2023

Agri/Cultural Practices

Agri/cultural practices was a practical experimental workshop that provides an introduction to Permaculture (permanent agriculture) sustainable design ethics and principles through games and exercises from Theatre of the Oppressed, aimed at rehearsing solutions for change.

Youth Gathering: Decolonizing Climate Justice and Activism

For the duration of one week in mid August, we dove into the meaning of climate justice in the European context. Through various workshops, games and other activities we  explored decolonial perspectives on environmental & climate (in)justice, anti-oppression work, food justice and non-western concepts of conservation.

International gathering ‘Freedom of Movement’, in partnership with International Women* Space

This international gathering was held by and for BIPoC Migrants, Refugees, Asylum Seekers & new comers based anywhere in Europe. It was held in the countryside and lasted 6 days in which we had workshops touching the topics of legal rights, self-organisation, sustainable activism, empowerment, body work / movement & also a Refugee resistance tour in Berlin – Kreuzberg.

2022

Action Climbing Training (AKT) for BIPoC

AKT stands for Action Climbing Training. In our 6-day intensive training we included all the important basics of technical climbing needed for actions including: Introduction to materials, knot tying, ascending trees with and without ropes, rappelling techniques, belaying techniques, moving at heights, installing and removing ropes, rescue, rope bridge construction, horizontal moving on the rope, rope assisted hanging of banners, action planning and scouting concerning climbing, and 1st aid. This workshop was held close to Lützerath.

Queer Elsewhere – Exploring intersecting oppressions of queer migrant youth

Together with our partner @casakua, we organized a week-long international youth gathering ‘Queer elsewhere – Exploring intersecting oppressions of queer migrant youth’ at La Bassa Mar, Spain in September 2023. We had a whole week of activities where we exchanged our experiences as queer migrants / marginalized youth, exploring parts of our identities that are often unseen.

Black Farming Weekend

In this workshop we dove into farming in practical as well as politcal and spirutual terms, with our goal being to reclaim and heal our connection to the land. It was a weekend planed in a skill share format, in which so every participant was able to share their perspectives, experiences, questions, knowledge about farming, and specially African indigenous farming techniques. We had both discussions groups and practical sessions to work the it was held in the land of Aloti farm.

2021

Interactive Discussion on Collective Care practices

In this online session we share we discussed the kinds of care practices we are creating and shaping in and for our communities during the difficult times of the Covid-19 Lockdown. Based on the context where systemic violence continuously affects the ways in which we exist, we tried to imagine a society that actively builds and maintains alternative structures of care.

Moving towards an accessible future – Series of events run by ESC volunteers

In this series of events we talked, learned and investigated how to increase accessibility in our movements. We discussed various types of barriers – starting at physical accessibility, i.e. stairs and ramps, as well as language, the way of communicating/participating, technical, cultural, economic and structural obstacles.

(Dis?)Ability: An Online Course Fostering Accessibility in Youth Grassroots Groups

(Dis?)Ability is an online course that explores ways to increase accessibility in activism and event organising. The course is divided in 5 lessons that tackle topics such as accessibility, inclusivity, disability justice, privilege and oppression in youth activist movements. It aims to create a space to reflect about self-organized events and spaces in terms of access and inclusivity. These lessons provide tools to challenge existing barriers in these spaces and incentivise a move towards dismantling them.

Website Accessibility Workshop

We organized an online workshop and lecture on digital accessibility, in it we provide the basics steps on website accessibility and how we can do it ourselves by simply using WordPress!

2020

Plant Awareness to Grow Solidarity! ESC Volunteer Programme 2019/2020

Plant awareness to grow solidarity! was the theme of our volunteers’ project in 2019/2020. Three young people from Ukraine and Belarus that hosted at our organisation offered their insights and curiosity in several thought provoking evenings over the course of 10 months. The aimof this project was to strengthen young people’s engagement as promoters of intercultural dialogue and social inclusion across Europe.

Radical Resilience – online screening & workshop

Radical Resilience is a film project by activists, for activists (or anyone involved in social or environmental change, however they define themselves), that aims to spread awareness and encourage discussion about the effects of burnout within our movements, both individually and collectively. On Friday 29th of May we held anan online screening followed by Q&A and open discussion over video conference.

2019

Connecting peace-building communities across Europe

Our volunteers held a series of events and workshops based on non-formal education, skill sharing and peer to peer exchange, aiming to collectively build a safer space and friendlier atmosphere to share experiences of surviving war or living under the infringement of democratic rights and freedoms and reflect on core European values as freedom of expression, respect for diversity, democracy and prosperity. There was also a focus on peace-building as a part of long-term change, which leads to inclusive, multicultural and sustainable communities and societies, equitable for all.

EYFA Network Meeting at the Klimacamp im Rheinland!

