On 29 September, the first day of the transnational event Across borders: from human rights and sustainability to the future of Europe took place in Dunkerque. Not a simple conference, but a living space of confrontation and hope, where citizens, activists, refugees, and educators from all over Europe gave voice to experiences, questions, and proposals for the continent’s future.

Organized by Association Community, the gathering brought together participants from Italy, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, and other countries, in an atmosphere that embodied the very essence of a transnational Europe: a mosaic of languages and cultures, a political and civic laboratory showing what the European Union should truly be in its most authentic form.

Participants were welcomed by Dunkerque, a city that has become a symbol of transformation. Once marked by the weight of its industrial history, today it stands as a pioneer of ecological transition and sustainable innovation. Its ability to reinvent itself — from a past of steelworks and industrial smoke to a present defined by circular economy and green development — has become a metaphor for the path Europe itself must take.

After the introduction, the heart of the day was the radio workshop, where participants produced podcasts dedicated to just transition, sustainability, and migration. Through interviews and discussions, their words took shape as fragments of a shared narrative, amplifying stories and perspectives too often left invisible. Each recording became a political act, a piece of a collective story that rejects exclusion and reclaims solidarity as a concrete practice.

The second day will be dedicated to drafting a manifesto: a document weaving together the reflections and proposals that emerged in dialogue, connecting the local with the transnational. Alongside the text, the podcasts produced will remain as living testimonies of these days, tangible signs of a Europe that refuses silence and indifference.

Dunkerque was not just an organizational stage: it was a symbolic experience, a time and a space to practice interconnection, dialogue, and shared responsibility. In the face of crises that threaten the present — from militarized borders to democratic fragility, from sustainability to social justice — the Europe gathered here has shown its will to resist and to reinvent itself.

Ways of Europe in Dunkerque reminded us that the future of Europe is not written in the halls of power, but arises from the encounter of people who reject the normalization of exclusion and choose to build, together, a continent founded on dignity, rights, and solidarity.