This summer, more than 300 youths from 18 European countries are active at the ewoca workcamps. Youth groups from nine cities in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as from Brandenburg, Thuringia, and Schleswig-Holstein take part.

After the commencement in Greece, the beginning of the summer break in North Rhine-Westphalia coincides with the start of another camp 2500 kilometres further north. From the 15^th of July, young people from Oberhausen (Germany), Tigru Mures (Romania), and Tartu (Estonia) meet on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa, in order to cooperatively help with the preparations and implementation of a local folk festival. Other projects aim at creating organic fields in Spain or repairing hiking paths in Scotland. The workcamp in the Lithuanian Kaunas, where youths from Germany, Italy, and Lithuania, together with professional coaches in music, dance, theater and media art, develop a performance on the topics of discrimination and racism, will close the summer in September.

And off we go! We wish all those active in ewoca success and great experiences!

Whether it its street art against discrimination in Finland, creating organic fields in Spain, or repairing hiking paths in Scotland: In each of the workcamps, youths from three countries will collaborate in order to realise a sustainable project, improving the situation at the location. In Hattingen, the workcamp leader now prepare for this together. They deal with methods fpr actively fashioning group processes and intercultural learning. In role plays and with lots of relevance for their practice, and in theoretical sessions as well, they learn about methods for making their everyday in international youth work easier.

“We want to expand and develop such forms of European collaboration among young people”, says project manager Katharina Teiting of the International Association for Education and Exchange (IBB e.V.) in Dortmund. “This is why we are very happy for our new programme ewoca – young perspective to receive funding from the Innovation Fund of the Federal Children and Youth Plan. This funding enables the participating project partners to plan and implement innovative workcamp projects in 2017 as well. In this, they will test new forms of participation and peer learning, in order to integrate them into the ewoca concept.” The ewoca concept is based on the idea of invitation and counter-invitation: Youths from three countries realise three international workcamps over the span of three years – one in each country.

At three events so far, the youths dealt with the topics of human rights, democracy, and European citizenship. At the meeting in Weimar, they are now primarily concerned with transforming their work into presentable forms, to inspire others for a democratic Europe. At a professional music studio, they will record a song they have written themselves, and produce an accompanying video. Their results will also be presented on the internet, using an Instagram photo gallery. Furthermore, the youths are preparing public exhibitions in some of the five participating cities.

But they continue working on the topics as well. A European youth conference in Brussels is planned as a follow-up event. The active youths will use one of the days of the Weimar workshop to gather ideas for the conference. The events of “Pimp My Europe” are taking place as part of the “Structured Dialogue” of the EU youth strategy and are funded by the European programme erasmus+ YOUTH IN ACTION.

Creating organic fields in Spain, developing a theatre performance on the topic of discrimination in Lithuania, repairing hiking paths in Scotland, and renovating youth work facilities in Poland, France, and Turkey: The projects within the framework of the ewoca³ funding programme are diverse, but there are also similarities. In each case youths from three countries are taking part, and active commitment in civil society is always present – and there is always hands-on work improving the situation at the location.

Such a major project of European youth collaboration needs quite a bit of coordination. This is why the Dortmund-based International Association for Education and Exchange (IBB e.V.) invited the partnerships to the project planning congress in Hattingen. Speaking for the Ministry of Family Affairs, Children, Youth, Culture, and Sport of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Jürgen Schattmann, Group Manager Youth at the Ministry welcomed the participants from 17 countries.

Until Monday, the participants will now deal with pedagogical concept for their work in international workcamps and prepare their specific projects. One of the 14 youth encounters planned for this year is the conclusion of the three-year workcamp series “Of Vikings and other minorities – Experiencing democracy in Europe”. Since 2015, youths from Germany, Denmark, and Ukraine build a Viking boat each summer. This August, they will complete the 10 metre long boat in Ukraine. Subsequently, they will go on a maiden voyage of several days near the Moldavian border, in order to get into contact with different sections of the population. Subsequently the boat remains in Ukraine and will be continued to be used for youth work there.

