While many people rely on public transport for their daily pursuits and the vitality of the sector’s stimulation to reach climate goals, the Polish government has been implementing budget cuts on public transport for year. Ostatnie Pokolenie has had enough of these infuriating policies and occupied the parliament in September 2025.
Despite international treaties and growing global pressures to combat climate change, the greenhouse gas emissions in the Polish transport sector increased by 77 per cent between 2005 and 2017. Simultaneously, the Polish government implemented drastic cuts to the public transport sector, resulting, for example, in the termination of several bus lines. Although the promotion of public transport use would bring Poland closer to its promised climate goals, the government’s policies are making its population more dependent on cars and have left approximately 15 million Poles excluded from transport (out of a population of 38 million!). This is not only harmful for the environment but also a source of social inequality: according to Unicef, the measures have mainly cut off poorer rural children and teenagers from their social network, education, the cultural sector and essential health services.
In 2024, a group of activists, previously active in movements that employ conventional protest methods, founded Ostatnie Pokolenie (Last Generation) to focus on direct action instead. The organization’s first actions, including a blockade of the entrance to Taylor Swift’s Warsaw concert to draw attention to the emissions of the richest 1% and the twentyfold occupation of a major highway, were successful and received extensive media attention. As a result, Ostatnie Pokolonie was invited to speak in the Senate and received endorsement letters from over 100 Polish public figures.
With the support of The Action Fund, Ostatnie Pokolenie occupied the Polish parliamentary grounds in Warsaw for five days in September 2025. On the first day of the occupation, the protesters parked two trucks in front of the parliament’s exit while around twenty people glued themselves to the ground, wearing their signature orange traffic vests. Their demands? A transfer of all money, earmarked for highway expansion, to public transport starting in 2025 and the introduction of a 50 zloty per month (around twelve euros) ticket for the entire public transport system to make transport accessible to all Polish residents.
The occupation was successful! After four weeks of deliberation, the Ostatnie Pokolenie bill was passed by 94.3% of parliament, supporting the introduction of the affordable public transport ticket. The Action Fund is proud to have supported this action and continues to stand in solidarity with everyone fighting for the climate and accessible public services for all!
In East Albania, the region of Librazhd is facing the construction of a new highway connecting Elbasan with Qafë Thanë, cutting right through villages and important ecosystems. Local communities are blocking roads to oppose this unsolicited construction project and making sure their voices are heard!
The highway could change the natural flow of the Shkumbin river, puts at risk the local wildlife and ecosystems of theShebenik-Jabllanica National Park, a UNESCO site, and cuts right through the village of Hotolisht, putting over 35 families at risk of losing their homes and affecting essential services like schools and healthcare.
Many residents are frustrated by the lack of public consultation about the project, feeling their voices have not been heard. So now, they are calling for alternatives to the current plan that would protect the river and their homes.
The initiative launched by Qendra Mjedisore për Studime dhe Zbatime (QMSZ, translates to Environmental Center for Studies and Applications) is called “United for Our Home: Resisting Harmful Infrastructure,” and aims to bring the community together to fight against the construction of this new highway.
Amplifying voices since 2018
QMSZ began in 2018 with grassroots efforts to clean up the heavily polluted River Shkumbin, addressing issues that local authorities had neglected. This successful project sparked a culture of activism and volunteerism in Librazhd, and allowed for the organization to grow and expand their focus on various community projects related to environmental protection, youth empowerment, rural development, and minority rights. QMSZ’s goal is to empower the Librazhd community to advocate for sustainable development and environmental protection, focusing on preserving the Shkumbin River and its surrounding ecosystems.
Through regular community meetings and workshops, the organization of protests and awareness campaigns, educational programs and a close eye on local and national policies, they try to foster a culture of activism in their community, amplify the voices of local residents and particularly marginalized groups, working towards social justice.
The action
During the summer of 2025, their campaign “United for Our Home: Resisting Harmful Infrastructure” was a big success. With the support of Het Actiefonds, QMSZ raised awareness, and advocated for sustainable alternatives to the highway construction.
