The thematic focus of the campaign in the year 2012 will be to explore the relations between ecology, economy and politics, including reviewing ecology issues as basis for numerous conflicts. The central thematic event of the second year of the campaign will seek to answer questions such as: How can habits, policies and products, which are hindering ideas of ecological justice, be recognised? In which way can young people influence policy making processes? Especially now, when the Kyoto protocol is about to expire and ecological justice is one of the central debates globally, it is important to provide young people with knowledge of ongoing processes, as well to equip them with skills to address these issues in their own context.

We are happy to invite you to nominate a possible candidate for the International Planning Committee (IPC) for the second thematic event of the campaign!

Thematic background
The main aim of this training course will be: to enhance the understanding of the complexity of ecological justice among young Europeans by exposing the links between social inequality and environmental degradation, ecological and socio-economic issues, and to increase ecological responsibility in European civil society through the active contribution of young people.

Objectives:
- To provide the participants with good factual knowledge on various situations of ecological injustice in different contexts, at both European and global levels;
- To give an overview and examples of basic notions and concepts related to the links between ecological, political and socio-economic issues (e.g. bio-piracy, fair access to water, greenwashing, land-use changes, agroecology);
- To facilitate the understanding of mechanisms influencing the processes of ecological justice, such as political negotiations, economic transactions and the consequences of those mechanisms.
- To analyse in depth the governance and economic mechanisms of distribution of wealth, natural resources and land in Europe and at a global level;
- To analyse the possible consequences and the outcomes of international events with a significant impact on environmental policy;
- To develop together with the participants ideas for the contribution of young people to promote ecological justice and fairer distribution of wealth, land and natural resources;
- To enable and inspire the participants to actively take part in decision making processes on all levels in order to overcome ecological injustices on their local and national levels;
- To equip the participants with practical methods and tools to address the issues of ecological justice and implement concrete projects in their own context;
- To provide a platform for the intercultural exchange of experiences and good practices among the participants;
- To provide space for practical implementation of ecological responsibility by reducing the CO2 emissions as much as possible, reducing consumption connected to the implementation of the training course and providing useful knowledge for the participants to improve their daily ecological responsibility.

Dates
The first IPC meeting is scheduled: 8th – 11th of March 2012, Minsk, Belarus
The second IPC meeting is scheduled: Just prior to the training course, 22nd – 24th of June 2012, Minsk, Belarus
The training course is scheduled: 24th of June – 1st of July 2012, Minsk, Belarus

Apply now!
For more information please contact your National Correspondent or the EYCE office at applications@eyce.org! The absolutely latest deadline for receiving applications will be 10th of FEBRUARY 2012!

With this training course EYCE wants to deepen its focus on HRE, especially with regards to the rights of minorities, migrants and other oppressed groups in Europe and beyond, as well as training young people from church backgrounds to address these issues within their contexts. Furthermore, with this event EYCE wants to contribute to the European Action Week Against Racism, which is traditionally taking place around March 21st, the International Day for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

It will take place in Palermo, Sicily, from 18th – 25th of March 2012.

This training course will offer the participants the following:
- Knowledge about situations of ethnic minorities in Europe.
- Overview of positions in European churches regarding ethnic minorities and racism towards them.
- Analysis of concepts of Human Rights in the light of different ethnic minorities.
- Tools and methods to address racism and discrimination in one’s own context.
- Possibility to develop a common contribution to the European Action Week Against Racism and use in practice what has been learnt.
- Possibility to learn from good practice examples on the local level in Italy.
- Opportunity to meet with young people from different countries and denominations, to share experiences and develop new friendships!

Profile of participants:
This training course is aimed in particular at potential youth leaders and young people (age 18-30) actively engaged in their communities and coming from EYCE’s network.
The participants should be open minded young people, with an initial interest in Human Rights Education with their peers, as well as about raising awareness of the rights of migrants and ethnic minorities. They should be able to act as multipliers in the respective home countries by providing help to their sending organisations/ Churches in addressing the issues of the training course.

Apply now!
For more information please contact EYCE office at applications@eyce.org! The absolutely latest deadline for receiving applications will be 13th of FEBRUARY 2012!

