EYFA (European Youth For Action) developed from a tour that was initiated by a Swedish/German group in 1986 to save the old forests in Europe: then named European Youth Forest Action. From these 'routes', it developed into a platform for grassroots movements working to transform local and international communities in their approach to environment and social, political and economical positions.

EYFA's main aim is to encourage young people's initiative and autonomy; people feeling empowered to act and to raise their voices on the issues that affect their lives. EYFA has three core objectives at the heart of everything we do:

• Capacity building: To help groups develop the skills and knowledge to gain access to funding, training and the tools to articulate, debate and enact their ideas.
• Civic engagement and the development of participatory processes: To facilitate grassroots groups to critically engage with already existing national and international decision-making processes and politics, and also to develop egalitarian and participatory processes within their own groups and projects.
• East-West cooperation: To develop closer cooperation and the sharing of ideas, histories and experiences between grassroots groups working in Eastern and Western Europe.

EYFA provides a platform and practical support for new radical ideas to grow into their full potential. The international office located in Amsterdam coordinates EYFA's activities through administrative and communication functions and being the network's contact point for sharing local information. We further support and encourage grassroots projects and initiatives in the following ways:

• Giving advice, knowledge and support in the activities and assist with fund raising and application writing, putting together projects and networking.
• Dissemination of call outs and information on environmental and social justice issues
• Organizing exchanges, seminars, trainings, network gatherings, projects & actions

Grassroots groups, organizations, and campaigns that combat environmental degradation, xenophobia, homo- and queerphobia, racism, fascism and sexism, and all forms of exploitation and injustice.

Grassroots groups, organizations, and campaigns that promote cultural and biological diversity, and the rights of women, LGBTIQ, indigenous, migrants, animals and workers.

EYFA gives activists an international perspective, but it is very important to us that we keep our focus on the grassroots of social and ecological change.

It is characteristic of EYFA that projects initiated by EYFA become independent sustainable long term projects.

EYFA supports the concept of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS). That's why we use GNU/Linux on all our office computers and also this website is hosted on a Linux machine. FLOSS means remaining freedom of speech and freedom of choice. Most development work is done by volunteers and computer enthusiasts. Feel free to ask us about our experiences with Linux and other Free Software.