Through community meetings and workshops, a media campaign, a petition presented to local officials and partnerships with organizations all over the region of Librazhd, they made sure the community was well informed and represented. The crown on their campaign was a big protest march, which they prepared for by organizing action trainings. They effectively blocked the main road leading through Hotolishti, the village that would be cut in half by the prospected highway.
A few stakeholders of the construction project have taken a step back and officials have invited a group of farmers and activists for roundtable discussions. There is now hope that the harmful infrastructure projects will not proceed, helping to protect local homes, communities, and the natural environment.
The struggle continues
QMSZ will continue to amplify the voices of Librazhd, partake in the roundtable discussion concerning the highway, and maintain pressure on the local governments. They are rooted in the community and will raise awareness around environmental issues in their region. Het Actiefonds will continue to stand in solidarity with GMSZ and all locally active environmental activist.
For over two decades, opposition leaders, activists, and others who disagree with the Ugandan regime have been detained without clear and fair charges. Instead of being tried in civilian courts, they are tried by military courts, even though they are civilians. It has been clear for years that they are not receiving a fair trial there, sometimes resulting in the death penalty.
On January 31 of this year, the Supreme Court of Uganda ruled in a major court case that this practice is illegal and that civilians should be tried in a civilian court. Despite this ruling, dozens of people remain in custody on trumped-up charges, awaiting unfair trials in a military court.
A group of young Ugandans, including several former political prisoners, have formed the action group We The People, with which they are raising awareness of, and fighting against, the use of military courts to try civilians. Because demonstrating against the regime is often physically dangerous for activists, the activist group, with funding from the Action Fund, created a crowd of mannequins in the street leading to the court.
Each mannequin bore the name of a political prisoner who is being wrongly imprisoned. The group hoped this would raise awareness for the prisoners and increase pressure on the regime to release them. The prisoners haven’t been released yet, but there’s been more attention to the situation, and the willingness to demonstrate in this way has increased. They keep fighting for justice!
In August 2025, a trans woman, was attacked in the Ypenburg neighbourhood of The Hague, after she caught two men defacing lampposts with racist texts and swastikas. This assault was not an isolated expression of violence. The Geen Haat op Straat protest marched through the neighbourhood to remind the local inhabitants of the committed violence and to stress that safety in the public sphere is a shared responsibility.
In August 2025, Emily, a trans woman, was attacked in the Ypenburg neighbourhood of The Hague, after she caught two men defacing lampposts with racist texts and swastikas. This assault was not an isolated expression of violence. Hatred against trans people is expanding, in the Netherlands but also internationally, and has given rise to alarming conspiracy theories which dehumanize trans people and ostracize them for being a supposed threat to society. As a result, queer people rapport high feelings of unsafety in the public space and trans people in the Netherlands are seven times more likely to be a victim of physical threats and violence.
This increased transphobia cannot be separated from the parliamentary unwillingness to protect the lives of trans people and the rightwards movement of Dutch politics more generally. Group defamation, for example, still does not apply to trans people in the Netherlands while the Dutch parliament simultaneously withdrew the new ‘transgender law’ in July. The expert statement that is still needed to change one’s gender designation and has been causing long queues in trans care, has consequently not been abolished, undermining trans people’s right to self-determination. Moreover, the scapegoat politics of rightwing (extremist) politicians position minority groups as the cause of societal problems while the majority of parliament classifies solidary anti-fascist movements as terrorists. All the while right-extremist violence in this same period did not receive such a label.
To resist the increasing hate towards trans people and other social minorities, our friends from Geen Haat op Straat (No Hate on the Streets) organized a protest in September 2025 at the shopping center in which the victim was attacked only a month prior.
