Council of Europe inviting Applicants for Youth Peace Camp 2020

Deadline: 3 April 2020

The Youth Peace Camps were initiated by the Council of Europe in 2003 to bring together young people from conflict regions and to support them in initiating dialogue and cooperation.

The Youth Peace Camp engages young people and youth organisations from conflict affected regions in dialogue and conflict transformation activities based on human rights education and intercultural learning during and after the camp.

Objectives

The main objectives (personal, organisational and institutional) of the Youth Peace Camp are:

To develop awareness and basic competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes) of participants in human rights education, conflict transformation, intercultural learning and dialogue, including a critical understanding of personal and collective identities and their role in conflicts.
To enable participants to share personal experiences of conflict and violence and coping strategies in a positive and safe atmosphere of living and learning together.
To motivate and support participants in their role as multipliers and peer leaders in peacebuilding activities with young people.
To prepare projects or follow-up activities by participants and their organisations focusing on confidence-building, dialogue and human rights education.
To promote and share existing youth work practices and experiences of young people working on dialogue and conflict transformation in their home communities.
To strengthen the role of the Council of Europe, in particular through its Youth for Democracy programme, in its efforts towards strengthening youth work in the field of conflict transformation, social cohesion and intercultural dialogue and in the implementation of the approaches of the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015) on Youth, Peace and Security.

Financial and Practical Conditions of Participation

Dates: Participants are expected to arrive on 28 June at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg (France) and to depart on 7 July 2020.
Please note: in view of restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 (corona) virus and depending on how the situation evolves on the European level, changes may occur in the programme of activities of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe. For the moment it is not expected that the Youth Peace Camp will be affected. However, the Secretariat of the Youth Department is closely following the situation and will inform all applicants in due time if needed.
Travel expenses: Travel expenses will be reimbursed upon presentation of the relevant receipts, according to the rules of the Council of Europe. Only the participants who will attend for the entire duration of the camp may be reimbursed. The payment will be made in cash (in euros) during the Camp or optionally by bank transfer after the meeting. Specific travel-related risks will be covered by a CHARTIS insurance policy about which more information will be provided for selected participants.
Visa expenses: The Council of Europe will issue invitation letter for the purpose of obtaining visas to all participants. Costs related to the application for visas will be reimbursed by the Council of Europe, upon presentation of the relevant receipt and after being previously approved.
Accommodation: Full board and lodging at the seminar will be provided and paid for by the Council of Europe at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg.

Educational Team

The educational team consists of a group of facilitators and trainers, including an educational advisor of the European Youth Centre. Altogether, trainers and facilitators are experienced in running similar activities, have direct experience of the regions from where participants come and will be able to communicate with participants in their mother tongue.

Eligibility Criteria

All participants must:
- be aged between 18 and 25 years (exceptions are possible if duly justified);
- be able to work in English;
- be available and fully committed to take part in the Youth Peace Camp;
- be curious, open-minded, appreciate diversity and learn about each other’s realities;
- be motivated to learn and to apply the values and approaches of the Youth Peace Camp, notably human rights, democracy and intercultural dialogue;
- be involved in youth or community projects in their community and be motivated to implement youth initiatives for peace-building following the camp;
- possess a sense of responsibility for one’s own actions, a commitment t
  o personal and community development and continue the engagement with other participants;
- preferably be involved in an organisation or network, institution, formal and/or informal group that is ready to support them throughout the project duration and afterwards when implementing youth initiatives for peace building.
The 2020 Youth Peace Camp will bring together 60 to 70 young people from the following communities:
- Cyprus (Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots)
- Kosovo, participants coming from Albanian, Serbian and other communities
- From both banks of the river Nistru/Dniestr
- South Caucasus, in particular from conflict affected regions and ethnic minorities.
A specific priority will be given to applicants who are or have been displaced as a result of armed conflict (refugees, internally displaced people, migrants, asylum-seekers…).
The group of participants should be balanced in relation to sex and reflect the diversity of their communities. The expected total number of participants and facilitators will be 60 to 70, with an average of 4 to 6 persons from each community present.
The Council of Europe welcomes applications from all candidates who fulfil the specific profile of the activities, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief or sexual orientation.
The working language of the programme will be English. Participants must have sufficient understanding of English in order to comprehend and complete the application form without assistance from another person and to fully and actively take part in the programme.