Elcra Project
ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY IN
HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT FOR
PREVENTING
VIOLENT RADICALIZATION IN CLIMATE ACTIVISM
The project
Project Background
In recent years, movements have spread that represent, for many young people, especially university students, a form of activism and peaceful protest related to environmental sustainability issues and the fight against climate change.
GENERAL OBJECTIVE
The project aims to increase students’ environmental literacy, particularly university students, by involving them in their communities and transforming them into actors of change.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
To understand the phenomenon of violent radicalisation linked to environmental and climate challenges through qualitative and quantitative research on emblematic cases, attitudes and opinions of university students on environmental sustainability
The results
The project will promote the environmental literacy of university students, developing their knowledge and skills and creating a link between them and the community they are part of and increase their interest in and knowledge about climate change issues.
The project will provide participants with an understanding of the complexity of environmental and social systems and strong problem-solving skills, through which they will be able to intervene in systems with innovative and effective solutions that contribute to combating climate change and environmental sustainability problems while preventing violent radicalisation.
The project will promote the professional development of the participants through the creation of a community of practice on the theme of preventing violent radicalisation in environmental activism; the project will unite the contributions of different actors (academics, students, third sector realities), enhancing the impact of actions to prevent violent radicalisation in environmental activism and combating climate change.
Social
ELCRA
🎤 1st International Conference on Environmental Communication, Literacy and Climate Activism
The first International Conference on Environmental Communication, Literacy and Climate Activism has concluded in Madrid, hosted by the Faculty of Information Sciences at Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
The closing day offered a rich and stimulating programme, opening with a roundtable on climate activism moderated by María Luisa Sánchez Calero (UCM), featuring contributions from David Ferrero (Voluntarios Digitales en Emergencias) and Paula Ortega (Rebelión Científica). The discussion explored various forms of climate mobilisation, a central theme of the ELCRA project's research on youth participation in environmental movements.
🏢 The second roundtable, moderated by Leticia de Castro (UCM), brought together voices from the corporate world, Manuel Parra (Repsol), Elena Reyna (Acciona), Laura Mora (Standard & Poor's) and Elena Belleti (WoodMackenzie), to discuss environmental policies and narratives in the Spanish private sector.
🔍 The environmental verification workshop led by Sergio Hernández from EFE Verifica attracted considerable interest, presenting an essential tool for combating climate disinformation and promoting the environmental literacy that lies at the heart of the ELCRA project.
🙏 Special thanks to Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the entire organising team led by Prof. Jesús Miguel Flores Vivar, David Varona Aramburu, Marta Molina Díez and Leticia de Castro for creating a valuable space for dialogue between research, journalism and civil society.
🔗 ELCRA project website in bio
#ELCRA #ErasmusPlus #EnvironmentalCommunication #ClimateLiteracy #ClimateActivism #Madrid #UCM #EuropeanProject
ELCRA
🎤 1st International Conference on Environmental Communication, Literacy and Climate Activism
The first day of the International Conference on Environmental Communication, Literacy and Climate Activism opened in Madrid, hosted by the Faculty of Information Sciences at Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
📋 A rich and varied programme brought together researchers, journalists, communicators and institutional representatives to discuss crucial issues in climate crisis communication. The day began with a plenary session on meteorological and climate communication, followed by roundtables on environmental education and literacy featuring the Association of Environmental Information Journalists (APIA), the National Museum of Natural Sciences and the EFE Verde news agency. The solutions journalism workshop and the presentation of the book "Inteligencia Artificial para la acción climática" also attracted considerable interest.
🌱 The afternoon session focused on the ELCRA project with the roundtable "Proyecto ELCRA, una propuesta para combatir la radicalización en el discurso medioambiental", moderated by Carmen Salgado (UCM).
🎙️ The panel featured contributions from Erina Guraziu (OpenCom), Alexandra Aragão (University of Coimbra) and Jesús Flores (UCM), who presented the project's approach to promoting informed and constructive environmental engagement among European university students.
🙏 Special thanks go to Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Faculty of Information Sciences and the entire organising team led by Prof. Jesús Miguel Flores Vivar, David Varona Aramburu, Marta Molina Díez and Leticia de Castro, together with the Internet Medialab Research Group, for their outstanding work and commitment to creating a space for dialogue and collaboration between the scientific community and social actors engaged in the environmental challenge
.
🔗 ELCRA project website in bio
#ELCRA #ErasmusPlus #EnvironmentalCommunication #ClimateLiteracy #ClimateActivism #Madrid #UCM #EuropeanProject
ELCRA
🎓 ELCRA Partners Meeting | Madrid, 14-16 January 2026
📍 The ELCRA project's third transnational meeting wrapped up in Madrid after two days of work at the Faculty of Information Sciences of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
📋 Consortium partners reviewed progress on project deliverables: they finalized the Competence Framework for preventing radicalisation in environmental activism, now available in six languages; developed the MOOC course on environmental literacy; and designed the COIL course and workshops to engage university students across Europe.
🎤 The meeting also provided an important opportunity to raise the project's profile, as the ELCRA delegation participated in the 1st International Conference on Environmental Communication, Literacy and Climate Activism, organised by Universidad Complutense.
Carmen Salgado (UCM) moderated the roundtable "Proyecto ELCRA, una propuesta para combatir la radicalización en el discurso medioambiental," in which Erina Guraziu (OpenCom), Alexandra Aragão (University of Coimbra), and Jesús Flores (UCM) presented the project's objectives and results to the international scientific community.
📜 The meeting ended with partnership representatives receiving certificates of attendance.
🙏 Sincere thanks to Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the entire organising team, Prof. Jesús Miguel Flores Vivar, David Varona Aramburu, and Marta Molina Díez, for their warm welcome and excellent organisation.
➡️ Next stop: Rome, for the final conference!
🔗 Link in bio
#ELCRA #ErasmusPlus #EnvironmentalLiteracy #ClimateActivism #Madrid #UCM #EuropeanProject 🇪🇺🌱
ELCRA
🇪🇸 ELCRA Partners Meeting | Madrid, 14 January 2026
The third transnational meeting of the ELCRA project took place in Madrid, hosted by Universidad Complutense de Madrid at the Faculty of Information Sciences.
The meeting provided partners with an opportunity to discuss the key outputs the project is developing to promote environmental literacy among European university students and prevent radicalisation in climate activism.
Central to the discussions was the Competence Framework, an innovative tool defining the competences needed for informed and constructive environmental engagement, now available in all six partnership languages. Partners also reviewed the progress of the MOOC, which will offer students across Europe free, accessible training in environmental literacy, climate change, and systems thinking.
Significant attention was devoted to the design of the COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) course, a training pathway that will bring together students from all partner countries in international working groups to develop workshops on preventing radicalisation in environmental activism. These workshops will provide students with a concrete opportunity to apply the competencies they have acquired and become agents of change within their communities.
The meeting also addressed strategies for awareness campaigns targeting university students and advocacy activities aimed at educational institutions, alongside preliminary reflections on the final conference to be held in Rome.
We extend our gratitude to Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Prof. Jesús Miguel Flores Vivar's team for their warm hospitality and excellent organisation.
ELCRA - Environmental Literacy in Higher Education Context for Preventing Radicalization in Climate Activism is a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union (KA220-HED).
ELCRA website: link in bio
#ELCRA #ErasmusPlus #EnvironmentalLiteracy #HigherEducation #ClimateActivism #Madrid #UCM #EuropeanProject