„With ewoca³ we show what awesome projects of international understanding youths are able of, if the conditions are right”, said Elke Wegener, General Manager of IBB e.V. „In close dialogue with politics and other groups in society, we will continue to campaign for improving the structures making this work possible in the first place.”

Planning, discussing, organising – in Hattingen/Ruhr representatives of 42 youth work organisations from 17 countries prepare for a major project of European youth collaboration. (Foto: Rolf van Raden/IBB e.V.)

Jürgen Schattmann, Group Manager Youth at the Ministry for Family Affairs, Children, Youth, Culture, and Sport of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia welcomes the participants from 17 countries. (Foto: Rolf van Raden/IBB e.V.)

Elke Wegener, General Manager of IBB e.V. thanks the active participants for their commitment. (Foto: Rolf van Raden/IBB e.V.)

ewoca³ project manager Katharina Teiting reports in her contribution on the experiences made as part of the ewoca³ workcamps. She describes the general conditions necessary for successful work, and gives advice to other organisation looking towards actively opening their projects for refugees.

The brochures can be ordered free of charge from IJAB, and downloaded as a PDF file (German language). It was created as part of Innovationsforum Jugend global, an interactive service for professionalising and advancing international youth work. More Information.

Increasing right-wing populism in many European countries, the situation at the EU external borders, the arrival of thousands of refugees, and finally the Brexit referendum: There are more than enough reasons to discuss European values once again. The perspective of the young generation can not be overheard – it is them, who have to live with the decisions taken for the longest.

For eight years now, IBB realises the ewoca³ funding programme: Youths from a total of 17 European countries work together in international workcamps, and realise sustainable projects at the location. “Pimp my Europe” takes this developed network as a basis. Youths want to deal with current topics and actively influence the world around them.

Politicians as well, often wish for young people to participate more. However, the contact between both sides is often lacking. This is where “Pimp my Europe” comes in, connecting political decision-makers with young, motivated people. In this project, the youths deal with topics like human rights, democracy, and European citizenship. Finally, they discuss with politicians and, as part of a big youth conference, give impulses for future political strategies. The project “Pimp my Europe” also takes place in Italy at the same time. Using an internet blog, the youths from both countries can exchange ideas and impressions. A European youth conference in Brussels is planned as a follow-up event.

On the occasion of her visit, Alheit emphasised the importance of pan-European youth work: „Especially in times, where European collaboration seems to have lost its glamour, projects like this show the possibility of inspiring youths with the idea of international cooperation. The viking boat is a great idea, which is also a symbol for cooperation across borders. 70 years ago, when the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein was founded, such a close partnership, especially in the border region, was unthinkable. Concepts like this workcamp open up new perspectives and forge personal connections leaving their mark.”

One year ago, the youths from three countries met for the first time in Denmark. Now, they continued their work on the viking boat in Süsel in Schleswig-Holstein, from the 13th to the 28th of August. Next summer, the boat should be collaboratively finished in Ukraine. It will then be used permanently for international youth work there – by the association Euro-Viking e.V. of adventurer and circumnavigator Burghard Pieske.

The ship-building project is part of the workcamp programme ewoca³(+), realised by the International Association for Education and Exchange (IBB e.V.), and financed with funds from the Innovation Fund of the Federal Children and Youth Plan.

“We are happy to have such a prominent supporter in Minister Alheit and such a strong partner in Alte Schule e.V in Schleswig-Holstein”, says Elke Wegener, General manager of IBB e.V. “We are very much hoping to be able to realise projects like these in the future, with youths as great as these. They are living in their workcamp for a Europe open to the world – and they will be engaged for this after its conclusion as well.”

From the 2nd to the 9th of August, youths from the Turkish cities of Muğla and Eskişehir wanted to meet young people from Dortmund for an exchange about volunteering in their countries. But the youth encounter „BeActive4 MUDO“ will not take place. Because of the uncertain situation, the municipal youth centre Muğla postponed the trip to Germany indefinitely.