Around 80 people marched through the streets of Ypenburg to remind the local neighbors of the violence that had been committed in the neighborhood and to stress that safety in the public sphere is a shared responsibility. The different guest speakers problematized the normalization of transphobia and other expressions of exclusion and dehumanization towards minority groups. Together, the protesters showed their demand for a free and just society and formed a strong counter voice against the rightwing political wind which pits citizens against each other.
Het Actiefonds is proud to have supported this action and stands in solidarity with all groups which resist violence against minority groups and the dehumanization of trans people.
For decades, the nature in Indonesia, and specifically in the Moluccas, has been increasingly exploited by large (often foreign) corporations. They fish, chop, and dig the land empty, leaving nothing behind for the natives.
For decades, the nature in Indonesia, and specifically in the Moluccas, has been increasingly exploited by large (often foreign) corporations. They fish, chop, and dig the land empty, leaving nothing behind for the natives. In the village of Haya in the Moluccas, this recently happened again: a large international mining company began a massive sand quarry near the village, destroying the coastline and its surrounding nature. This has had serious consequences for the local population. Locals stood up against the destruction of their land, two young people were arrested for arson.
They are now in prison and awaiting trial. The activist group Kora Maluku is fighting for their release and against the further depletion of nature in the Moluccas. They are doing this, in part, with a contribution from Het Actiefonds.
From prison, the young people sent us a letter about their well-being. Their voices are filled with more than just pain; they’re filled with hope, courage, and a deep love for their land. Reading these notes is not just like standing with them, but keeping their fight alive, and making sure their voices aren’t silenced.
Me, The Land Of Custom, And Nature
Why do I say this? Because I am an indigenous people, born in a place that has always taught me how to respect, with values and traditions that bind and protect both people and nature in my land, Haya Village. A land blessed with abundant natural wealth, both on land and at sea, a land that cherishes social life, a land whose people remain obedient to customary law that always safeguards our environment.
But alas, we, Haya people, are only ordinary people who simply wish to protect our environment from the hands of the wicked, those who seek to destroy it for the pleasure of the greedy and selfish.
Assalamualaikum Wr. Wb.
On February 18, 2025, I was accused and declared a suspect in the burning of one of the companies engaged in processing red sand along the coast of my homeland. Yet, all I wanted was to protect our environment from the threat of severe coastal erosion. This struggle does not end here. In fact, I am deeply proud of my comrades who, until today, continue to voice the struggle for my release from what I feel is unjust, and to demand the closure of that company. Honestly, I was moved to tears seeing the efforts of those who have never given up. I only want to say: you are the fighters who will always be remembered by the Haya people.
Like in most other places in the world, in Romania nature and green spaces are increasingly being replaced by construction and industry. This jeopardizes free access to nature. Access to healthcare is difficult and often unaffordable in Romania, and knowledge of the traditional, natural healthcare is increasingly being forgotten.
Radical Natural Networks
Like in most other places in the world, in Romania nature and green spaces are increasingly being replaced by construction and industry. This jeopardizes free access to nature. Access to healthcare is difficult and often unaffordable in Romania, and knowledge of the traditional, natural healthcare is increasingly being forgotten. Biodiversity is declining, and traditional crops are being replaced by plant varieties patented by the Agro-industry.
Natural Knowledge
A network of radical herb and mushroom experts, together with Cultivă Orașul, organized a four-day gathering of people from all over the world in Cluj, Romania. During workshops, herb walks, skill sharing on the medicinal properties of herbs, and discussions, they continued to build a network that aims to work for and with nature. The highlight of the gathering was an anti-gentrification demonstration where seeds were exchanged and seed bombs were distributed in two parks that had recently been stripped of all biodiversity.
The meeting was a great success, thanks in part to the support of Het Actiefonds. The fight for accessible nature, biodiversity and traditional knowledge will continue next year.
In Venezuela, in the state of Anzoátegui, the Cumanagoto Indigenous people are standing up for their land, their water, and their future. Faced with the growing presence of the oil industry on their ancestral territory, they came together in June 2025 to demand climate justice—not only for themselves, but for all communities affected by extractivism!
