GROMADA Summer School & Moot Court: Civic Participation in Environmental Recovery during and after the War in Ukraine
GROMADA is an Erasmus+ project between different European universities and NGOs including the Odessa State Environmental University, Universities of Lund, Hamburg and Copenhagen, the NGOs Conflict and Environment Conservatory (CEOBS) and Systasis, as well as the business Web2Learn. Together with ELSA Hamburg e.V. , Greenpeace, the German Red Cross and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, GROMADA is organising a summer school from 25 August – 1 September 2024 in Hamburg.
The summer school offers 10 interdisciplinary courses dealing with environmental citizen science and civic monitoring, legal protection of the environment during and after an armed conflict, and evidence assessments of environmental impacts. All the topics covered will be linked to the armed conflict in Ukraine and its environmental consequences.
At the end of the summer school, all participants will apply what they have learned in the courses in a simulated court proceeding (moot court). Everybody will actively engage in teams as representatives for applicant state, respondent state, and third parties in the simulated proceeding. Get ready to step up and advocate for the environment as an often-forgotten “victim” in armed conflicts!
The interdisciplinary GROMADA summer school is aimed at students of law, environmental science, community development, policy development, or any other discipline with an interest in active citizen participation in the context of environmental harms. Members of NGOs and other communities are also explicitly invited to apply. Everybody will get the opportunity to get in touch and interact with people from different academic backgrounds and expand their knowledge beyond the legal aspects of armed conflicts.
If you are from a non-related field, your are invited apply as well. Please make sure to highlight your qualifications and interest in attending the summer school including the moot court in your application.
On top of the exciting academic programme, ELSA Hamburg e.V. provides a social programme for all participants filled with fun and interesting activities to make your week in Hamburg unforgettable!
You can find more information on our summer school on our Website, Instagram (@Gromada.Ukraine), X (@GROMADA_Ukraine) and LinkedIn (@Gromada Ukraine).
Note: For participants from Ukraine, we offer the possibility to participate remotely in the academic programme and the moot court.
The academic programme will be conducted by different academics and GROMADA project partners such as professors from the Universities of Lund, Hamburg and Copenhagen, Odessa State Environmental University, CEOBS, Systasis and Web2Learn. Furthermore, lectures will be held by associated partners, e.g. Greenpeace International and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.
The programme will enable participants to actively engage in environmental restoration through citizen science and civic monitoring in Ukraine and beyond.
By the end of the summer school, participants will:
- Comprehend the legal framework and requirements for protecting the environment during and after an armed conflict,
- Acquire knowledge about different standards of evidence and science in court proceedings,
- Gain a better understanding of ways to restore the external environment as a result of military action,
- Interact with experts, NGOs, local Ukrainian communities, civic monitoring and citizen science initiatives, and other stakeholders in developing ways of civic engagement relevant to restoring the environment in Ukraine and other conflict-affected areas.
Check out the draft academic programme of the GROMADA summer school:
Sunday
- None (Arrival)
Monday
- Welcome session and Icebreaker
- Lecture 1: The international legal framework on wartime environmental damage (as well as relevant Ukrainian domestic laws)
- Lecture 2: Remote assessment of conflict-linked environmental damage: tools and opportunities
- Lecture 3: Civic monitoring for environmental law enforcement in court proceedings and in mediation of conflicts
Tuesday
- Lecture 4: Environmental war crimes and ecocide under Ukrainian law in the Russia-Ukraine War
- Lecture 5: Addressing environmental damage in the context of international criminal law
- Lecture 6: Working with available environmental data in Ukraine (conducted by Greenpeace International)
- Lecture 7: Community monitoring of natural resources and the environment
Wednesday
- Lecture 8: Citizen science for environmental and health issues in conflict zones
- Lecture 9: Citizen assemblies and advocacy as means for civic engagement
- Lecture 10: Strategic litigation and wartime environmental damage (conducted by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights)
- Introduction to Moot Court
Thursday
- Moot Court preparation in teams
Friday
- Moot Court
Saturday
- None (voluntary Field Trip)
Sunday
- None (Departure)
ETCS credit points for participating students
Transcript of records for courses completed: credit-hour system with ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) equivalents (around 2.5-3 ECTS).