CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS

NO MORE WAR

A Virtual Exchange

online via Zoom | 23-24 September 2023

Part of the project “No War Anywhere! Engaging youth in antimilitarist education”

The Association of Service Civil International (SCI) is opening applications for an online 2-day exchange. The project runs with financial support from the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe’ and the CERV Programme of the European Union.

Background of the project

The last year saw the escalation of war in Europe and around the world. People all across the world – be it in Ukraine, Armenia, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Tigray, Myanmar or many other places – are forced to survive amidst and resist against war and military occupation and its devastating consequences. We are the closest to a nuclear war ever in history. And even political decision-makers in supposedly peaceful countries decide to fuel militarism by exporting weapons, investing in nuclear weapons and making trade deals with aggressors. With the climate crisis becoming worse, the world seems to be going in a dystopian direction. We feel powerless, angry and anxious when thinking about the future.

We want to (re-)start an antimilitarist working group within SCI and do some big educational and activist projects to get young people engaged. After a seminar in Rome in April and a training in Vienna in June, the “No War Anywhere!” project is now heading to its final stage: We want to create a working group within SCI and create more connections with other antimilitarist networks, join existing antimilitarist campaigns, create own antimilitarist educational projects and bring in antimilitarism more into SCI’s structures. Through this, we want to contribute to making the antimilitarist movement overall younger and more connected internationally.

What can you expect from this virtual exchange

This exchange is the founding meeting of our new No More War working group. Some of the things we want to discuss:

• How should this working group function? What should we do? What should we not do? What can we learn from the past?
• What initiatives do we want to do internally within SCI around antimilitarism?
• How can we support existing campaigns? (e.g. ICAN, #ObjectWar campaign by WRI)
• What project ideas do we have? What fundings are there for antimilitarist projects in 2024 and 2025?

Program draft:

Who can participate?

This exchange is only open for people who are already active in antimilitarism in some way, e.g. having participated in Rome/Vienna as part of the No War Anywhere project or being active in an antimilitarist organisation (could be an SCI member organisation or another antimilitarist organisation).

Participant’s profile:

• can express themselves in (basic) English; 
• are active and want to become more active in the field of antimilitarist education or antimilitarist activism in their communities and at an international level;
• want to build/ expand their international peer network;
• are motivated to bring forward their ideas and initiate peace projects in 2024 and 2025 together with the working group.

*a certain number of spaces will be reserved for people age 18-30 and resident in a Council of Europe Member State, due to the funding requirements. However the exchange is open for applications from everyone*

Ready to apply?

Please fill in the application form below. Deadline for applications is August 31, 2023. We accept applications on a rolling basis. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

For any questions related to the application, please contact Kerry at programmes@sci.ngo.

APPLY