Grupo Indigena Cacique Cayaurima
Grupo Indigena Cacique Cayaurima was founded in 2016, in a moment of crisis and resistance. When an oil company set up operations on their protected land, the community faced forced displacement – another case of extractivism uprooting people and their entire ways of life. In response, the Cumanagoto came together to reclaim their identity, defend their territory and the deep spiritual connection that continues to shape their resistance and resilience, and build a future rooted in justice. They organize actions for social and climate justice, create water and environmental committees to protect their land, and organize activities to preserve Cumanagoto identity, language, and culture. They are partnering with civil society organizations and networks, building a broad movement that transcends their own cause.
Sit in in front of the Ministry
Their 2025 campaign supported by Het Actiefonds combined local mobilization with digital advocacy, connecting traditional resistance with modern tools for change. In a sit in protest in front of the Ministry of Ecosocialism and Water in the state of Anzoátegui, they demanded swift government action. In addition, they launched a social media campaign as well, designed to expose their situation to national and international audiences.
Around 60 people joined the action. Aside from the members of the Cacique Cayaurima Indigenous Group, people of the Committee of Indigenous Elders and Wise Men, the Water Committee, the State Environmental Movement, and other human rights organizations and activists have joined forces in this collective effort.
New energy
Within the Cumanagoto community, this campaign sparked renewed engagement and awareness, particularly among young people who had previously been hesitant to get involved. Through local mobilizations and digital campaigns, they found new energy, new voices, and a sense of unity around a shared cause.
The campaign connected the Cumanagoto community with Indigenous groups in Mexico and Guatemala, enforcing the regional networks of solidarity against extractivism and the environmental damage it brings!
Het Actiefonds is proud to support this growing and connected movement! Through this kind of campaigns, the Grupo Indigena Cacique Cayaurima is weaving together the wisdom of their ancestors with the strength of modern advocacy—proving that defending the Earth is also an act of defending life itself!
A large new fossil fuel infrastructure project is under construction in East Africa, funded and owned by foreign companies. The Stop EACOP Coalition resists this corporate colonialism and the destruction of livelihoods and ecosystems!
Displacement and ecological destruction
The whole world is witnessing the destruction the fossil fuel industry is inflicting upon communities and the climate, and everywhere, people are trying out how to do things differently. But corporate colonialism does not care for the impact they have on a local and global level. Since 2017, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a new 1443-kilometer-long infrastructure project is under construction in East Africa’s Uganda and Tanzania. Its completion will dispossess and displace over 100,000 people from their lands and will ruin biodiversity and wildlife areas. Once it will be finished and put into service, it is expected to heavily pollute fresh water sources and coastal waters.
The project is owned largely by the French TotalEnergies, with Uganda’s National Oil Company, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation have stakes in the remaining share. This shows once again how corporate colonialism is a contemporary affair.
In 2025, the construction is still ongoing. Stanbic Bank Uganda and KCB Bank Uganda signed a memorandum of understanding, stating their intentions to finance the completion of the pipeline.
A coalition against corporate colonialism
In August 2025, our partners from Weka Afri Sustainable Biodiversity and Food Security Foundation organised a demonstration outside the headquarters of these banks. The action united many activists from different groups under the umbrella of the Stop EACOP Coalition. Intensifying pressure on these financial institutions to abandon their plans to fund the EACOP project, they raised public awareness about its environmental and social dangers.
During the demonstration, 12 activists were arrested and remanded – confirming the governments backing of capital instead of people. The action and arrests were covered by local media, highlighting the serious environmental, human rights, and animal welfare concerns associated with the EACOP project.
Other institutions have already pulled out of the EACOP project, and Weka Afri will continue their work together with the coalition, until these banks also do so. Het Actiefonds is proud to have supported this actions and stands in solidarity with all groups fighting the fossil fuel industry and corporate colonialism!
A group of autonomous activists denounced the military presence at Germanies largest ship convention and disrupted the military show.
