Act local – connect European – think global! There is a lot going on in the network of Generation Europe – The Academy. Here you can find recent updates and reports on activities in our network.
What happens when young people from Germany, Hungary and Poland meet in Gdańsk, a city with a rich and diverse history, to learn about sustainable development, human rights and climate activism? A lot of fun, creativity and inspiration!
What do art and social activism have to do with each other? From 23 June to 4 July, the groups from Florence (Italy), Bergisch Gladbach (Germany) and Larissa (Greece) met for this year’s youth encounter. The works created in this unique process range from installations to hip-hop compositions and dance or spoken theatre to video art.
Helping to shape how and what is learned in schools is one of the goals of the local group in Ploiești, Romania. With this aim in mind, the group organised by the association “Un Strop de Fericire” has developed an extensive workshop programme.
The local group in Örebro, Sweden came together for a whole weekend. While working on their local action plan, they came up with a great idea: They want to create a website to help other young folks to find after school activities and hobby clubs.
Europe is diverse, multi-layered and complex. The G5 working group is an association of five large youth work organisations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has made an entertaining video about European youth projects. Among others, the young people of the local group of Generation Europe – The Academy from Oberhausen, Germany have their say.
Good youth work needs well-trained professionals. That’s why youth leaders of 45 youth organisations from 14 European countries met in Hattingen/Ruhr from 26 May to 1 June. Despite war and crisis, they are preparing for a great summer of European cooperation.
“Do you know how many girls and young women are excluded from social life because of their menstruation?” asks the local group in Mrągowo, Poland. To initiate a discussion about this and to make a difference, the group built a dispenser for pads and tampons, installed it in the women’s restroom in their school, and published a video about it.
With a creative performance, the local group of Generation Europe – The Academy in Munich drew attention to an important issue: the Willow Project. This is a controversial project planned by the US oil company ConocoPhillips, which wants to drill for oil in northern Alaska. They plan to extract about 600 million barrels of oil, emitting enormous amounts of climate-damaging CO2 and endangering the nature and wildlife of Alaska.
An active network within the network: The Ambassadors are currently meeting in Hattingen for this year’s conference. In four days, the young activists from 14 European countries exchange information about their local work and deal with topics such as motivation and conflict management – and with ways to pass on their experiences at home.
How can young people deal with the war in Ukraine? The International Association for Education and Exchange (IBB e.V.) presented an international documentary film project at the endstation.kino in Bochum on Tuesday, 9 May. 45 youth groups from 14 European countries want to use the film in local youth work.