Following the gesture of the daylight, the curriculum took an inward and more personal turn. We began exploring our own inner dimensions with less and less distraction from outer events and happenings. This part of the journey in YIP has been much anticipated, and sometimes dreaded, by those attending the program. Then, just as the sun only shows itself for …
YIP Newsletter end of 2016 – Initiative Forum
Seasonal greetings from everyone at YIP9, Here in Ytterjärna we are getting ready to leave Tallevana for the next two months. Firstly we will enjoy a bit of a break, some of us going to see family, friends and also new places. Then we will jet off to our internships! We have had a very busy few months; a lot …
YIP Newsletter December 2016 – Inner quiet; inner flame
Following the autumn break comes the ‘inner block’ for YIP, time to let the darkness turn us inwards, to reflect and to explore the hidden corners, the dimly lit corridors of our souls. We encourage this, as in the past YIP has fought against the seasons, which in Sweden are so strong, only to realise that to breath in and …
YIP Newsletter September 2016 – Landing feet; landing hearts
The locals speak of September as the month of a ‘second summer’, and the late afternoon sunlight streaming through the YIP office windows agrees. Wasps buzz lazily on a light breeze, the apples are all red now and hanging ripe, and the yippies are gathered in the Vita Huset main hall for their final workshop of the day. The weather …
YIP Newsletter August 2016 – It’s that time of year again
It’s that time of year again Here in Ytterjärna the nights are beginning to darken and the apples are turning red. The sun is slowly kissing us goodbye and cool winds herald the arrival of autumn. Here in Ytterjärna there is a curious rhythm that can be observed – the land and the seasons begin their gentle descent into sleep, …
YIP Newsletter June/July 2016 – The Great Wide Open
The epic splash from the twenty-five souls thrown softly into the Järnian pool has long ago been reabsorbed. The ripples, which ebbed and bounced in beautiful arcs and coils for almost a year, have also departed for new horizons. As the pool finds stillness again, the silence that accompanies the becalmed water seems such a distant memory that it’s almost …
Alanus University and YIP: In Cooperation
Recently The International Youth Initiative Program has signed a cooperation agreement with Alanus University in Bonn, Germany, and more precisely, with the Institute of Philosophy and Aesthetics at the University. Alanus University has developed fast over the last 20 years and now has a student body of around 1,500. Originally an arts university, it later added studies like business, education and most recently in 2015, a …
YIP Newsletter May 2016 – Beginning to End
The end is approaching with a rapidity that seems to persistently increase. Yet to pause in a moment, has Time fade to the background or drop away completely and what is left is blissful. Laughter issuing from open windows as the sun summons trees to greenness as the seasons change almost overnight. Joyful shouts and splashes dancing their way from the …
YIP Newsletter April 2016 – Spring Vibes
The explosiveness of the Swedish spring is imminent. The birds have returned to their chortling rousts and the yellows, greens and purples are making their way out of their sleeping bulbs. There is something magical about this time. Just like the flora that surrounds us is waking up from winter, there is also a sensation of awakening within the group; …
YIP Newsletter March 2016 – Into the Foodture and Beyond
As if on cue, curious green sprouts poked through soggy earth on the first day of spring, to gaze upon the world they had left behind in autumn. The straight-backed, purple crocuses and modest snowbells exchanged excited laughs, reuniting with old friends and looking forward to the warmer months that awaited them. And then, in a cold gust, the snow …