Military presence at Kieler Woche
Every year, the sea bay of the northern German city of Kiel hosts over 2000 ships – from traditional sailing ships to yachts. The event is festive: sailing races take place, there are music performances throughout the city, and the event attracts over 3 million visitors annually, with people visiting from Germany and neighbouring countries.
Kiel is also one of the main naval bases of the German Navy, and a leading centre of German high-tech military and civil shipbuilding. So besides the Kieler Woche being an important event for northern German culture, it is also a yearly opportunity for the German military to promote itself.
During the Kieler Woche, the military harbour is open to visit, and on Open Ship Days, thousands of people are received on Germany’s war fleet. There are job fairs organized by the Federal Armed Forces, where young people are presented a heroic image of military marine life. The week before the Kieler Woche, the annual BALTOPS training of the US Naval Forces Europe takes place, with the US naval fleet in Europe ending its expedition in Kiel. In short, the military marine, both German and American, is a very present and well-accepted part of the popular event.
Disrupting the show
In 2025, a group of autonomous activists disturbed the military show, and ripped off the mask of the normalization of military participation in civil events. They made sure the Federal Armed Forces couldn’t do their marketing and recruiting without protest.
During the military show, they spraypainted one of the war ships by approaching it by boat. They put up banners right above the queue for the Open Ship Day, and handed out flyers to every single visitor of the ship.
They reminded people that the military marine and the German Federal Armed Forces are part of war, destruction, trauma, fear, poverty, the loss of homes, children and beloved, and pollution and climate change, and that their presence at civil events is not normal and should not be.
With the support of Het Actiefonds, the happy show the German Federal Armed Forces wanted to present was given a bad taste.
Het Actiefonds is proud to have supported this action and will continue to support and stand in solidarity with activists calling out and disrupting the capitalist war machine and the heroization and normalization of army life!
On June 18, 2024, Gender Dialogues launched the Protest Monitor Project 254 to document violence by law enforcement during the Gen Z Protests, the Saba Saba Protest (July 7, 2024), and the Nane Nane demonstrations (August 8, 2024). Although the president withdrew the Finance Bill 2024 following the initial protests, demonstrations persisted across 47 counties, with citizens demanding accountable governance.
The protests between June and August 2024 began after the Finance Bill 2024 was introduced in parliament on June 18. The bill proposed significant tax increases on essential goods and services, sparking nationwide outrage. After several days of protests, President William Ruto announced on June 26 that he would not sign the bill into law. Despite this decision, protests continued, with demonstrators calling for Ruto’s resignation and greater government accountability.
Gender Dialogues implemented the project during the 4 weeks of Anti-Finance Bill 2024.
Week 1:
The first week was marked by largely peaceful protests. However, the killing of Rex Kanyike Masai, a 29-year-old man fatally shot during the demonstrations, became a rallying point for the movement. Shocking footage captured police shooting at peaceful protesters, sparking public outrage.
Week 2 and 3:
Peaceful protests persisted as citizens continued to demand the withdrawal of the punitive Finance Bill 2024 and justice for Rex Kanyike. Reports of police mismanagement of the protests escalated dramatically. By the end of the third week, the death toll had risen to 39, with at least 17 state-sponsored abductions reported.
Week 4:
The final week saw an even stronger wave of online mobilization and civic engagement. In Kisumu, residents organized the Saba Saba Concert to honor those killed by law enforcement during the protests.
The organization successfully recruited 6 volunteers who were responsible for documenting events and sharing updates across social media platforms. Gender Dialogues also established a collaboration with media outlets Go Preach Gospel (GPG) and Ramogi TV, both of which have committed to covering future Gender Dialogues initiatives that promote peaceful assembly in Kenya.
Overall, the organization raised public awareness of protest rights and secured a new partnership to support ongoing advocacy for a safer and more peaceful protest environment in Kenya.
The Action Fund is proud to have supported this action and stands in solidarity with the #RejectFinanceBill2024 movement in its call for stronger governmental accountability.
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