Do you know when the hour has come? Christians in the early stages of Christianity were eagerly anticipating the coming of the Lord and the end of the world they lived in so that God’s new creation would come into being. Time has moved on since then and few of us are similarly awaiting the end of times. We rather got accommodated in the world we live in and want to hold on to things that we know. Nevertheless, in the past year news could make you believe that the end of the world as we know it is near. The financial and economic crisis challenged societies throughout Europe and the world and seemed to turn the world upside down. Democratic movements in the Arab countries and elsewhere led to political shifts and new perceptions of these regions. The tsunami in Japan and the following catastrophe, especially in the nuclear power plant of Fukushima, questioned the long believed security of the structures created by us. As we experience it, the world we live in is fragile and ambiguous. By coming into this world in Jesus Christ, God has started to build a new world as his kingdom and invited us to participate and be transformed by God’s grace. In this new world, human beings are freed from their distance to God, as it is bridged through Jesus Christ, the saviour. This is why the Apostle Paul writes to the Romans:

Besides this you know the time that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. (Romans 13, 11-12)

No matter how we celebrate Christmas, this is the core of the promise made to us and our faith. The coming of God into this world and the promise to free us from its works of darkness and to accompany us into the light enables us to wake up and live as Christians in the presence of God’s gift of justification and salvation. However, we are called to putting on the armour of light not only between Christmas and Easter, but in all that we do towards our neighbours and to live in anticipation of a new Creation everyday anew. I wish that you may unpack this gift of God to you on Christmas day.
May you spend a blessed Christmas with your families and friends and discover (again) together what the new born baby means to you.

EYCE wants to thank you for your contributions throughout the year to the life of EYCE and wishes you a happy and blessed start into the year 2012. We are looking forward to meet you and work with you in the coming year and to fill EYCE with life!
May the confidence in the Lord be with you in 2012 to strengthen you and give you peace!

We thank you for your support and the strong fellowship during this year and wish you a blessed Christmas!

Yours in Christ,
Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe

“Moving towards a decade of close collaboration between European Christian and Muslim Youth, EYCE in collaboration with FEMYSO organised a study session to reflect about the relations between secularism and living faiths in Europe. It is important to note that this event was more than a vision, but a wider interfaith dialogue coming from the member organisations of EYCE and FEMYSO with a joint aim to work together to unite our work in the field of active citizenship. This was a good example of interreligious dialogue and LOVE,” said Najatte Kaaoiss, participant and member of the board of trustees of FEMYSO.

The participants got the opportunity to deepen their knowledge about different religious and cultural traditions, experience interreligious dialogue, as well as acquire practical tools and skills to further promote the ideas discussed.

“This was the first interreligious event of EYCE and FEMYSO I participated, and I must say I was impressed. This event showed how the the interreligious dialogue can be – and really is – put in practice. It was great to see the commitment of all the participants to work together for a common goal and to be part of the genuine sharing of experiences and ideas,” said Sini Tyvi, participant and EYCE Executive Committee member.

Several guest speakers and workshop leaders contributed to the programme of the training course with their knowledge and expertise. Theoretical background of secularism and the process of secularisation was offered to the participants through the lecture of Michaël Privot, the director of The European Network Against Racism (ENAR). The discussion was further elaborated by a presentation of real dialogue on European level between religious communities and European institutions in the speech of Rüdiger Noll, director of the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CSC/ CEC). Participants actively engaged and contributed to the discussions with the guest speakers.

On the 8th of December the participants had the opportunity to visit various religious communities in Budapest. The visit started with the visit to the Knights of Malta charity, where the participants got introduced to a variety of the charity projects run by this Christian based organisation. This was followed by a visit to a Synagogue and a short meeting with a representative of the Jewish community in Hungary. The field visit continued a presentation and discussion about the Muslim community in Hungary and the Muslim midday prayer at the Mosque.

Friday, 9th of December was the day of experiencing prayers, when the participants had the opportunity to share and discuss their faith traditions. There was an Ecumenical Christian prayer held in the morning and Muslim Midday prayer in the afternoon. Participants showed great interest in one another’s faith tradition and many interesting questions were asked.

During the practical part of the study session, the participants had the opportunity to experience and learn from a variety of workshops: advocacy, empowerment and motivation, dialogue in practice and creative thinking. The final part of the programme provided the participants with knowledge and ideas for use in their practical work by providing sessions on advocacy, project management and social marketing. This inspired and motivated the participants to work on creative ideas for the projects to be implemented in their own context.

