YIP started as an idea and topic of conversation amongst a diverse international group of young people connected to the Youth Section of the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. The energy and momentum to create YIP kept building and continued to flourish during a variety of youth gatherings and network events. In January 2007, during one of these international youth gatherings in Switzerland, the first draft for the program was designed and a small group committed themselves to taking the initiative from idea into an actionable project.

In June 2008 the first organising team gathered in Järna to prepare themselves, the facilities and the curriculum and in August 2008 the first year of YIP commenced. Since then the program has kept changing and adapting to the needs of participants and the wider community as well as to changing global debates and societal developments.

Each year has been attended by participants from between 15-20 nationalities. In total, YIP has been attended by over 300 participants from over 40 nationalities and all continents. After being operational for many years, YIP is no longer only an innovative educational platform and program, but also a global, and growing network of societal entrepreneurs.

Since the beginning, the organising team has welcomed many and changing members, assistance and volunteers. The frequent change over has made for a fresh, dynamic and diverse group of organisers each program year.

YIP acknowledges that the different identities of the world access the common reality of humanity in different ways. It understands Anthroposophy as one of these ways, but is open to other comprehensive/integral or even specialised views of the world that authentically strive to advance human civilisation.

The term Anthroposophy links the Greek roots Anthropos, human, and Sophia, wisdom. One can translate it as, “The knowledge of the nature of being human.” In these terms, YIP seeks to advance comprehensive sustainable development based on an integral understanding of this ‘nature of being human’ and all its expressions in society.

YIP is committed to a wide-ranging exploration of important issues affecting the human condition and the future of mankind and society. YIP seeks ways to understand the common principles and forces that are active in shaping both self and world, to ensure that the actions directed out of a more integral knowledge/understanding may be for the benefit of sustainable development of both humanity and the planet. It understands Anthroposophy and its practical applications as one of these ways.

Given the above understanding and interpretation, YIP and its organising team consider themselves Anthroposophically inspired.

The program is a response to the call of young people for an educational approach that allowed them to meet the challenges of today’s world from a practical, intellectual, social and emotional perspective while taking into account the value of community and individual autonomy.

YIP provides a platform for young people to expand their global, personal, and relational understanding so they can develop their fullest potential and find their authentic task in society and the world. YIP aims to support young people to become leaders of a new, more sustainable and integral lifestyle and future.

The program bases itself on the integral understanding of the world as one living, interconnected whole in which everything influences everything. This fosters a global and multi-factorial consciousness vital for healthy living today. 

YIP seeks to support young people as they explore this integral understanding of the modern world. It gives the opportunity to study and test entrepreneurial principles and skills and apply these within existing integral initiatives or to create new initiatives that foster this understanding of our interconnectedness. The term societal entrepreneur as used by YIP, does not describe a limited group or profession but rather describes people and initiatives that base their actions on this integral paradigm. Through allowing young people to explore this paradigm shift and with it face and develop themselves and society, YIP seeks to support these young people to become leaders of a new, more sustainable and integrated lifestyle and future.

At the core is a mission to create a highly individualized learning environment that trains and develops personal entrepreneurial capacities while orienting in service of the world’s pressing issues.

Fundamentally, YIP is committed to provide a safe, nurturing and creative “home” for the exploration of deep human questions.

YIP offers an educational platform to young people that has at its core the wish to inspire and support the capacity for initiative in its participants. In order to do this, the program does not demand uniform set outcomes and results but works to embody each unique individual's self-defined aims and objectives. In this way, each participant is encouraged to value their own autonomy and experience their creativity and capacities while taking full responsibility for their learning and their impact in the program and the community. All participants attend the diverse courses offered at YIP but every outcome is unique and highly individual.

This level of freedom calls for high self motivation and independent thinking from participants.

In order to maintain this individualised education, YIP does not receive government funding but is reliant on the grants and donations from organisations and individuals that share the vision and strivings of the program to complement the fees paid by participants. 

In 2008, the International Youth Initiative Program was launched as a response to the call of young people for an educational approach that allowed them to meet the challenges of today’s world from a practical, intellectual, social and emotional perspective while taking into account the value of community and individual autonomy.

