Civic Pride: 20 Years of ECF!
2025 marks 20 years since the founding of the European Civic Forum in Strasbourg, back in 2005.
Over the years, ECF has become an essential actor in European civil society, bringing together nearly 100 associations and NGOs across Europe, and serving as a leading advocate for democracy, solidarity, freedom and rights for all.
To mark this anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the highlights from Civic Pride over the years. Scroll down to see our selection!
2020: Solidarity in times of crisis
Women on the Road Foundation – Poland
In 2020, we presented the Women on the Road Foundation with a Civic Pride Award.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, women refugees in Poland organised the sewing of masks and overalls for nursing homes, the homeless, and everyone in need.
We were afraid that we were not doing enough and not helping enough people, so we were even sleeping here at school to make more masks…
Many people said that [seeing our effort] gave them a lot of energy and strength during the lockdown
2021: Recognising the unrecognised
Union des Sans-Papiers pour la régularisation — Belgium
When undocumented workers are employed on a construction site they are exposed to accidents as any worker. However, contrary to other workers, if they have an accident, they are not covered by the health system… When authorities take these decisions, they do not take into account the life that undocumented workers created in Belgium.
In 2021, the Union for the Regularisation of Undocumented Migrants in Belgium won a Civic Pride Award. The movement represents undocumented people in Belgium who started occupied sites including the Béguinage Church and the ULB and VUB universities. From 23 May to 21 July 2021, over 400 undocumented workers went on hunger strike to demand clear regularisation criteria, and the establishment of a commission to process regularisation requests.
2023: “A different kind of teacher”
Hungarian Teachers’ Movement
In 2023, we presented the Hungarian Teachers’ Movement with a Civic Pride Award. The movement had been fighting for public education for several years, including better salaries, improvement in working conditions, autonomy in the national curriculum, open and constructive discourse in public education, the right to strike without limitations, and access to high-quality education for all.
It is inspiring when… we feel that the government is afraid of us and that we have effected them.
2024: Movements under pressure
Palestine Solidarity, Climate Justice, and Migrants’ Rights
Police in Regensburg dragged me out of my house because I told the local news that we would hold a protest in the town in the afternoon. They put me into preventative detention until the evening and I couldn’t take part in this demonstration.
In 2024, we organised Civic Pride Month, collecting testimony from three of the year’s most inspiring, but also most heavily repressed movements.
The movements, Palestine Solidarity, Climate Justice, and Migrants’ Rights, were selected on the basis of that year’s Civic Space Report.