EYCE Newsletter #12: Celebrating EYCE's 50th anniversary

“In thankfulness I gain a proper relationship to my past; in thankfulness the past becomes fruitful for the present.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945

Dear reader,

50 years is a long time. 50 years ago the iron curtain divided Europe and the world. 50 years ago approx. 600 mio. people watched the first ever manned landing on the Moon on TV. 50 years ago the Beatles played their very last public concert.

And 50 years ago in October the first EYCE General Meeting was held in Sweden.

EYCE was founded in already in 1968 and its roots go back to just after World War II. In 1948, the World Council of Churches (WCC) began to organise annual meetings for those responsible for ecumenical youth work in the different countries of Europe. 1968 was a special year for youth and students throughout the world – these youth leaders decided to found their own organisation, later known as the Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe.

EYCE turns 50 and this is why this year's General Meeting is going to be a special one. It is going to look back on five decades of EYCE and work out how the past can be fruitful for the present and the future.

We don't want to do that alone. We want to invite everyone who is or has been involved in EYCE in the past or today to join the Alumni meeting at the occasion of the 50th anniversary. This Alumni Meeting is going to take place on the weekend of the General Meeting. There will be celebrations, debates, old and new friends, ecumenical service, stories and pictures from 5 decades of EYCE, food and drinks, memories, and so much more…

Key facts

• When: 18-20 October 2019

• Where: Schwanenwerder Gästehaus and evangelische Patmos-Gemeinde, Berlin, Germany

Please find the full invitation here.

If you haven't registered, yet, we kindly invite you to do so here by 15 August 2019.

We are very much looking forward to seeing you in Berlin.

In Christ,

EYCE Executive Committee and Alumni Meeting preparation team

Alumni Meeting Overview

This is already the second Alumni Meeting. We already had a very small one in 2015 alongside the General Meeting in Finland. Back then, the idea came up to organise something bigger for the 50th anniversary and here we go.

We openly invite everybody who was active in the EYCE some time between October 1969 and now.

Whether you were a participant in an EYCE event, volunteer at a workcamp, member of the Executive Committee, serving as a National Correspondent, as General Secretary or volunteer at the office- you are warmly welcome!

Alumni Meeting Programme

The Alumni meeting starts on Friday evening, 18 October 2019. For early arrivers we have arranged an ecumenical and sightseeing programme during the day in downtown Berlin. It will start with a light lunch between 12 and 1pm.

In the evening there will be the official opening as well as an international banquet, a very popular EYCE tradition.

On Saturday during the day we have planned sessions that are looking back into five decades of EYCE history but also focus on EYCE today and its role in the future.

In the evening we have the official anniversary celebrations with presentations, photos and music as well as plenty of food and drinks.

On Sunday we celebrate an ecumenical service together with the Patmos congregation in Berlin to close the Alumni Meeting.

Find out more here.

Alumni Meeting Registration

If you wish to take part in the Alumni Meeting please register as soon as possible, the latest by 15 August 2019. An early registration facilitates calculating the number of participants and allows us to move forward with the planning.

The registration fee will cover the costs of board and lodging as well as the program. In order to allow as many Alumni as possible to participate, we request that you choose a contribution between 50 and 150 Euros (the approximate cost per person will be around 100 Euros). Please note that there is no funding available to reimburse travel expenses.

42nd General Meeting 2019

The General Meeting of EYCE will take place from 16 to 20 October 2019 in Berlin, Germany.

The General Meeting is the highest decision-making body of our organisation, where delegates of our Member Organisations meet to discuss and decide about EYCE’s future priorities. It is convened every second year.

The invitation to the General Meeting has been sent out to our Member Organisations using the known e-mail contacts. If your Member Organisation has not received the invitation, kindly reach out to gm@eyce.org indicating which Member you represent.

Follow EYCE on Facebook and Twitter!

You can follow the work of EYCE also on Facebook or Twitter - check out and like Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe or follow Ecumenical Youth. This will help us to build more visibility for our work, as well as more credibility with the donors supporting us. Thank you!