Solidarity4All (Sol4All)

Project Summary

Project period: September 2024 – August 2026
Partners: Aga Khan Foundation Portugal; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Aris Univ – AUTh); European Institute for International Law and International Relations; the Why Foundation (WHY)
Funded by: The European Union

Solidarity4All (Sol4All) is a two-year European cooperation project implemented in Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, and France. The project strengthens the participation of underrepresented communities in democratic and civic life and works to build more inclusive solidarity ecosystems.

Sol4All contributes to the European Union’s objective of promoting citizens’ and representative associations’ participation in democratic processes. The project engages communities that face barriers to participation by applying participatory methodologies, dialogue for peace, advocacy strategies, and political engagement.

Within the project, underrepresented communities refer to groups that have limited visibility, influence, or access to resources in society. Sol4All works to improve participation mechanisms at local, national, and European levels and to strengthen the capacity of institutions to include these communities more effectively.

The project also develops and launches a human rights documentary that amplifies community voices and contributes to public awareness and dialogue.

Context and Challenges

Across Europe, many communities remain underrepresented in democratic and civic life. These groups often have limited visibility, influence, or access to resources, which restricts their ability to participate meaningfully in decision-making processes at local, national, and European levels.

Underrepresented communities include people experiencing poverty; migrants and migrant descendants, including racialised and Afro-descendant individuals; people with refugee, asylum, or international protection status; Roma communities; women facing intersecting forms of inequality; single-parent families, predominantly women; and young people, especially those from the groups listed above.

These structural barriers limit participation in democratic processes and reduce the representation of diverse voices in solidarity initiatives. Participation mechanisms are often not sufficiently aligned with the needs of these communities, and institutional systems may lack the capacity to ensure inclusive engagement.

Activities

Sol4All implements activities at local, national, and European levels to strengthen participation and solidarity mechanisms. The project applies participatory methodologies to engage underrepresented communities in democratic processes, facilitates dialogue for peace to create inclusive spaces for exchange and mutual understanding, and develops advocacy strategies to support community voices in influencing decision-making.

It also promotes political engagement to strengthen representation within solidarity ecosystems, maps existing participation and solidarity mechanisms to identify barriers and improve accessibility, strengthens the capacity of local and national authorities to better include underrepresented communities, and raises awareness among decision-makers at local, national, and EU levels about the importance of participation for solidarity.

In addition, Sol4All develops and launches a human rights documentary to amplify community perspectives and contribute to public dialogue.

Who Can Participate

Citizens
Through local partnerships in Sweden, Portugal, and Greece, Sol4All works with citizens who wish to become more engaged in their local communities. If you feel that your voice is not heard or that you are not represented in decision-making processes at national or EU level, the project offers opportunities through its local partners to participate in local solidarity initiatives, develop community actions, and receive training to strengthen leadership skills.

Civil society organisations (CSOs)
The project supports local organisations through training and assistance for solidarity initiatives. It also engages CSOs that represent underrepresented communities in drafting policy recommendations to be presented to national and European decision-makers.

Local authorities
In each participating country, Sol4All collaborates with local authorities to strengthen their capacity to implement participatory approaches and foster bottom-up policies and programmes that promote solidarity.

Policy-makers
The project engages decision-makers at local, national, and European levels in participatory consultation processes that include underrepresented communities. Sol4All works to encourage inclusive policymaking and stronger representation within democratic systems.

Impact

The general objective of Sol4All is to strengthen solidarity ecosystems by increasing the participation of underrepresented communities at local, national, and European levels.

The project contributes to impact in four key areas: expanded opportunities for participation, more inclusive participation and solidarity mechanisms, stronger institutional capacity, and greater awareness among decision-makers about the importance of participation for solidarity, belonging, and social cohesion.

By strengthening the capacity of citizens, civil society organisations, and institutions, Sol4All supports more sustainable and inclusive democratic processes across Europe.

* Underrepresented communities refer to groups that are inadequately represented or have limited visibility, influence, or access to resources within society. By addressing these structural gaps, Sol4All works to create more inclusive and representative democratic processes.

Updates & Reports

Contact

📧 For more information, please contact:
Emma Södergren Wall at emma.sodergren-wall@fryshuset.se
Project Manager – Sol4All, Fryshuset