The XXIV General Assembly (GA) of the ICYE Federation was held from 21 thru 26 November 2005, in Parc d’Olhain, Houdain, France. It was attended by 64 participants, including representatives of ICYE partner organisations in Ecuador, Estonia, Poland, Spain and USA.
For more information about the XXII ICYE General Assembly please contact the ICYE International Office at icye@icye.org.
EU SEE Study Visit to Macedonia and Albania/Skopje, Bitola, Ohrid, Struga, Pogradec, Tirana/ 19-25 September 2005
The study visit, supported by the Youth Programme of the European Union, was an activity implemented by the International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE) in cooperation with the Macedonian and Albanian partner organisations: YCS, YMCA Macedonia, Youth Forum EYE Struga (Macedonia) and Albanian Society in Development (ASD). It aimed at enhancing the co-operation on youth work and youth policy between EU countries youth workers and Albanian and Macedonian representatives of youth NGOs, voluntary service organisations, public institutions and local authorities, with a particular focus on youth exchange and voluntary service opportunities provided by the EU YOUTH programme. By organising an itinerant study visit in the above mentioned countries and involving youth from different ethnic, religious and social backgrounds, the project provided participants with a safe space for dialogue as well as intercultural learning opportunities.
Training course for youth worker in EU and SEE countries/Berlin, Germany/8-13 June 2005
The main aim of this training course was to enhance young people’s participation, leadership skills and their engagement in civil society by providing a common training and networking opportunity to representatives of voluntary organisations and NGO’s and agencies active in civic education and youth participation programmes. Given the complexity of issues affecting young people and civil society in EU and SEE countries, this training course was needed to prepare the ground for future theme-related European Voluntary Service projects between the two regions. Both the training and the exchange of young volunteers aimed at supporting the work of respective host projects in promoting youth active citizenship as well as demonstrating the need and potential for cooperation in an European context.
EVS project in EU and CIS countries ( Armenia, Russian Federation and Ukraine)
14 long-term volunteer placements from September 2004 to May 2005
The objective of this multilateral EVS project was to enhance the participation of CIS countries, namely Armenia, Russian Federation and Ukraine, in long term voluntary service projects and further articulate the experience acquired by the ICYE partners. The 14 young volunteers engaged in a range of quite different local hosting projects dealing with disadvantaged youth and children, ranging from orphanages, disabled care centres and schools to youth centres and initiatives, where volunteerism definitely brought an added value to the local communities.
EVS Project in Eu-SEE countries (Bosnia and Heryegovina, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Serbia and Montegro)
15 long-term volunteer placements from June 2004 to March 2005
This project was the third and final phase of a series of projects titled “YOUTH AND EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY” promoting voluntary service activities as a tool for young people to work for solidarity, respect of human rights and reconciliation in EU and Balkan countries and to contribute to the development of civil society. The project empowered NGOs in EU and SEE countries to network and engage in multiple partnerships working on the theme Refugees, Human Rights and Reconciliation.
Training course for youth workers/Minsk, Belarus/3-9 March 2005
Representatives of youth organisations from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, England, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine, participated in a training course on partnership building and project management to further stimulate the development of theme related EU – EECA (Eastern Europe and Caucasus) volunteer and youth exchange projects under the YOUTH Programme of the European Commission. The course focused on capacity building, transfer of know-how on partnership-building and project management, and cooperation in social inclusion projects, dealing with empowerment of youth with less opportunities.
