About the program
The International Youth Initiative Program, YIP, is a societal entrepreneurship training, offering a holistic educational program that promotes an expanded global and personal awareness aiming to strengthen young people’s capacity to take initiative in the face of current global challenges. 20-40 participants, between 18 and 28 years old, from all over the world, live, learn and work together for 10 months.
Purpose and Intentions
YIP provides a platform for young people to develop their fullest potential, expand their understanding and find their authentic task in society and the world.
Program overview
Collaboration and Community Dynamics
Foster a lived understanding of the importance of community. Learn how to harness the power of the collective and work across difference. Develop skills in leadership, facilitation, hosting conversations and visioning.
Inner Awareness
Engage in a path of inner investigation to become aware of your own story, struggles and strivings to then step consciously into your full potential as a creative and unique individual. Begin a Personal Initiative project that you work with throughout the year.
Global Realities
Be inspired by internationally acclaimed doers and innovators who offer an overview of some of our current global challenges. Activate your capacity to positively contribute to today's changing world.
Internship
Experience a network, enterprise or organization that has positive social, political or environmental change at its core. Develop interest and wonder in the diversity of human capacity whilst maintaining a personal intention.
Self Designed Curriculum Weeks
Enjoy the opportunity to co-design your own curriculum, whether this means inviting contributors of your choice or engaging in group inspired educational action and travel. Work on a Personal Initiative.
Integration & Transition
Consciously reflect on your journey throughout the year and create clarity for your next steps. Finalize and present your Personal Initiative. Dive into the beautiful North Swedish water, and witness a midnight sun during the Outdoor Experience.
Monday
Garden
In the Autumn and Spring each Monday afternoon will be spent in the YIP garden.
*Each second week there is a house meeting to organize and discuss the running of the shared house.
check in group
Check-in groups are established at the beginning of the year and consist typically of 6-10 participants and one member of the organizing team. It offers a smaller and more individual setting to discuss and share anything that you meet, learn and experience.
Tuesday
internships
The time is for preparing the internship and other group projects where YIP participants will work as a whole group and in smaller teams.
Wednesday
Creative
YIP participants choose the creative and practical activities they wish to engage with. These may include:
- Metal Work - Work with blacksmithing and create jewellery and other pieces.
- Art Therapy - Take part in a therapeutic art-based process.
- Wood Work - Learn how to work with wood, hand tools and design.
- Weaving - Make own weaving tools out of wood, work with simple weaving techniques.
Thursday
Initiative forum
Time to plan, prepare and organise the Initiative Forum: an event that the group collectively creates and hosts, practising bringing an idea into manifestation as a larger group.
movement
Participants work with their bodies, exploring complex and novel ways of moving. They will be introduced to different exercises and games to keep mobility and strength across their whole body.
Friday
Community Meeting
Both the participants and organizers come together each week for a Community Meeting. A typical meeting is used to look back on the past week, to look ahead to the next week and to announce and discuss any community issues and concerns. In addition it offers a platform for sharing and learning about what it takes to be a community living together for 10 months.
Other activities
Counselling
YIP acknowledges the need in any adult education today to offer tailored developmental support to its participants. It does this in the form of Biographical Counselling offered by Annie Meijer, an accredited counsellor and adult educator. The outer supports and securities in life often no longer hold and withstand the awakening inner realities that shake us. This asks from us that we find a new ground within ourselves to build confidence for our future. Biographical Counselling supports this process by enabling participants to step into dialogue with their own Biography, to release forces trapped in previous experience and to step into the future with courage and capacity knowing the value and worth of their unique journey.
extra curricular
On most evenings there is space for countless self-organised extra-curricular activities such as sports, theatre, music etc.
this years curriculum
Location
home: Sweden
The program is based in Järna, Sweden, beautifully situated 55km south of Stockholm by the Järna Fjord on the Baltic Sea. With its numerous initiatives, businesses and organizations, it forms an amazing and inspiring landscape of people’s visions being put into practice. Each of the surrounding places, be it the biodynamic farms, the curative homes, the alternative bank, the mill, the cultural center etc. have an exemplary character in and of themselves. Luckily these are all situated in a radius of about 10km.
Participants live together in "Tallevana" one of the houses of the Ytterjärna Campus.
The courses happen inside this building, "The Hive".
outpost: india
After carefully considering, having many meetings and visiting some of the wonderful initiatives that have offered to work with us on outpost, we have decided that this years Outpost will take us to two inspiring movements based in India.
