Project 1882
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Bild på Europaparlamentet i Strasbourg.
Political advocacy

Influencing politics

Political advocacy, along with goal-oriented campaigns and corporate relations, are the primary tools for achieving Project 1882’s vision: a world where animals are respected as sentient beings with the right to their own lives. This is achieved through engaging in meetings with politicians and by putting the spotlight on animal policy issues. As the leading animal rights and animal welfare organisation in Sweden, Project 1882 holds a prominent position and is widely respected, being embraced in various contexts.

On matters where political consensus is lacking, the objective is to influence political parties to take a favourable stance in order to achieve majority support. Conversely, on issues where there is already widespread agreement, such as with phasing-out animal testing, the aim is to ensure the topic is not forgotten and to present concrete steps on how to move forward.

Read more about our political priorities
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Examples of actions we take to create change: 

  • Release reports to present arguments for our propositions for change and to raise awareness. 
  • Write consultation responses to influence issues such as food policy and animal welfare. 
  • Organise digital webinars and physical seminars to educate and raise awareness. 
  • Participate during democratic venues. 
  • Meet municipality politicians, members of parliament, members of the European parliament and political youth organisations. 
  • Meet government agencies to influence issues they handle, such as The Swedish Board of Agriculture, The National Agency for Public Procurement, Vinnova (Sweden’s Innovation agency), and the National Board of Trade Sweden. 
  • Collaborate with the parliamentary Animal Welfare Forum - a network of members of parliament with an interest in policy issues regarding animals. 
  • Participate as an exhibitor at events hosted by political parties in order to network and raise awareness about priority issues. 

The Swedish Parliament

The Swedish Parliament has 349 members. Project 1882 strives to have a clear picture of which member is the spokesperson for animal policy issues in each parliamentary party. Knowing this facilitates both communication and accountability. These people are generally members of the parliamentary environment and agriculture committee, where animal welfare issues are addressed. Another example of a relevant committee is the education committee, which considers certain issues regarding animal testing. 

Prior to the Swedish parliamentary election in 2022, we conducted an analysis of the efforts and positions of parliamentary parties regarding animal issues. 

EU

Decision-making processes at EU-level can be difficult and time consuming, but these decisions also represent a chance of making a real difference for billions of animals. Project 1882 follows processes and exerts influence by, among other things, contacting Swedish members of the European Parliament, Swedish ministers and the Committee on EU Affairs. With its headquarters in Brussels, Project 1882’s umbrella organisation Eurogroup for Animals is a great resource in these contexts. 

The possibility to create European Citizens’ Initiatives is a tool for direct democracy that has existed for more than 10 years. A majority of the ten initiatives that have reached the threshold of a million validated signatures are animal-related, which signals a significant interest for animal issues among EU citizens. Project 1882 has, with great success, contributed with Swedish signatures. Some examples of these initiatives are: 

Global work

Project 1882 is a global organisation based in Sweden. The suffering of animals knows no national borders and to make as much difference as possible, Project 1882 works in various constellations to influence the situation of the world's animals for the better. 

In 2021, Project 1882 co-founded the World Federation for Animals, which brings together interest groups around the world to focus on issues that affect animals globally. This is done, among other things, by influencing the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and other UN bodies. Project 1882 is a member of the board.  

We are also members of: 

  • Aquatic Animal Alliance 

  • Fur Free Alliance 

  • Open Wing Alliance 

Read more about these organisations and our global work here.