What happens when around 130 young people from nine different countries come together to discuss their perspectives, fears and needs in relation to the current challenges facing Europe? What happens when young adults from a wide range of cultures and realities come together for a week to find answers to global and social issues? At the 6th European Youth Forum Trogen (EYFT), young people sought joint solutions at the Pestalozzi Children's Village.
"Gdzie jest serwowany lunch?", "Our workshop starts in five minutes", "Kad tas turpināsies?". For a week, a wide variety of languages were spoken at the Pestalozzi Children's Village - even more than usual. Young people from all over Europe came together at the Pestalozzi Children's Village and took part in various workshops to discuss the future of Europe in depth. In keeping with the motto of the European Youth Forum Trogen: The Future of Europe.
Delegations from nine countries came together for the sixth edition of the EYFT: Hungary, Latvia, Croatia, Kosovo, Poland, Turkey, Germany, Ukraine and Switzerland, including participants from the Kantonsschule Trogen. The young people aged between 16 and 20 spent a week together, living in the houses of the children's village and taking part in workshops on current topics such as the climate crisis, peace, conflict resolution and democracy building.
Co-determination takes centre stage
In the "Truth and Media" workshop, the young adults discussed the opportunities and dangers of media use. To demonstrate responsible media use, they produced their own news reports, which were broadcast on the internal radio station "powerup_radio". In "Designing our Future", the most creative minds modelled new concepts and suggestions for improvement, for example for the Children's Village. While the "Agents of Change" aimed to bring about social change, the participants in the "It starts with us" workshop focussed on conflict-free coexistence.
Although the workshops covered different topics, participation and co-determination were at the centre of all projects. Participants contributed their own ideas in advance and representatives discussed current concerns and challenges during the EYFT. This promoted democratic processes and active interactions in the spirit of a pluralistic society.
From dances and aeroplanes
In addition to the workshops, the young people also developed their own programme on two afternoons. Whether it was breakdancing, traditional dances or discussions in the open space, the participants always had the opportunity to exchange ideas with other delegations and gain individual experiences. Further intercultural exchange took place at joint dinners, in the open youth centre or during a day trip to St. Gallen.
"I find it really impressive how quickly we have become a family that cleans the house together, eats together, spends time together, plays games, listens to music and simply does what makes them happy," said Nik with shining eyes. "I was able to learn how easy it is to build bridges between people and different nationalities," he adds, "and learn more about what everyday life is like in other countries." And that it was nice for him to see a passing aeroplane in Trogen again, because it reminded him of carefree times.
A moving conclusion
Since the Youthworker Forum (YWF) was taking place in Trogen at the same time, youth workers from various countries accompanied the delegations and supported the teachers during the EYFT. In this way, additional knowledge and experience was exchanged between the professionals. At the same time, the YWF offered the youth workers the opportunity to network internationally and to assess the professional work of the Pestalozzi Children's Village from a professional perspective.
At the end of the week, the young people presented their findings to an audience. The impact of the EYFT quickly became clear in front of the assembled team: the individual performances and presentations were cheered, applauded and diligently documented with smartphones. The results of the individual workshops were just as varied as the workshops themselves. They all had something in common: the enthusiasm and commitment of the young people, who shared their creative and constructive ideas with great passion and dedication in their presentations.
The final exhibition of the project work in the school building marked the end of the 6th European Youth Forum - with many encounters, exchanged contacts and warm farewells. Nik also smiled: "It's difficult to put into words what has happened this week. There is certainly still a lot to do, but I definitely won't forget this week in a hurry."