Gianluca Costantini creates the illustration for the campaign calling for the “Estates General of Care,” a European participatory process placing people, nature and democracy at the centre.
Wildfires are destroying ecosystems, floods are sweeping away homes and lives, inequality is growing, and democratic institutions are becoming increasingly fragile. From this sense of urgency comes A Europe of Care, a new civic initiative calling for a radical transformation of Europe around the principle of care.
At the centre of the campaign is an illustration of climate activist Greta Thunberg created by Gianluca Costantini. The image accompanies the appeal and its invitation to imagine a different political future for Europe.
The project proposes the creation of the States General of Care, conceived not as another institutional conference but as a large-scale, bottom-up democratic and participatory process. The aim is to bring together citizens, young people, scientists, activists, local authorities, organisations and institutions to imagine and build a new Europe.
Care is understood here in a broad political sense: as responsibility towards people, nature and democracy, but also as solidarity, emancipation, self-determination and protection of fundamental rights.
The initiative argues that the ecological crisis, growing inequality and the erosion of democratic rights cannot be addressed separately. They require a new social pact capable of placing care and the common good at the centre of political life.
The appeal turns directly to Greta Thunberg, whose climate activism and the Fridays for Future movement helped transform an individual school strike into an international mobilisation around the climate crisis. The initiative asks her to join forces with the project and help give strength and visibility to a process bringing together people across Europe and beyond who want to build a society based on care and the common good.
The signatures collected through the petition on Change.org will be delivered directly to Greta Thunberg and her team, together with a formal invitation to support and strengthen the process.
The appeal comes from the same idea that inspired Berardo Carboni’s film Greta e le favole vere: the decision not to remain a passive observer when confronted with a world in crisis. The environmental family film, inspired by the movement founded by Greta Thunberg, is directed by Berardo Carboni and features Sara Ciocca, Raoul Bova, Donatella Finocchiaro, Sabrina Impacciatore, Federico Cesari, Demetra Bellina, Mattia Garaci and Darko Perić. It was produced by Pegasus, QMI and Vision Distribution, with the involvement of Rai Cinema.
In the film, a young girl decides that observing is no longer enough and sets out to save a bear. The new campaign transfers that gesture into collective civic action: an individual act may appear small, but when multiplied by thousands of people it can help change the course of events. The film itself was conceived around environmental awareness and the example of Greta Thunberg’s activism.
Costantini’s drawing becomes part of this invitation — an image connecting climate justice, solidarity, political participation and the possibility of imagining a different Europe.
“Today, it is no longer enough to defend what we already have. We need to imagine and build what does not yet exist.”
Illustration: Gianluca Costantini
Project: A Europe of Care — States General of Care
Sign the appeal — Call to Convene the States General of Care for a New Europe