For the first period we will be staying at a campus called CESCI near Madurai.
CESCI is a direct form of solidarity, working with social organisations and activists on rights of the landless, women and marginalised communities. It supports those attempting to enact Gandhian philosophy with the will for social change to the betterment for the marginalized. The space hosts activists working for awareness building, social rights and self help groups. Most of them stem from the same segment of the population they render their service to. Hence, they are familiar with their problems and issues and are able to find suitable solutions.
For the second period we will be staying at Auroville.
Auroville is a universal township in the making for a population of up to 50,000 people from around the world. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity – in diversity. Today Auroville is recognised as the first and only internationally endorsed ongoing experiment in human unity and transformation of consciousness, also concerned with – and practically researching into – sustainable living and the future cultural, environmental, social and spiritual needs of mankind.
We are extremely grateful that both Ekta Parishad and Auroville are willing and keen to welcome us and allow us to learn from their vast experience and multilayered organisations.
We on the team have tried to discern the right path to take with YIP17 in the current climate of an even greater reduction of freedom of movement for many of those wanting to attend who live outside Europe. We hold the complexity of our commitment to bring a high quality, inspiring and relevant programme that meets the needs of our time as well as our concern for what is ethically appropriate, reckoning with the implications of our choice to fly to a far away context, being awake to the colonial legacy and working with the themes of privilege. This is why it has been really important to be in close communication and collaboration with the host organisations engaged in on the ground, grassroots organising in India. We will host a hybrid program of both elements and contributors that YIP will invite as well as working with the projects and content of the hosting organisations.
Our time in India will be divided in two periods of approximately 6 weeks punctuated by the winter-break.
We feel this Outpost matches our ethos and aspirations to enable YIP to be an international program and very much look forward to preparing ourselves and the participants to be sensitive and grateful guests.
Internships
Curious to see what societal entrepreneurship looks like on a daily basis?
The internship offers the possibility to work with an organisation/business/initiative that is seeking to implement the ethics, motives and ways of being and working that we explore during YIP. This experience gives the participants a real-life, on the ground experience of what it can look like to implement an initiative that strives to take on some of today’s challenges in the world.
The YIP participants are the co-designers of their learning journey during the internship in small groups. During this design they focus on their personal intention, group intention, and needs of the place.
In the case that YIP18 includes an outpost, YIP will prioritise offering internships with organisations in the same region of the outpost. This is with the hope of enabling a deeper understanding and engagement in the context and culture of the internship place. We also prioritise more local internships in the effort to minimise our need for flying and the consequent environmental impact this entails.
Curative education and social inclusion
Host Organization: Peaceful Bamboo Family
Geographic Location: Vietnam
Youth seminars, school and outreach programmes
Host Organization: Youth Society Parzival
Geographic Location: Georgia
Biodynamic Farming and Social Entrepreneurship
Host Organization: Holy Green Agro Farm
Geographic Location: Nepal
Sustainable Farming, Seed Saving, Earth Democracy
Host Organization: Navdanya
Geographic Location: India
Waldorf Inspired Education, Biodynamic Farming and Community Outreach
Host Organization: Kufunda Village
Geographic Location: Zimbabwe
arts, community education, activism
Host Organizations: Free Home University
Geographic Location: Italy
Climate Action, Creative Arts, Environmental Activism
Host Organization: Open Source Arts Geographic Location: Leeds, UK
Waldorf Inspired Kindergarten and Elementary School
Host Organization: Hebat El Nile
Geographic Location: Egypt
Certification
All eligible participants will receive a Certificate of Completion at the year’s end. In addition all participants will receive an individual portfolio with Certificates of Qualification from each completed course during the program. The YIP Certificates of Qualification comply with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS.) They do not grant any direct academic degree. In the past participants have been able to use their YIP certificates towards credits for their bachelor and/or master programs.
Through our partnership with Alanus University, all credits are accepted and credited for the BA in Social Entrepreneurship.
Costs, Terms and conditions
Program costs and finances
The YIP Program Cost is SEK 125.000 per participant for the whole 10 month program period, including travel to and from the internship location.
Specifically, it includes:
- The Program: courses, course materials and evening activities
- Food: organic meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner from Monday – Friday, not including holidays)
- Accommodation (single-sex twin-share bedrooms on campus)
- Travel: travel to and from internship
- Transportation (in connection with the curriculum)
If your financial situation is a barrier to your applying for YIP, please click here to find tips on financing your YIP Year, as well as the diversity fund.