Sustainability

Be-Greifen

Learning from real life

Youths that have taken part in international exchanges develop a better intercultural sensitivity in their further lives. This is the result of many studies. They will have more international friends, are more likely to study abroad and get to know Europe personally. For many of them better job opportunities arise, sometimes even in other countries.

We develop and organise multi-faceted exchange programmes with our partners from a number of European countries. What makes them special is that they connect current topics (e.g. energy transition) with innovative group activities and extraordinary experiences for the participants.

Workcamps

Since its foundation, the IBB supports youth exchanges all over Europe, in order to bring youths into direct contact with other people and to make them experience their different walks of life. Voluntary work in the communities further strengthens the cultural exchange. We integrate such voluntary work projects into our concept accordingly, which furthers our pursuit of developing transnational networks.

Thus, it is not only the workcamp participants, but also the educational staff and other accompanying persons, who get to encounter and to know each other while working together.

Chernobyl....

Through its commitment over many years, the IBB is a major contact point for the remembrance of Chernobyl. The effects of the nuclear catastrophe can still be experienced today and got new urgency by the accident at Fukushima. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the catastrophe at Chernobyl, the IBB organised a travelling exhibition at more than 50 locations in Germany.

The wave of international solidarity created by Chernobyl is a lesser known fact. In 2011 the IBB organised the first International Chernobyl Partnership Congress in Minsk, where more than 400 representatives from international initiatives were invited.

In 2010 the European Chernobyl Network (ECN) was founded in Dortmund. The goal of this network is to allow for societal learning from the nuclear catastrophe through collective remembrance. In 2012 the IBB opened the History Workshop Chernobyl in Kharkiv and organised European weeks of awareness for the first time.

… and the future

The IBB supports the principles of sustainability in educational work and champions a new energy policy.

ewoca³ - a funding programme

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.

Belarus support programme

The support programme is aimed at initiatives in Belarus civil society. It supports projects cooperatively conceptualised and realised by partners from Belarus and Germany.

The projects are oriented toward the focus points

  • Non-formal education
  • Health and social affairs
  • Environment and energy
  • Sustainable regional development.

In parallel to supporting projects, countrywide programmes for the networking of NGOs and for supporting the dialogue with the respective national authorities take place. The acceptance of NGOs increases, and the organisations are taken seriously as partners by the authorities.

The Belarus support programme exists since 2002 and is regularly evaluated by the „Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit“ (Society for International Cooperation). The IBB realises the programme on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

European action weeks ''For a future after Chernobyl and Fukushima''

Through the action weeks, IBB gives a voice to those, whose lives have been changed forever by the catastrophes. The remembrance of Chernobyl and Fukushima is connected with concepts of renewable energy and energy saving. The action weeks take place each year between the 11th of March, the anniversary of Fukushima, and the 26th of April, the anniversary of Chernobyl.

A sustainable energy policy is necessary not just in Germany, but in all of Europe. Thus, the action weeks are organised in cooperation with numerous European organisations, which joined forces to form the European Chernobyl Network (ECN).