How is it possible to actively fashion group processes? How does intercultural learning work? Which leadership styles are there? How does good conflict management look like? Questions like these have been on the mind of the future workcamp leaders for the past 5 days at the DGB youth educational centre in Hattingen. In roleplaying, and with lots of connection to practice, but also in theoretical units, the youth work professionals got to know methods, which might make their everyday life in international youth work easier.

“Youths from three countries with sometimes very different personal and cultural backgrounds take part in each of our workcamps”, said project officer Katharina Teiting, who coordinates the funding programmes ewoca³ and ewoca³(+) for the International Association for Education and Exchange (IBB e.V.). “In some cases, they do not even speak a common language. The team members come from the three participating countries as well, and bring very different experiences to the table. With the right organisation and fitting methods, this diversity is not a hurdle, but the greatest strength of our projects. Europe is as diverse as our workcamps.”

ewoca³ and ewoca³(+) are funding programmes of IBB e.V. for youth work insitutions to support international youth encounters. The concept is based on the idea of invitation and counterinvitation: Youths from three countries implement a total of three international workcamps in the course of three years – one in each country. In doing so, they collaborate to realise a sustainable project at the location.

ewoca³ is funded by the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Stiftung Mercator. The programme enables twelve project partnerships with participation from youth work organisations from North Rhine-Westphalia. ewoca³(+) is funded by the Innovation Fund within the Federal Government’s children and youth plan. Within the framework of this programme, another three youth work organisations from Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia, together with their international partners, can develop and implement their own innovative workcamp concept.

Photos from the workcamp leader training 2015 in Hattingen/Germany:

The 45 international youth encounters from 2015 to 2017 are made possible by the funding programmes ewoca³ and ewoca³(+). The name ewoca³ means “European Workcamps”. The concept: Three international youth work institutions from three countries collaborate for three years, to realise three workcamp projects together. The project, already in its third programme phase, is continuing to grow: In total 15 such partnerships for the years 2015 to 2017 have been formed within the ewoca³ network.

“ewoca³ connects people from many different countries and gives them the opportunity to work on exciting European projects together”, says Ute Schäfer, Federal State Secretary for Family Affairs, Children, Youth, Culture and Sports of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the occasion of the event at Dortmunder U, Centre for Art and Culture. “A strong and durable network has developed – not just here in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also between the international organisations. This significantly develops the structures of international youth work. I very much welcome the fact, that young people with special support needs are explicitly included. Every youth has valuable talents. ewoca³ makes an important contribution to the development of these talents”, Schäfer continues.

The ecological, cultural and social projects, which the partners have planned are very diverse: The ideas range from building an intercultural garden and working with refugees to the refurbishment of a truck into a mobile youth centre for young people in Siberia.

“It is good to see, how much dedication for the idea of a united and peaceful Europe is exhibited by the youths”, says Matthias C. Tümpel, Chairman of the International Association for Education and Exchange (IBB e.V.) in Dortmund. “With partner groups not just from the EU, but also from Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus we overcome boundaries together. And I am very happy to see the program being further developed in additional Federal States in Germany.”

Within the framework of the funding programme ewoca³, IBB e.V. already supported and realised a total of 72 trinational youth encounters in collaboration with youth work institutions from North Rhine-Westphalia over the last six years. From 2015 on, ewoca³(+) brings youth work institutions from Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia into the network. This is made possible through funding by the innovation fund of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in the years 2015 and 2016.