For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremia 29:11

Dear friend,

Welcome to the May newsletter of the EYCE. As we continue to celebrate the easter joy of Christ’s death and resurrection, we are strong in our hopes for a better world.

We pray for the people of Ukraine who continue to face war, the people of Turkey who still recover from the earthquake early this year and have a challenging second presidential election ahead. Our prayers are with everybody who aims for peace and democracy all over the world. It is the hope, the joy and faith in the Resurrection that helps us find hope and strength in the dark and disheartening events we see around. Stay with us in the struggle for a world in the Image of God as we all take our small parts.

Thank you for being with us, for keeping us in your prayers and for everybody who takes part in our activities and events.

Yours in Christ,

EYCE Executive Committee

EYCE Online event on 24th May at 18:00 CET - Life under the occupation: Human Rights and Christians in Palestine

 What is going on in Palestine and Israel? Do you want to hear about the life of the Palestinian Christians under the occupation? Have you ever heard of Ecumenical Accompaniers?

You are warmly welcome to our Online event about life under the occupation in Palestine. You will hear about the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, a programme which has been promoting a just peace and providing the international presence and called for the implementation of human rights and international law at the area for over 20 years. The event will hold place on Wednesday, 24 May at 18:00 CEST in Zoom. 

You can register here.

In this online event you will meet the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme's Local Programme Coordinator from Jerusalem and hear the experiences from the former Ecumenical Accompanier.

ECEN - Call for Participants 

The Assembly of the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) will take place on 31 August - 3 September 2023 in Denmark at Sankt Joergenbjerg Church Roskilde, Denmark. 

The theme is “Every Part of Creation Matters.” Sessions will focus on eco-theology, biodiversity, assessment of EU policy on climate change, and the future of ECEN. We are looking for interested participants to attend the Assembly. If you are also interested in participating in the ECEN Assembly, please contact Spyridoula at spyridoula@eyce.org. 

Learn more about the Assembly here: http://ecen.org/assemblies/register-now-ecen-assembly-2023

Save the date! 45th General Meeting 24th to 27th of August 2023

We are happy to announce that we were invited by the Polish Ecumenical Council‘s Youth Commission to hold the next General Meeting in Poland. Each Member Organisation is invited to send up to 2 Delegates to participate in the General Meeting. The official invitation will follow in the next days. Please have in mind that we will have our regular election of the Executive Committee. Together with the invitation we will send you a call to share within your networks with possible candidates.

Joint Seminar on Cyberspace as a Means to Decrease Terrorism and Increase the Peace Index: The role of Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB), Youth Perspectives from the EU and the Kingdom of Bahrain 

The seminar took place in Brussels from 7-9 February. Spyridoula attended as a representative of EYCE and was joined by friends from WSCF-E. The seminar included a visit to the European Parliament and a talk from a Member of the European Parliament, who gave an overview of their work and the role of the various European institutions based in Brussels. We as participants were introduced to the topic and given different issues to work on and draft policy recommendations. The next day we shared these recommendations face to face with policymakers.

As a personal reflection, the seminar was eye opening to learn about the perspectives of young people from the Kingdom of Bahrain and the EU on the issues of FoRB. It was also fascinating to learn about the policy process within the EU and the differences in the Kingdom of Bahrain. 

Second EU-Bahrain Conference on Freedom of Religion and Belief in May in Manama/Bahrain

Five young people from Norway, Germany, Finland and Spain participated early this month in the second conference and were as EYCE's delegation part of an around 40-people-strong delegation of youth from Europe, representing almost all of the 27 EU-member-states and beyond.

In course of the conference it got clear once more that the struggle for Freedom of Religion and Belief is not an easy one and ongoing. It was a great chance to connect the forces with others around Europe and the Gulf region to continue in this issue.

Reflections on the European Year of Youth 

The European Commission declared 2022 as European Year of Youth. On this occasion, the Conference of European Churches (CEC) together with the Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe (EYCE) and the World Student Christian Federation, Europe region (WSCF-Europe) have collected young voices about Christian life in Europe and about the importance and needs of ecumenical organisations. In a year that has been shaped by war, inflation, anxiety and the effects of multiple crises, they reflect about what gives them strength. Find the text here on our homepage.

 Questions and Office