EYFA held their 2019 yearly Network Meeting at the Klimacamp. In it we will had internal discussions about our long-term strategy, future projects and priorities. We also offered some public sessions for all participants at the Klimacamp.

2018

Prepare! Laying the groundwork for equal employment

In 2018 EYFA supported 11 small-scale workshops and trainings. Flexible one-off support to develop and create the skills to identify intersecting discriminations, economic exclusion, and how to access their social rights to employment remains our priority in this activity.

Unite! Young women* exploring labour rights

This international youth exchange took place in Wojtowice (Poland) and was dedicated to young women* (including a variety of identities, e.g. transgender, gender non-conforming people, cis-women – but no cis-males).

2017

Resilience on Demand: Gathering tools for sustainable youth-led peace activism
This series of 14 workshops provided one-off quick responses to relevant topics as they emerged among European grassroots youth groups for a total of 151 participants.

Empowerment through Collaboration: Young feminists shaping inclusive paths to peace in the Caucasus and beyond

This young feminist youth gathering brought together 30 participants from conflict-affected regions. Taking place in Yereghnadzor, Armenia from the 1st to the 7th of July, participants came together to share their experience, perspectives as well as enabling networking. It also initiated a process of the creation of a workshop and recommendations for an anti-war campaign.

Solidarity in Action: Building creative alliances against war
This international youth gathering brought together 28 grassroots activists from 12 countries. Taking place in Potsdam, Germany from the 1st to the 8th of September, participants explored the root and interconnected causes of war, migration, and ecological destruction.

2016

Skill Up! Quick Response trainings for action against exclusion
This series of 12 workshops provided one-off quick responses to relevant topics as they emerged among European grassroots youth groups for a total of 165 participants.

Step Up! Boosting youth activism against right-wing extremism in Eastern Europe
This international training brought together 25 young participants from Eastern Europe. Taking place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania from the 17th to the 23rd of May, participants came together to build their own skills in combating right-wing extremism and facilitating further workshops on the topic for grassroots youth activists.

2015

Reclaiming Power! Young Activists Challenging False Energy Solutions
This international anti-fracking gathering brought together young grassroots environmental activists from ten countries. Taking place just outside of Victoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country from the 13th to the 19th of July, participants came together to push for a Europe-wide fracking ban and to challenge other false energy solutions presented in their different local contexts.

Whats your alternative? Environmental justice in practice in a community near you!
This youth exchange brought together young environmental activists and alternative youth communities. Taking place in Warsaw, Poland from the 20th to the 26th of May, participants exchanged skills in hands-on practical alternatives to environmental injustice.

Eco-feminism: Patriarchy pollutes your surrounding too
The gathering brought together women* from eleven countries to learn about topics connected to feminism and environmental justice. Taking place in Kyiv, Ukraine from 17th to the 23rd of April, participants shared ideas on strategy building, consensus decision making, campaigning and tools for action.

Youth Exchange “ Europe and its borders” – strengthening the local engagement for the support of Refugees”
Between the 1^st and 12^th April 2015, EYFA took part as partner in a youth exchange. We brought people active in refugee support from Berlin to meet with young people in Vienna. More details about the project here. More details about the project here.

2014

Book-release: Calais, Calais
The Book Calais, Calais is based on the impression and experience from Amy Non, an activist who stayed in Calais along the first half of 2014.
As a personal field report it is a complement to fact based reports about Calais and provides a lively story about the personal situation that Migrants and Activist are experiencing in the daily live of Calais. It will be used to prepare and inform the readers in a literate and sometimes poetic way.

Taking our lives back: Community Organising against exclusion and precarity
The youth meeting “Taking our lives back: Community Organising against exclusion and precarity” took place in Cordoba, Spain between the 20th and 27th October 2014 and brought together 22 young housing activists from different countries in Europe. The main theme of the youth meeting was “Organising the Community – from exclusion and precarity towards alternative ways out of the crisis”.

Activity Calais Migrant Solidarity: practical solidarity with refugees in the heart of border regimes. This youth exchange in Calais, France between 28 August and 3 September 2014 took place to empower young activists to strengthen the application of relevant tools to the practice of claiming refugee rights with a focus on dealing with activist burnout, trauma support and long-term strategy.

Empowering Renewal: Youth for Sustainable and Effective Activism – 10th to 18th May 2014 Abella de la Conca, Spain The activity was a 9-day training empowering personal and inter-personal skills to support a culture of sustainable and effective activism among refugee supporters; it took place in Abella de la Conca, Spain between 9-18 May 2014. The activity was preceded by an exploratory tour that started in Berlin and ended in Abella, collecting experiences that later were used as input during the training.

