Youth Peace Camp in Hungary

The Youth Peace Camps were initiated by the Council of Europe in 2004, in cooperation with Europa Park in Rust, Germany, to bring together young people from conflict regions and to support them in initiating dialogue and cooperation.
In the past years the peace camp project brought together young people (of ages 18-25) from South Caucasus, Middle East, and South East Europe. During the week long Youth Peace Camp, the participants followed an experiential learning process and acquired competences in the fields of intercultural learning, dialogue and conflict transformation within a human rights framework.
Aim
The aim of the Youth Peace Camp is to engage the young people and youth organizations 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 competences (knowledge, skills and attitude) 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 share among participants their personal experiences of conflict and violence and their coping strategies in a positive and safe atmosphere of living and learning together.
To learn from existing youth work practices and experiences of young people working on dialogue and conflict transformation in their home communities.
To motivate and support participants in their role as multipliers and peer leaders in peace building activities with young people encouraging them to implement follow-up initiatives.
To introduce the Council of Europe, in particular its youth sector and its efforts towards strengthening youth work in the field of conflict transformation and intercultural dialogue.
For this year's peace camp, particular attention will be given to the International Day of Peace on 21 September.

Working language
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. During the Youth Peace Camp there will be a few occasions for participants to work in "mother tongue” language.

Eligibility
The 2015 Youth Peace Camp will bring together young people from conflict affected communities from the areas of:
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Kosovo, participants coming from both Albanian, Serbian and other backgrounds
Ukraine
Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia)
The Russian Federation, especially young people directly affected by the crisis with Georgia, and Ukraine
There will be a facilitator affiliated to each of the communities listed above. The group of participants should be balanced in relation to sex and reflect the diversity of their communities. The total number of participants and facilitators expected will be 56.

All participants must:

be aged between 18 and 25 years;
be able to work in English;
be available and fully committed to take part in the Youth Peace Camp project;
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 residential meeting;
possess a sense of responsibility for one’s own actions, a commitment to personal and community development and continue the engagement with other participants in the project;
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;
Costs
Travel expenses: Travel expenses are fully reimbursed upon presentation of the relevant receipts, according to the rules of the Council of Europe. Only the participants who attend the entire Youth Peace Camp may be reimbursed. The payment will be made either by bank transfer after the meeting, or at the end of the meeting in cash (in Euros).
Accommodation: Board and lodging at the seminar will be provided and paid for by the Council of Europe at the European Youth Centre in Budapest.
Visa expenses: The Council of Europe will issue invitation letter for the purpose of gaining visa’s to all participants. Costs related to the acquiring a visa, after being approved by the Council of Europe, will be reimbursed upon presentation of the relevant receipts.