Call for participants | WP 2025 RAISE – Resilience And Integration for Sustainable European peace | International Training on LGBTQI+Youth and Peace – 20th to 26th of July I Warsaw, Poland

 

The Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) is organising a series of training activities, as part of JEF’s 2025 Work Plan, co-supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe and CERV programme from European Commission. These activities are carried out in the framework of the RAISE project,  which aims at contributing to spreading awareness about positive peace and expanding its lenses through the perspectives of young people who are part of the LGBTQI+ community and/or women*. The RAISE project is supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

About the RAISE project and  the Capacity Building Training on LGBTQI+ Youth and Peace in Poland

The RAISE project aligns with JEF Europe’s ongoing goal of contributing to the achievement of sustainable positive peace in Europe. The Council of Europe distinguishes two types of peace: negative and positive. Negative peace refers to the absence of war or violent conflict, while positive peace involves not only the absence of violence but also equity, justice, and development. Galtung’s theory highlights that peace is more than just the absence of war, as issues like psychological violence, repression, and injustice persist without positive peace. Achieving positive peace requires full access to rights for all people, yet many, even in Europe, lack access to both negative and positive peace. However, groups such as women* and the LGBTQI+ community have shown resilience in advocating for positive peace, building strong communities despite discrimination and violence.

RAISE project seeks to explore the contributions of women* and LGBTQI+ people, particularly young individuals, to positive peace. The objectives of the project aim to empower young people with the skills to promote positive peace through active participation in intercultural dialogue, peace-building, and conflict transformation. It focuses on providing knowledge of positive and negative peace from the perspectives of these groups and encourages practical local actions, such as campaigns and educational activities, to promote peace. The project also seeks to foster transnational dialogue and collaboration among youth from diverse backgrounds to support positive peace. 

The output of RAISE will include a comprehensive Peace Lesson Plan on Positive Peace to encourage JEFers and youth across Europe  to foster positive peace.

About the Capacity Building Training on LGBTQI+ Youth and Peace

The Capacity Building Training on LGBTQI+ Youth and Peace will mark the second training of the Work Plan 2025. The training will focus on the role that LGBTQI+ play in the promotion and maintenance of positive peace. Participants will learn how LGBTQI+ Youth contributes to building more resilient societies in times of conflict, and how they have a prominent role in fostering positive peace, which often remains unrecognised. Participants will also learn the difference between positive and negative peace, and the needs of LGBTQI+ Youth who advocate for peaceful communities. This activity will allow participants to come together and learn about these topics, while gaining skills and competences to then implement the local actions foreseen by activity three around the topic LGBTQI+ Youth promoting positive peace. Participants will also be invited to contribute to the RAISE Peace Lesson Plan on Positive Peace.

The main objectives of this training are the following:

• Participants will understand the concepts of positive and negative peace, explore structural violence as a root cause of conflicts
• Participants will examine international measures, policies, and instruments linking peace and human rights (such as the CoE’s Resolution 2378 (2021)) integrating the views of young women* in these frameworks.
• Participants will explore the specific challenges LGBTQI+ Youth face in conflict contexts, their contributions to building resilient societies, and their role in promoting peace-oriented societal attitudes.
• Participants will develop the skills needed to take action for positive peace while collaborating with youth from diverse backgrounds.
• Participants will create action plans for local or regional implementation that could be organised as follow-up activities (as part of activity 3 of the RAISE project).

The sessions will be facilitated by 3 professional trainers (1 junior and 2 senior trainers) with expertise in non-formal education, peace education, LGBTQI+ rights and youth activism.

Your profile

• You must be resident in one of the Council of Europe Countries.
• You must be able to work and fluently communicate in English.
• You must be between 18 – 30 years old.
• You must show interest in the topic of peace and women’s rights and show commitments to contribute to all training activities and their outputs.
• You must be able to arrive at the training space at latest on Sunday 20th of  July 2025 and be available to attend all training sessions between Monday 21st and Friday 25th of July 2025. 26th of July will be a travelling day.

What we are offering

• A five-day training event (with arrival on Sunday 20th July and departure on Saturday 26th of July 2025) in Warsaw, Poland.
• Accommodation and food expenses covered for the whole training. 
• Travel reimbursement up to 200-250 euros. – Please note that you will need to purchase your own tickets and arrange your own travel to the training location. A reimbursement form as well as a copy of invoices and travel tickets will need to be submitted to JEF Europe after the training. The reimbursement will be processed within 1 to 2 months following the submission of reimbursement forms. 
• Visa cost – Please note that you will be responsible for handling your own visa procedure. Reimbursement will be processed after the training, upon receipt of invoices and confirmation of your attendance. The reimbursement will be processed within 1 to 2 months following the training. 
• An unique opportunity to learn about peacebuilding and resilience and to know how to be strongly active in these topics.
• A networking opportunity with young people working in different sectors.
• Becoming part of an engaging and dynamic pool of participants from all over Europe, focusing on promoting positive peace throughout Europe and beyond.

Fee and finances

• The participation fee is 45 euros.  We understand budgets are tight for young people all around Europe at the moment, and we will gladly consider your application to JEF’s Solidarity Fund for fee-free participation. In order to apply for it, you should state it in your application and we will get back to you. Be aware that this opportunity is only available for a few participants and thus be very specific in your motivation as to why you are applying for the Solidarity Fund. It is especially meant for young people coming from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Should you want to apply for this fund, please duly justify it on the application form. Please note that the Solidarity Fund is available for a limited number of participants.
• The travel and visa reimbursement will proceed after the event once we have received all relevant tickets and receipts (by email and physically in our office) and only if you have attended all sessions of the training. 
• If pre-selected, you will have 1 week after you were notified to pay your participant fees. Instructions on how to pay them will be sent to all pre selected participants. 

How to apply?

Please apply by completing the application webform: https://forms.gle/dcYrVz1ZrStvSJAt9

The deadline to apply is Thursday 10th of July. If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to sg@jef.eu.