MEET UP! Youth for Partnership
© Gio Matchavariani
© Gio Matchavariani
The funding program strengthens the international youth exchange between Germany and the countries of the Eastern Partnership: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Funding is provided especially for international youth exchange projects, training of professionals and participation of young people.
Project applications are currently not being accepted.
Conference "Power of Youth"
© Gio Matchavariani
In September 2022, the MEET UP! Youth conference took place in Tbilisi, Georgia. Fifty-three young people aged 18-35 from Germany, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine discussed current issues facing their generation. The aim was to strengthen their commitment and provide a platform for exchange and inspiration. Over the course of four days, there were workshops, excursions, project visits, discussions and Open Space moderation on the topics of cultures of remembrance, LGBTIQ rights, youth commitment and international project work.
In addition to the young people from Germany and the countries of the Eastern Partnership, youth organizations from different countries became involved and designed the program content.
Youth participation is an important approach in the various programs of the EVZ Foundation, especially in “MEET UP! Youth for Partnership.” The main goal is to develop projects and activities not only for, but also with young people. Youth conference attendees were allowed to participate in decision-making and planning: they supported the implementation, brought in experts for the program or took over sessions.
Funding period: MEET UP! Youth Conference “Power of Youth” September 2022
MEET UP! Youth for Partnership program: 2021 to 2023
Project amount: 75,500 euros
Funding countries: Germany, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine
Websites:
MEET UP! program: www.stiftung-evz.de/en/meetup
Conference Blog: www.stiftung-evz.de/meetup-blog
Participants gardening in an urban garden
© Inna Gordeeva
The consequences of climate change on urban areas have mental and health impacts. Increasing urbanization and its associated densification, sealing, and emissions are major contributors, making cities less liveable. The project addresses the causes and consequences of climate change through urban concepts and encourages young people to establish open spaces and green spaces through approaches such as urban gardening.
Together with trainers and mentors, young people from Belarus, Germany, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine engage in hybrid encounters with green solutions, both theoretically and practically, and learn how they can participate in the development of sustainable urban concepts. The results are summarized in a guide for green commitment and co-design.
The Foundation funds the project because, by addressing the issues of sustainable development, it empowers young people to get involved in their local communities to improve living conditions in urban areas.
Duration of the project: March to December 2022
Project sponsor: NGO Eco Misto Chernihiv, Ukraine
Funding countries: Germany, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine
Group picture of the participants
© Grigor Yeritsyan
A historical event or personality is commemorated in various ways, for example in the form of monuments and memorial sites. But remembrance is not always cemented for eternity. For in the course of time, perspectives change and, for example, places of crime are hidden, demolished, destroyed, so that their significance fades over time and with it the remembrance. The project aims to uncover repressed remembrance and analyze the forms of remembrance through personal interpretation by young people.
Eighteen young participants from Armenia and Germany are exploring the theme of forbidden and forgotten memories using artistic methods. The project pursues the participatory approach of letting the participants themselves choose the medium and the form of creative presentation of the results. The works will be featured in a publication and presented in an exhibition.
The Foundation funds the project because of its participatory approach and its focus on the culture of remembrance. The young people learn to examine history and its interpretation critically and find emotional and creative approaches to the subject through artistic means.
Duration of the project: May to December 2022
Project sponsor: Haytun - Armenischer Kulturverein Dresden e.V., Germany
Funding countries: Armenia, Germany
Participants in conversation
© Meritxell Casanova
The central theme of the project is funding the culture of remembrance in combination with role-playing as a method of conveying historical events. This approach allows participants to experience historical facts much more closely than when they hear, read or watch a film on the subject. Witnessing an experience changes the way it is perceived and interpreted. Participants can act out scenarios and try to predict possible developments.
28 project participants from Germany (including Ukrainian refugees living in Germany) and the Republic of Moldova learn about live-action role-playing as an educational method. During two encounters, they develop their own role-plays with a focus on the culture of remembrance, test them and work on the distribution of the results. Moreover, the project will also produce a digital publication in four languages (German, English, Romanian and Ukrainian) with ready-to-play scenarios, which will be used in educational institutions.
The Foundation funds the project because it promises a good combination of the content-related examination of the topic of the culture of remembrance and the innovative approaches. By modeling and reconstructing historical events, young people have the opportunity to analyze past events and their impact on a personal, national and global level and to understand historical events through their own experiences.
Duration of the project: May to December 2022
Project sponsor: CHANCE - Bildung, Jugend und Sport BJS gGmbH, Germany
Funding countries: Germany, Republic of Moldova
Project Website: this way!
Senior Project Manager
Tel.: +49 (0)30 25 92 97-35
E-Mail: ghazinyan@stiftung-evz.de
