Exciting Start into 2025: A Year of Collaboration and Growth

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16. Apr.
3 Min. Lesezeit

Q1 2025 Recap

We kicked off the year with a dynamic online event—thank you to all our partner organizations for joining us and contributing to the discussions! It was a great opportunity to introduce our plans for 2025 and, of course, have some fun along the way!

What’s New in 2025?

This year, we’re launching working groups at GBYEN! Partner organizations will be grouped based on shared interests, expertise, and fields of engagement, working together to develop joint projects in their respective areas.

Several working groups took their first steps toward exciting initiatives:

A Sustainability Group will develop training sessions on sustainable behavior.
A Security Policy Group will draft a policy paper urging German institutions to create a national civil security information platform, inspired by best practices from Lithuania.
A second Security Group will run workshops on media literacy for elementary school students, tackling disinformation and propaganda on social media.

Stay tuned for the outcomes of these working groups!

GBYEN Spring Meetup 2024 – A Weekend of Connection, Collaboration, and Celebration

From April 3rd to 6th, GBYEN partner organisations came together for an inspiring weekend of networking, collaboration, and fun in Lüneburg.

The event brought together both long-standing and new partners, offering a space to connect, present their organisations and upcoming projects, and co-create fresh ideas for future initiatives.

A central theme of the weekend was how to strengthen engagement within the network and enhance GBYEN’s role as a platform that fosters collaboration, skill-building, and wider outreach for its partners.

Key Takeaways:

Partners can contribute and benefit from each other’s expertise, connections, and event spaces.
There’s great potential in joint fundraising efforts and collaborative project development.
GBYEN acts as a facilitator and connector, enabling mutual support and amplifying partner impact.

Study Visit

We also enjoyed an enriching visit to the Northeast Institute (IKGN e.V.), where we learned about their research, research opportunities for students and explored their publications and the institute’s library.

And Yes, We Danced!

The weekend wasn’t all work. One of the absolute highlights was the German-Baltic Spring Ball in Hamburg. After a single evening of dance lessons, we embraced traditional dances like the Française at the beautiful Logenhaus venue—and did very well!

Thank you to all our participants from Club "The House" - youth for a United Europe, Corps Concordia Rigensis, Deutsch-Baltischer Jugend und Studentenring, Deutsch-Baltische Zukunftsstiftung, Deutsche Gesellschaft e.V., DKI Tartu e. V, Lithuanian Liberal Youth, Sillamäe Society for Child Welfare, Union pour la Nouvelle Génération Africaine & Européenne (UNGAE), Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V., YATA Latvia for their contributions, dedication and creating a great atmoshphere!

Save the Date: German-Baltic Conference (October 16–19)

Looking ahead, don’t miss the GBYEN meeting at the German-Baltic Conference this October. This year’s theme is security, with discussions on how civil society organizations can contribute to security efforts and engage young people in the process. Expect thought-provoking keynotes, engaging panel discussions, and excellent networking opportunities.

Stay up to date with our events and those of our partners—check out the events calendar on our website for the latest information!