„We are very sorry for this youth encounter not to be realised“, says Hildegard Azimi-Boedecker, section manager for Job International and Migration of IBB e.V. „We hope to continue the work in the youth network Dortmund-Muğla, which we started, soon. How and when this will be possible is not clear at the moment.“ For August, IBB e.V. had planned an ambitious programme: Encounters with activists in refugee support, active participation at the Dortmund food bank, information about the Dortmund volunteering agency, and intercultural encounters. The return visit to Turkey was planned for October.

But the crisis in Turkey has effects on other encounter programmes as well. The South-East-Anatolian municipality of Gaziantep just announced their pulling out from the IBB-organised European workcamp support programme ewoca³. From the 8th to the 22nd of August, youths from Cologne, Turkey, and Romania wanted to meet in the Romanian town of Cluj-Napoca, to engage with the history of minorities in this region. The workcamp will thus take place without the Turkish project partner. For the coming year, IBB, together with the remaining partners, is looking for solutions.

„Cooperation with Turkey has great importance for our work“, says Elke Wegener, general manager of IBB e.V. „This is why we are concerned by this setback for International youth collaboration. For 30 years, we stand for international exchange and dialogue and always walked this path, even under demanding conditions. As we can look back to a good cooperation with our partners in Turkey, I am confident we can take this up again soon.“

In the current issue of the journal “Europäische Erziehung”, ewoca³ project officer Katharina Teiting writes about the funding programmes ewoca³ and ewoca³(+).

How do the ewoca³ partnerships work? How is funding and financing organised in this major project of European youth cooperation ? How do the programmes and the project partners put the goal into practice to reach young people who otherwise rarely have the opportunity to gain international experience?

The journal is published by the German section of the European Association for Education (AEDE), a federation of teachers of all educational and professional areas from pre-school to university and in the fields of lifelong learning.

The edition is available here online as a pdf file (article on pages 44-48).

A grand European youth project will start into its 2016 action phase: More than 300 youths from 17 countries will travel to 15 international workcamps, in order to realise social and sustainable projects. Taking part are youth groups from nine cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also from Brandenburg, Thuringia, and Schleswig-Holstein. All of this is made possible by the support programmes ewoca³ and ewoca³(+).

Youths from Cologne-Chorweiler will take the first step: On Sunday, the 26th of June, they will meet their peers from Katowice/Poland in Morbecque/France. Over the next two weeks, and together with local youths, the will build a wooden cabin with a fireplace, where groups of children and youths can stay thereafter. The workcamp takes place in a region that was shaped by both world wars. Thus, the participants will deal with this history at historic locations, in order to promote peace, tolerance, and respect together.

Already at the 11th of July, ewoca³ continues about 1000 kilometres to the east. Young people from Unna (Germany), Latina (Italy), and Grodziszcze (Poland) will meet in Krzyżowa, in Lower Silesia. They will help with memorial preservation and documentation at a jewish cemetery. But the participants of other workcamps have a lot to do: They have planned to do restoration work on the grounds of a historical castle church in Romania, create a temporary bike workshop in Belarus, and several landscaping projects. In Florence participants will create a theatre performance, dealing with discrimination and racism. On the Greek Island Samothrace in the Aegean Sea youths will, as part of another theatre project, build an open air stage that can be used for further projects.

While the projects are quite different, they have a common core: „We connect charitable work with multi-layered intercultural experiences“, says Katharina Teiting, who coordinates the support programmes ewoca³ and ewoca³(+) at the International Association for Education and Exchange (IBB e.V.). „Especially now, with the political situation complicating this, we believe youths experiencing a shared Europe to be very important.“ The participating youth groups will collaborate not just for one summer, but a total of three years. Each year, they will realise a project at the location of one of the partners.

On their internet blog „ewoca³ Live“, the youths themselves report from the workcamps and write about their experiences and impression – in German and English, in order for the content to be read by international audiences. The blog can be reached at www.ewoca.org/live/.