The Erasmus+ KA220 project kicks off on 16–17 March 2026 in Lecce and Brindisi
On 16–17 March 2026, the cities of Lecce and Brindisi will host the kick-off meeting of T.E.D. – Teaching Environmental Democracy, an Erasmus+ KA220 project co-funded by the European Union. The event will bring together partners of an international consortium aiming to innovate the teaching of environmental law and participatory democracy within European universities.
The initiative marks the beginning of a collaborative effort to develop new educational tools that will enable university students to better understand and address contemporary environmental challenges through legal expertise and democratic engagement
A project for environmental democracy
T.E.D. stems from the growing awareness that younger generations across Europe show increasing interest in environmental issues and civic participation. Yet, university curricula rarely provide opportunities for students to experience these values in practice.
The project aims to bridge this gap by developing an innovative training module that combines European environmental law with deliberative democratic practices. At the heart of the methodology will be a Students Assembly, a simulated deliberative forum in which students will discuss and vote on real environmental law cases, experiencing democratic decision-making processes first-hand.
The international consortium is coordinated by the Université Catholique de Lyon (UCLy) and includes the Università del Salento, the Democracy and Culture Foundation based in Athens, and CESUE / Focus Europe Italia, responsible for the project’s communication and dissemination activities.
An international partnership
T.E.D. is implemented by an international consortium bringing together universities, civil society organisations and communication partners with complementary expertise in environmental law, democratic participation and European policy communication.
The project is coordinated by the Université Catholique de Lyon (UCLy) in France, whose Faculty of Law, Political and Social Sciences has extensive experience in European environmental law and in the management of international academic programmes. Within the project, UCLy leads the overall coordination and governance activities.
The Università del Salento, based in Lecce, hosts the Department of Legal Sciences and plays a central role in the development of the project’s educational components. It leads the pilot implementation of the training programme and hosts the kick-off meeting of the project.
The Democracy and Culture Foundation (DEMO), headquartered in Athens, is a leading organisation in the design and implementation of citizens’ assemblies and deliberative democracy initiatives. DEMO is responsible for designing the pedagogical methodology of the project, including the structure and rules of the Students Assembly.
The consortium also includes CESUE – Centro Studi, Formazione, Comunicazione e Progettazione sull’Unione Europea e la Global Governance, spin-off of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa and publisher of FOCUS EUROPE Italia. CESUE leads the project’s communication and dissemination activities, ensuring wide visibility of the results through European media platforms, editorial content and outreach initiatives.
Together, the partners represent different European academic traditions and territorial contexts, ranging from Alpine environments to Mediterranean ecosystems, enriching the scope and relevance of the training programme.
Day one: academia meets civic engagement
The kick-off meeting will open on 16 March at the Rectorate of the Università del Salento, in the historic Sala della Grottesca, with a public session dedicated to the theme “The Importance of Teaching Environmental Democracy.”
The session will begin with institutional greetings from Maria Antonietta Aiello, Rector of the Università del Salento, and Michel Cannarsa, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Political and Social Sciences at UCLy. The project coordinator Stefania Attolini will then present the overall vision and objectives of the initiative. Short interventions by academics and researchers from the partner institutions will follow.
In the afternoon, the consortium will move to the Ecotekne Campus of the Università del Salento for the first operational meeting dedicated to designing the project’s teaching methodology (Work Package 2). The session, chaired by the Democracy and Culture Foundation, will involve all project partners as well as student representatives from the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA), highlighting the project’s participatory and bottom-up approach.
Day two: linking academic debate with real-world practice
The second day, 17 March, will focus on connecting academic reflection with practical experiences in international cooperation.
Participants will visit the World Food Programme (WFP) – UNHRD Base in Brindisi, one of the United Nations’ key humanitarian logistics hubs. During the session dedicated to “Environmental Concerns in Humanitarian Operations,” partners will explore how large international organisations integrate environmental considerations into humanitarian logistics and emergency response operations.
The programme includes a presentation of the WFP supply chain, a guided visit to the operational warehouse, and an overview of the activities of the UNHRD Lab, followed by a discussion with experts working at the facility.
Democracy, environment and local governance
In the afternoon, the programme will continue with a second public session hosted at Palazzo Nervegna in Brindisi, titled “Improving Awareness on Democracy and Environmental Issues through European and National Projects.”
The session will bring together representatives from academia, local institutions and the project partnership. Among the speakers will be Giuseppe Marchionna, Mayor of Brindisi, and Luigi Melica, Director of the Department of Legal Sciences at the Università del Salento.
The day will conclude with the first coordination meeting of the consortium, during which partners will formally establish the governance structure and operational roadmap for the project.
Structure and objectives of the project
T.E.D. is organised around four main Work Packages:
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- WP1 – Project coordination and management, led by UCLy
- WP2 – Design of the teaching methodology, led by the Democracy and Culture Foundation
- WP3 – Implementation of the pilot training year, led by the Università del Salento
- WP4 – Communication and dissemination, led by CESUE / Euractiv Italia
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The project will run from 2025 to 2028.
The training module will be tested during the 2027–2028 academic year and subsequently integrated into the regular curricula of the partner universities. The programme will include foundational courses in European environmental law, specialised modules linked to different ecosystems represented within the partnership, and the deliberative Students Assembly sessions.
At the end of the programme, participating students will receive a joint certificate recognised by all universities in the consortium.
Educating Europe’s future environmental leader
The kick-off meeting in Lecce and Brindisi marks the first step in a broader initiative aimed at training a new generation of European lawyers, scholars and citizens capable of combining legal expertise, environmental awareness and democratic participation.
Through its interdisciplinary and transnational approach, T.E.D. contributes to strengthening the European Higher Education Area and to promoting innovative forms of civic and environmental education across European universities.
Project results and educational materials will be progressively made available online through the partners’ platforms and European communication channels, encouraging the replication of the model by other universities across Europe.
See the program of the project kicks off