The ethos of YIP includes the following:

The program bases itself on the integral understanding of the world as one living, interconnected whole in which everything has an impact/an effect. This fosters a global and multi-factorial consciousness vital for healthy living today. YIP provides opportunity to study and test entrepreneurial principles and skills by applying these within existing initiatives and/or creating new initiatives that foster this understanding of our interconnectedness. The curriculum supports participants to work with interconnection as they move through different course modules that highlight global and interpersonal connection and train project management and facilitation skills that incorporate multiple sectors.

YIP encourages participants to balance their responsibility and freedom in their relationship to the world and awaken their capacity for service to the collective whilst maintaining healthy personal lifestyles and inner resilience. This invites participants into awakening to the balance between their responsibility and freedom in their relationship to themselves, each other, their actions and the world.

YIP recognizes three core “gestures” of the human being : thinking, feeling, and willing. To be truly aware of how we impact and can change the world, we need to act as integrally developed human beings. The “Whole Human Being” principle includes and incorporates the different ways people learn and understand a topic. The process of understanding is not only cognitive and emotional, but also practical. In the core curriculum, all three qualities are given attention.

YIP recognises that the health of the inner life is intimately connected with the health of the outer life, our societal structures and systems. The cycles of inner and outer are used for the overall design of the year (e.g. courses that address the outer challenges of the world are complimented in the afternoons with courses that support the inner development of the individual).

YIP enables participants to experience and celebrate difference and diversity through valuing the complexity of differing perspectives and ways of life. It seeks to develop the capacity to harness the potential of diversity for positive change and to honour the contribution of each unique individual.

Through raising awareness of the impact and creative power of choice, participants are encouraged to activate and use their agency over their behaviour.

This includes their behaviour as a consumer, their social impact as a citizen as well as their mental and emotional choices and habits.

The legal body of YIP is a non profit association registered in Sweden. The association is managed by its board and bound by its statutes.

Every natural and legal person can become a supportive member of the YIP Association, providing it has an active interest in the achievement of the association's’ purpose. The annual membership fee as decided by the Board is currently a minimum of SEK 250 (approximately EUR 25).

You are free to pay more. Any additional money will be registered as a donation to YIP.

Current Board:

Frida Thörn, Isabel Chender, Reinoud Meijer and Rembert Biemond.

YIP is an independent full-time, residential education. It’s legal body is the nonprofit association with the same name as the program.

As an independent adult education, YIP enjoys a tremendous amount of freedom in the design and execution of the curriculum. It also means that it has to be independent financially. In order to keep YIP accessible to as many people as possible, we seek the collaboration and support of a number of foundations and individuals, that share our vision of an autonomous educational platform.

We acknowledge that the fee for attending can be a barrier for people, especially if your local economy is very different from the Swedish one that YIP is situated in. We do our utmost to keep the costs as low as possible.

To give some context for the financial reality YIP is operating in, please check the calculation below.

YIP used to be and still operates very similar to a residential folkhögskola program. In comparison, a Folkhögskola receives approximately SEK 125’000,- per full-time student from the region and state. For a residential program, another SEK 45’000,- is charged to the student. These numbers exclude travel and material costs needed during the course, which are charged separately to the student.

This makes for a rough cost of SEK 180’000 ~ 200’000, - per student.

At YIP, the actual costs are between SEK 125’000,- and 220’000,- per participant depending on the number of participants that are accepted.

The current fee to attend YIP is SEK 125’000, - which includes food, accommodation, materials and a number of travel allowances. This covers approximately 45% - 80% of the actual expenses, depending on the number of participants that are accepted.

The additional costs are fundraised each year by YIP, and depends on grants and donations from individuals and foundations that share our vision of a free and independent educational platform.

We are grateful for the trust, support and collaboration from and with:

Without financial support, YIP would not be possible, or would have to raise its fee to a level where it would become inaccessible for most youth it is seeking to serve.

If you would like to support YIP or the diversity fund financially, please have a look here or get in touch.