores the experience and modality of systemic injustice across Europe.

The intersectional nature of climate justice and the cumulative effects of environmental racism are silenced across mainstream NGO movements. Further, climate activism as contemporaneously presented is a white, middle-class concern, from which racialised and poor communities are absent and excluded. And yet, climate injustice is premised upon the combination of social, economic, environmental, and historical factors which expose and make vulnerable, communities to the climate injustice crisis. There is therefore an urgent need to identify OMCs working within the field of climate justice and deliberately engage with racially, socially, and economically marginalised groups and communities.

Within our ‘Surfacing Systemic (In)justices’ report, we identified over 250 organisations, movements, and collectives (OMCs) that were engaging in campaigns and advocacy work in the field of climate justice. Overwhelmingly, we found that the climate justice ecosystem was dominated by larger groups and organisations that were paying little attention to the harms of injustices and the converging oppressions that disproportionately affect racially, socially, and economically marginalised communities.

Of the OMCs identified, a minority were characterised as ‘local’ or ‘community’ organisations who reported having to contend with the competing harms of climate injustice, alongside limited capacity and the resources necessary to drive forward their campaigns. By way of definition, we characterise local and community type OMCs as those who have high proximity to structural harms and therefore have a high authentic understanding of systemic injustices.

About the assignment

We are recruiting (a) consultant(s) with an excellent understanding of (hyper)local and community OMCs operating across the region. Drawing upon your extensive knowledge of local and community campaigns and informed by desk-based research (utilising relevant search engines, websites, social media, etc.) you will provide a clear ‘network analysis’ of OMCs who are organising around climate justice. You will map and list all identified OMCs working with or alongside racially, socially, and economically marginalised groups and communities within the regions. We recognise that not all OMCs will be visible through social media platforms/spaces. Therefore, your connection to and understanding of activism and campaign networks within the regions. will be critical to supplement online desk research and successfully complete this assignment.

We are looking for the identification of (hyper)local and community OMCs within the following regions:

• Southern Europe
• Central and Eastern Europe
• Nordics

The ideal candidate is methodical, has excellent attention to detail, and is committed to highlighting and supporting solutions to the harms of systemic injustice. They speak a (number of) language(s) relevant to the regions mentioned above, allowing them to do detailed research and mapping of (hyper)local OMCs. They also possess a relevant network (professional, activist, or informal) to help identify OMCs operating without an online presence.

Deliverables

1. A comprehensive list of organisations, movements, and/or collectives who are working within the geographical areas (listed below) and who are engaging in one or more of our thematic areas.
2. Presentation of your findings as a list of OMCs in spreadsheet format provided by Systemic Justice that will include information about the OMCs thematic focus, location, and basic contact information.

Please note the deadline for the deliverables is 17 July 2023.

How to apply

Deadline for proposals is 11 June 2023 23.59 CEST.

Please apply by clicking “Apply for this job” on this page. In your proposal, please summarise:

1. What steps you would take to identify and map OMCs, including those that may not be visible through online spaces;
2. Which country or countries you are well-positioned to map and why;
3. A brief reflection on any challenges you anticipate and the steps you would undertake to mitigate/resolve these challenges;
4. The number of days and your day rate for mapping the proposed country or counties,

Along with your proposal, please upload a short CV outlining your expertise and experience as evidence of your ability to successfully undertake and complete this assignment.