Case study: Protecting people in the Ukraine crisis

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked a humanitarian crisis. Four million people were displaced, fleeing to neighbouring countries in eastern Europe and beyond. An influx of refugees into the European Union could have been exploited by right wing groups in an effort to shift the apparent tide of popular opinion. OPEN saw the need for a rapid outpouring of public support in favour of supporting displaced people. Political decision makers needed visible public support to insist on a critical piece of emergency legislation to protect displaced Ukranians – the Temporary Protection Directive.

Supported by OPEN, member organisations Ahang (Hungary), Akcja Demokracja (Poland), DeClic (Romania), Le Mouvement (France), Uplift (Ireland) and WeMove Europe mobilised their members quickly and effectively. More than 484,000 people took online actions, including more than 65,000 emails sent to Ministers across Europe. In-person rallies happened in a number of cities too. The scale of response was only possible because OPEN was able to facilitate collaboration across borders and to provide key resources where there were gaps. We rapidly liaised with groups across borders to understand what was needed to facilitate an EU-wide campaign. We quickly put in a full time coordinator, a full time software developer and a secure knowledge sharing platform. We helped develop campaign strategy and provided practical assets for communications.

OPEN was also able to bring political and media attention to a serious issue – people of colour feeling violence in Ukraine were being turned away at the border or given much less secure status. OPEN organisations communicated this to members and media, resulting resulting in mentions in a number of publications. The outpouring of public support contributed directly to the Temporary Protection Directive being passed. However, just as important for many people fleeing the violence was practical assistance. OPEN made it possible to tap into the resources of hundreds of thousands of people across the EU who are members of OPEN groups.

OPEN created a microsite for donations to support displaced Ukrainians. As a trusted source of information, OPEN organisations then asked their members to chip in, raising thousands of euros that went direct to key charities and responders on the ground. It didn’t stop there. OPEN member organisations asked their members who felt moved to do so to open up their homes for refugees – and hundreds of people responded with warm beds

Case study: End greenwashing in the EU

The European Parliament announced a plan to label fossil gas and nuclear energy as "green" in their investment guidance for investors in Europe, the “EU taxonomy for sustainable activities”. OPEN member organisations in Europe agreed there was an important opportunity to coordinate their activities for greater impact on decision makers.

At the beginning of the campaign, only 190 representatives were onside. However, following campaigns from OPEN members, enabled by OPEN, we boosted that to 287 representatives (an increase of 51%). It wasn’t enough to sway the vote, but it was very close and it clearly demonstrates the impact that timely public mobilisation can have. This is especially true when mobilisation is unleashed at key moments in the campaign across nations. When email inboxes are filling up, phones are ringing and billboard ads are appearing all at the same time, suddenly what was a fairly obscure issue moves to front and centre and decision makers are forced to interrogate their positions.

Case study: Shut down funding to far right groups

The rise of far-right movements across Europe owes a great deal to their strong online presence. They’re fuelled by payment providers who allow them to use their services to take donations online, despite the hatred and violence these groups call for. Public-facing campaigns to cut off their funding can risk exposing campaign staff and even provide an opportunity for the targeted group to promote themselves and raise more money. So it’s a tricky balance to strike. OPEN start-up member Le Mouvement challenged payment processor Stripe to stop providing services to right-wing outfit Génération Identitaire. OPEN advised on campaign strategy and finding methods to safely spread this campaign to multiple countries, accelerating it all the way to victory.

Case Study: Strengthening anti-authoritarianism in Europe

Poland and Hungary are led by authoritarian leaders and OPEN members aHang (Hungary) and Akcja Demokracja (Poland) have grown rapidly, providing an ever stronger response and outlet for people power demanding freedoms. OPEN played a key role in helping aHang, Akcja Demokracja and Declic (Romania) work together across borders to successfully demand EU funding be tied to respecting “rule of law enforcement”. The Polish and Hungarian governments had threatened to veto the EU budget over this rule, meaning that member states led by authoritarian leaders would continue to receive EU funding. This was particularly worrying as these leaders tend to use the funding to strengthen their support.

OPEN member organisations united to show EU ministers the strong public support for rule of law conditionality in the EU budget. They used an escalating series of high profile online and offline actions. Online actions were taken by over 325,000 everyday people in Hungary, Romania and Poland. 2,536 citizens sent 27,728 messages to key MEPs within one day. Cities including Warsaw and Budapest lit up landmark buildings with blue lights of hope on Dec 9th as requested by aHang and Akcja Demokracja activists.

It worked. The European Parliament approved conditioning access to EU funds to the country's rule of law enforcement. And in a special resolution, the European Parliament voted to strengthen the meaning of the mechanism and called for it to apply without delay. A significant victory for democracy.

Case Study: Incubating a new OPEN member organisation in the Global South

Brazil is South America's most populous and influential country, custodian of two thirds of the vast Amazon rainforest and therefore central in the fight to slow climate change. Brazil is also one of the world’s biggest democracies, though the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president from 2019-2022 threatened deepening corruption and the undermining of democratic institutions.

Bolsonaro’s base of support has not evaporated. His successor President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected on a thin margin. Evangelical churches have experienced rapid growth, attracting approximately 30% of the population, and social issues like the growth of urban violence are driving reactionary values.

OPEN sought to support the development of a strong, progressive mobilising force that is capable of countering the rise of the right, which seeks to destabilise, undo progress and could be calamitous for global efforts to fight climate change.

We saw and admired the work of Nossas, a growing campaigning organisation who’s methodology and values were very much in line with OPEN members.