Emma’s Testimony from the No More War Open Forum

Written by Emma
May 2025

Training

Netherlands Servizio Civile Internazionale Italia – SCI Italy

Bulgaria

“No More War” is more than a slogan – it’s a global network of activists taking action against the militarization of our world. Emma, a SCI volunteer, took part in the Open Forum in Bulgaria and shares her experience. At a time when militarism is on the rise – with escalating armed conflicts, record-high defense budgets, the normalization of genocides, and the return of conscription in several countries – the No More War collective offers a bold alternative: global solidarity, political education, and non-formal learning as tools to fight back. No More War is an international initiative that connects young activists and educators across borders. In 2025, the project took place in two phases:

the Open Forum in Bankya, Sofia (April 28 – May 5)
and a public festival in the center of Sofia (April 30 – May 1).

The aim? To strengthen antimilitarist action through skill-building, in-person networking, artistic collaboration, and collective action. Emma’s Testimony from the Forum Emma, a young Dutch volunteer currently spending a year in Rome through the European Solidarity Corps programme of the European Union with La Città dell’Utopia, a project by Servizio Civile Internazionale, took part in the No More War Open Forum in Sofia. This international gathering brought together young activists from around the world to reflect on and take action against militarism. In her testimony, Emma shares what it meant to be part of this powerful collective experience of learning, exchange, and solidarity.. Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in the No More War Open Forum in Sofia, Bulgaria. I was very excited to take part in this activity because I had been following the No More War collective within SCI since I learned about them. Their goals of antimilitarism and education against genocide resonate with me a lot and I wanted to join the forum this week to learn how to use non-formal learning techniques to communicate these goals within future trainings that I hope to facilitate! During the activity, I was one of 30 activists that came from various different countries, ages, and backgrounds. Everyone had their own experiences with antimilitarism, whether it was through academia, activism, or through personal experiences. It was incredibly inspiring to meet these motivated and interesting people. Actually, I think most of the things I learned there, I learned from my fellow participants. Especially during the festival that we organized together in the center of Sofia, we had the chance to listen to each other’s experiences and share different perspectives. We created art as a tool against war, we had a human library, and we had various movie screenings related to antimilitarism, and we felt less alone after the whole thing was done. Together we went in depth on what the topic meant for us and how we can attempt to discuss antimilitarism, genocide prevention and resistance within our own contexts. We learned many different approaches to non-formal education, how to incorporate certain techniques, and why some activities work better than others. I feel like I have more hands-on tools to use in my daily life, whether that is my personal or professional like, and overall, I am incredibly grateful for the experience because it showed me that there is still so much action to be taken, but that we can do this together. During the week we were able to build a network of solidarity where collective action is the main goal. I recommend everyone to check out the No More War collective if they are interested in political action within SCI and to learn more about antimilitarism. They are a group of incredibly smart, motivated people that truly care about the things they work on, check them out!