Migration Margins in Serbia – 16th to 21st April, Serbia
This youth exchange in Novi Sad brought together young refugees and solidarity activists from Central/Eastern Europe to share experiences, develop inclusive group processes, exchange knowledge & skills, take symbolic community action and discuss further European-wide collaboration. More details about the project here.

2013

Skillsharing Portal – Serbia, Belarus, Ukraine, Belgium, Germany, UK, Spain
In the second half of the year, EYFA coordinated several groups from various European countries in the creation and translation of training materials on topics such as consensus and facilitation, strategy, anti-oppression and direct action. These materials along with other resources are available via the Skillsharing Portal, an easy-to-access multilingual online platform.

Short-term Skill-up for Long-term Projects – 20th to 30th September, Romania
EYFA organized a skill-share camp in Rosia Montana, Romania. The camp focused on empowering young people empowering themselves to be active on issues of social and environmental justice. Young activists from all over Europe attended trainings and workshops, exchanged experiences, networked and made plans for the future.

Ignite! An antiracist toolkit – Romania, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria
During the first half of the year, EYFA supported the creation and translation of anti-racist educational materials. The materials were created and edited by groups and activists based in Germany, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, and have been compiled on the multilingual, Ignite! online toolkit. The toolkit focuses on the continued persecution, stigmatisation and oppression faced by Roma individuals and communities in Europe. The materials concentrate on actively promoting social change towards ending racism and Romaphobia.

Act Now: Youth for Roma Rights – 5th to 12th May, Ukraine
Participants from 6 European countries attended a week-long youth exchange to explore the past and present discriminatory practices within Europe and the positions adopted by various European institutions, with a focus on the marginalization and stigmatization of Roma individuals and communities. More details about the project here.

Grassroots Activist Youth Forum – 25th April to 1st May, Ukraine
Youth activists attended this week-long forum in Kiev, bringing together a wide range of experiences and knowledge, in order to connect and create stronger networks and alliances. .

2012

Youth Gathering at the Energy Democracy and Anti-nuclear Camp – 23rd to 29th July, Poland
An international youth gathering took place as part of the wider Anti-Nuclear Camp in the Polish village of Lubiatowo to explore energy politics and direct democracy.

Building Sustainable Activism Course – 13th to 19th April, Germany
A course addressing the challenges facing young activists and activist groups working to create social change. The course welcomed youth participants to discuss, explore and develop personal skills to remain sustainable as they work to create social change, even in the face of great obstacles.

2011

Think Like a Forest: Art, Activism and Permaculture – 22nd September to 2nd October, France
For ten days, this project gathered participants from various countries around Europe to explore how to develop effective campaigns and events using art-activism skills alongside the Permaculture design model.

Sharing Our Skills – 16th to 23rd May, Slovenia
This was a week-long youth exchange focused on participants from Eastern Europe, active in social and environmental justice groups. The week was designed as a ‘training-for-trainers’ event, allowing participants to then share their knowledge by training others.

UDBC Youth Meeting – 7th to 15th May, Slovenia
“Understanding Discrimination, Building Community: Exploring Europe’s Past and Present to Create Our Future Together” was a week-long youth exchange focused around issues of discrimination and European community.

2010

Our voices will be heard – 9th to 14th November, Poland
This meeting brought together youth participants to share experiences, discuss and build new strategies in response to issues of racism, nationalism and discrimination (homophobia, sexism, economic, religious, etc.) that they face in their local contexts.
Empowering Ourselves and Each Other – 11th to 16th May, Republic of Moldova
This week-long training was about sharing skills and experiences amongst participants, mainly on participatory decision-making processes, building up tools for working in grassroots groups and organising actions, as well as general capacity-building.

2009

Cooling Our Futures – 9th to 18th December, Denmark
A youth climate meeting held around the UNFCCC COP15 climate conference in Copenhagen. Its aim was to focus attention around the social dimension of climate change, develop ideas around “climate justice” and be a platform for young people to participate at the negotiations.

Dutch-Belgian Climate Camp – 1st to 8th August, Belgium
A week of sustainable living in Belgium, near the Dutch border. Around 400 people, most of them young activists, gathered to hold and participate in over 50 workshops, public actions and events, organising themselves in non-hierarchical structures and living together in a comfortable but low-impact way.

Crash Course in Grassroots Activism – 28th April to 3rd May, Romania
A week-long training course to strengthen, particularly CEE, young activists’ competences in self-organisation and non-hierarchical decision-making.

Building Alternatives – 9th to 23rd August, Turkey
Strengthening youth networks and inter-regional exchange in the field of environmental sustainability.

Kiev Gathering – 26th June to 1st July, Ukraine
Fostering self-empowerment and self-organization among CIS youth.

WOMEN WITH TOOLS: The Collective Memory – 5th to 9th March, Slovenia
Empowering young women through art and technology.