6
1.4 The European Network for Environmental Citizenship
as a Community of Practice
The European Network for Environmental Citizenship (ENEC) – funded as a COST
Action (CA16229-Horizon 2020) – brings together more than 120 experts from 37
countries with the objective to improve the understanding, the practice and the
assessment of Environmental Citizenship in Europe and the participating countries.
This large network bridges different fields of science and research communities so
that access to more projects, experiences and perspectives can be acquired. This
multi-national and multidisciplinary research context intends to bridge the gaps
between human, economic, social, political and environmental sciences and to create exciting opportunities for exploiting synergies between different stakeholders
(researchers, scholars, teachers, practitioners, policy officials, NGOs, etc.) regarding knowledge, expertise, research and insights of Environmental Citizenship. The
ultimate objective of this national, European and international collaboration is to
promote Education for Environmental Citizenship as an area of research and as a
social and educational practice worldwide.
ENEC can be labelled as a community of practice (CoP): a group of people who
share a concern or a passion about something they do and are learning how to do it
better as they interact regularly (Wenger-Trayner and Wenger-Trayner 2015). This
European network presents several of the characteristics identified by Wenger
(1998, 2010) in a CoP:
• A shared interest – In ENEC’s case, all members share a common interest in the
promotion of Environmental Citizenship as a way to guarantee a more sustainable future.
• A dynamic negotiation of meaning – The network promotes the interaction
between different researchers and stakeholders and the analysis of the literature
in order to develop a common language and a common understanding/definition
of Environmental Citizenship. This meaning-making process inside ENEC’s
community of practice implies both participation (discussions, meetings, scientific training schools, short-term scientific missions, conferences) and reification
(documents, processes, methods, definitions, educational framework, collaborative working papers, scientific reports, proceedings, academic publications, policy and recommendation papers and an edited book on Environmental
Citizenship). This way, the CoP contributes to and expands both knowledge and
resources (Wenger 2010). Environmental Citizenship implementation requires a
shared understanding of the concept by all stakeholders and the development of
knowledge in implementing this approach.
• Shared ways of engaging in doing things together – Both the definitions (e.g.
Environmental Citizenship) and the educational framework for the Education for
Environmental Citizenship developed collaboratively by the network members
are being used to frame a research, educational and social action agenda.
A. Ch. Hadjichambis and P. Reis
1.4 The European Network for Environmental Citizenship
as a Community of Practice
The European Network for Environmental Citizenship (ENEC) – funded as a COST
Action (CA16229-Horizon 2020) – brings together more than 120 experts from 37
countries with the objective to improve the understanding, the practice and the
assessment of Environmental Citizenship in Europe and the participating countries.
This large network bridges different fields of science and research communities so
that access to more projects, experiences and perspectives can be acquired. This
multi-national and multidisciplinary research context intends to bridge the gaps
between human, economic, social, political and environmental sciences and to create exciting opportunities for exploiting synergies between different stakeholders
(researchers, scholars, teachers, practitioners, policy officials, NGOs, etc.) regarding knowledge, expertise, research and insights of Environmental Citizenship. The
ultimate objective of this national, European and international collaboration is to
promote Education for Environmental Citizenship as an area of research and as a
social and educational practice worldwide.
ENEC can be labelled as a community of practice (CoP): a group of people who
share a concern or a passion about something they do and are learning how to do it
better as they interact regularly (Wenger-Trayner and Wenger-Trayner 2015). This
European network presents several of the characteristics identified by Wenger
(1998, 2010) in a CoP:
• A shared interest – In ENEC’s case, all members share a common interest in the
promotion of Environmental Citizenship as a way to guarantee a more sustainable future.
• A dynamic negotiation of meaning – The network promotes the interaction
between different researchers and stakeholders and the analysis of the literature
in order to develop a common language and a common understanding/definition
of Environmental Citizenship. This meaning-making process inside ENEC’s
community of practice implies both participation (discussions, meetings, scientific training schools, short-term scientific missions, conferences) and reification
(documents, processes, methods, definitions, educational framework, collaborative working papers, scientific reports, proceedings, academic publications, policy and recommendation papers and an edited book on Environmental
Citizenship). This way, the CoP contributes to and expands both knowledge and
resources (Wenger 2010). Environmental Citizenship implementation requires a
shared understanding of the concept by all stakeholders and the development of
knowledge in implementing this approach.
• Shared ways of engaging in doing things together – Both the definitions (e.g.
Environmental Citizenship) and the educational framework for the Education for
Environmental Citizenship developed collaboratively by the network members
are being used to frame a research, educational and social action agenda.
A. Ch. Hadjichambis and P. Reis