A variety of highly creative and interesting projects was developed by the participants, integrating experiences and knowledge gained during the study session. The participants enriched the atmosphere of the event greatly with creative approaches to the activities. EYCE and FEMYSO wish the best of luck to all the participants for the implementation of the projects developed!

For more information on the study session or the work of EYCE, contact Kristine Jansone, EYCE General Secretary, on general.secretary@eyce.org or +32 2 510 6171.

Within the “Erasmus for all: the EU Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport” proposal, much importance is given to the mobility of young people and to formal education of young people, non-formal education is seen only as part of the formal education system and a tool for the better employability of young people. Parts of the current YiA programme will remain only in the sector of volunteer services and youth exchanges. This development will be disastrous for youth work all over Europe, including EYCE and its members! Although the overall budget for this new programme, named Erasmus for All (!), will be increased, key elements of the current programme will not continue to exist or only on a very low scale.

Final decisions about the new programme will be made in early summer 2012. This means that there is time now for youth organisations on the international and national level to lobby for a better programme for young people that also supports non-formal education and values of active citizenship and participation! Therefore, EYCE calls you as member organisations to use your network, contacts and energy to lobby for an independent Youth in Action Programme 2.0 (2014-2020)!

We know that many of you are small organisations, but we ask you to cooperate with national youth councils and other youth organisations in your country to approach your governments, ministers of youth and education and other relevant actors on national level, as well as members of the European Parliament from your countries/ regions and ask them to support an independent YiA programme with adequate funding for youth work!

However, it is also important to try to address your governments and MEP’s through your churches, as they can advocate for young people and are often listened to by governments. EYCE will do its best on the international level, but WE NEED ALL OF YOU to support this work, as it is not only a question of national interest, but of European solidarity and equal participation!

Please let us know about your actions and support that you can give! Even if your member organisation is outside the EU, you can still support youth organisations in other countries and your contacts to churches and institutions in other countries can be of use also to them!

We will keep you updated on developments regarding the process! Let us stand strong together for the future of young people and youth organisations!

You can find more information on the new proposal of the European Commission here:
Campaign of the European Youth Forum:

http://www.whereareyouthgoing.eu/background-docs/

https://www.facebook.com/whereareyouthgoing

Website of the European Commission:

http://ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus-for-all/

Enjoy leafing through the Leaf below!

…or you can download the file in a .pdf format here.

The 38th General Meeting of the Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe took place from 17th – 23rd of October 2011 in Höchst (Odenwald), Germany, and brought together more than 40 young people as delegates, guests and stewards to the General Meeting.

The General Meeting was hosted by EYCE’s Geman Member Organisation Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Evangelischen Jugend in Deutschland e.V. (aej) and Evangelische Jugend in Hessen und Nassau e.V.. EYCE is deeply grateful for the support, care and endless energy invested in welcoming delegates and guests of EYCE’s 38th General Meeting.

We would like to express special gratefulness to the stewards during the General Meeting – Dorothea Gillmeister, Julius Günther, Vera Kockler, Matthias Roth and Theresa Seubold.

During the 38th General Meeting Executive Committee elections took place and the following people have been elected to the EYCE Executive Committee – Catharina Covolo (Lutheran, Germany) as the Chairperson, Adriana Florea (Lutheran, Romania) as the Vice-Chairperson and Sini Tyvi (Lutheran, Finland) as the Treasurer, as well as Andrea Aprile (Baptist, Italy), Benjamin Mlýnek (Hussite, Czech Republic), Zofia Kozlowska-Socha (Baptist, Poland) and Slavi Spasov (Orthodox, Bulgaria). We warmly welcome the newly elected ExCo members to the EYCE community and wish many blessings for the term they will serve for EYCE.

EYCE would also like to thank the Executive Committee members, who will not continue their work with the council – Pavlina Buzkova, Inka Manninen and Gunnfridur Tomasdottir, for their commitment to EYCE and all the work they have done during their term with EYCE! We wish all the best for their future and activities outside of EYCE!

EYCE was happy to welcome many guests to its 38th General Meeting, especially from the organisations in close partnership with EYCE, such as the Forum of Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO) and the World Student Christian Federation Europe (WSCF-E), as well as potential cooperation partners – European Methodist Youth and Children (EYMC). We would like to thank all the guests for their presence during the 38th General Meeting and for their essential contribution to the content of EYCE’s work!

During the day in Frankfurt the delegates and guests could experience an alternative guided tour in Frankfurt, highlighting various aspects of EYCE’s work present in Frankfurt, such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, social injustice and human trafficking. At the reception in Jugend und Kulturkirche Sankt Peter (St. Peter Youth and Culture Church), organised by Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Evangelischen Jugend in Deutschland e.V. (aej) and Evangelische Jugend in Hessen und Nassau e.V., many guests from the regional church and politics were present.

After the fruitful cooperation of more than a year in organising EYCE events, especially the summer training in Lithuania in 2010, EYCE is warmly welcoming its new member to its family – the Youth Centre of Evangelical Luheran Church of Lithuania. EYCE will be enriched by the contribution of the Youth Centre to the programme of EYCE!

During the week of the General Meeting the thematic work of the past two years was evaluated and the upcoming work planned. Besides the EYCE Campaign to Promote Ecological Justice, a special focus was set on the continuation of EYCE’s interreligious work, as well as various aspects of ecumenical leadership training. The active involvement and cooperation between the Member Organisations was highlighted, especially in the work of the campaign and in enhancing the visibility of EYCE.

EYCE is looking forward to the new challenges and new commitments in its work, especially through stronger commitment and contribution by its Member Organisations!

Together with EYCE’s Belgian member organisation SPJ, EYCE contributed to the Convention with its stand and workshops about ecological justice. This contribution took place in the framework of EYCE’s current Campaign to Promote Ecological Justice. EYCE proposed a survey to visitors at the stand . They were asked to answer why they thought that ecological issues are a matter of justice, by putting a cork in a jar corresponding to their answer.

For EYCE, Convention was a good opportunity to promote its activities and in particular the current campaign on ecological justice. In addition, EYCE networked with many of its partners during the Convention and was able to define new projects in the field of European Youth Politics.

To raise the awareness of visitors on ecological issues, EYCE offered at its stand a photo exhibition, and distributed leaflets about the campaign. Visitors interested by the topic could sign in the mailing list to receive the newsletters and become part of the pool of interested people.

EYCE also provided visitors with awareness raising materials, such as fair trade Brazilian bracelets and organic and fair trade cotton t-shirts. Four workshops were also organised by the EYCE team during the two days of the Convention.

EYCE would like to take this opportunity and warmly thank the European Youth Forum and their volunteers for their great support in organising this Convention!

For more information on the Youth Convention on Volunteering or the work of EYCE, contact Kristine Jansone, EYCE General Secretary, on general.secretary@eyce.org or +32 2 510 6171.

Sunny greetings from Brussels! We hope this finds you enjoying the summer!
From 7th – 11th September 2011 EYCE will take part in the Second Youth Convention on Volunteering. Among other activities of EYCE thematically linked to the Campaign to Promote Ecological Justice, a photograph exhibition and an interactive survey for the participants related to the photographs will take place. The photo exhibition will be conceptual and aims at displaying thought provoking images, linked to ecological and social justice, which would trigger and challenge the thinking of the viewer and raise awareness of the multiple aspects of ecological justice. Why are ecological matters an issue of justice? What are the links of climate change and ecology with economic justice, social equality, poverty, education? Why is it important to understand those links?

Therefore, EYCE is currently collecting pictures to be displayed at this exhibition! If you are a photographer and have pictures showing the matters of ecological justice in stock and if you are interested in seeing your work exhibited, we will be happy to receive your photographs!

The photographs should be:
- black/white or colour
- high resolution (at least 600 dpi)
- having a title (optional)

The photographs should be sent:
- to: campaign@eyce.org
- by the 21st of August 2011

The Campaign Coordination Team will select 30 of your works to be exhibited during the Second Youth Convention on Volunteering!

We are counting on you and looking forward to the beautiful pictures you’re all going to send!

Campaign Coordination Team

EYCE would like to take this opportunity and warmly thank Nataliya Pylypiv and Katerina Vintonyak for their great support in organising this training course!