This week Morgan Henley, IYNF volunteer, brings you a breakdown of the current situation in Ukraine, expressing IYNF solidarity with the protesters in Kiev and elsewhere in the country.

Not to trivialize a serious situation that will affect the future of millions and millions of people, I will attempt to breakdown the situation of Ukraine and the Association Agreement in terms that everyone can understand. So even if you don’t have a degree in Eastern European geopolitics, you can get a better understanding of why Ukraine seems to be the country in the spotlight the past couple of weeks.

It’s hard to look at what is going in the Ukraine today and NOT make comparisons as if it was like a big love triangle, with Ukraine being torn between two suitors, the EU and Russia. While this love saga is far from anything new, to look at the current situation, we can begin around a month ago. 

The COP 19 (the UN’s climate negotiations) just finished last week in Warsaw, and while the negotiations didn’t bring much success as far as countering global warming, it did bring a lot of great environmental groups together to discuss the issues and share their passion for the fight against global warming. IYNF participated by joining 700 others in an overnight train from Brussels to Warsaw to join other environmentalists from across the world for a demonstration of throughout Warsaw. We later hosted a webinar about the manifesto, in case you missed it, you can check it out here on our site.

What is the COP? - by Morgan Henley

We hope for this article to be a start of something bigger - a regular column in which complicated issues connected with environment, climate and social justice are explained in simple, digestable terms. 

Maybe you noticed that last week, something about climate change was happening in Warsaw. But perhaps you have some questions, just like many of us, about what exactly was going on there? We will attempt to explain it to you as simply as we can, but in order to not bore you with all of the extremely complicated details, we are just going to look at some of the basics. 

Photo by Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cgiarclimate/

First Fresh Planning Weekend Impressions! Brought to you by Henrique Gonçalves!

There is something special about attending IYNF events and it starts with a travel. Every journey is a unique experience, the unknown places that are being drawn in our ways by the speed of the train, while our eyes are gazing at the landscapes, houses and towns until we finally reach the venue. 

IYNF always aims to to provide best opportunities for youth - also by offering meaningful work experience opportunities for youth, full of learning and educational opportunities. Magdalena Rauch from Poland did a three months internship in our office in Prague. Read about her impressions!

My final impressions from the internship time

When I came to IYNF office on the first day a desk with a welcoming post-it-note attached to the computer monitor was already waiting for me. These kind of warm memories were provided for me within the whole time of 3-month internship, from August to October 2013. If I am asked what my impressions are, the first thought that comes to my mind is the office team, which I had occasion to work with, but also to learn from them and spend some days out of office, during staff retreat.

Do you want to spend one year living abroad, volunteering, learning, travelling and having fun while going through a life-changing experience? International Young Naturefriends (IYNF), one of the major European youth organizations is looking for one EVS volunteer to perform their voluntary service in organization’s office in Prague, Czech Republic. The service will last for one year, starting in February or March 2014 (according to volunteers' preferences). This is a call for an already approved EVS project.

On the picture: current EVS volunteers, Vika and Henrique, looking pretty happy about their project

Happening under the motto “Together for a green and social future” the event brought together over 120 young Naturefriends from all Germany to the nature of Jugendzeltplatz Sauloch in Rödental, North Bavaria, between 3rd and 6th of October.

Are you interested in climate change issues? Do you change your behavior to reduce your impact? Did you read the Green Toolbox?  Did you attend the Networking conference in Slovakia about activism? Do you have the feeling you can do more but you don’t know how? 

ACT NOW and join the Young Naturefriends movement to come to the COP19 in Warsaw! 

Share and develop new perspectives on sustainability in mountaineering

Dear Naturefriends,

Are you a mountaineering or tracking guide or on the way to become one? Are you curious how you can make your outdoor activities more sustainably responsible? Would you like to get new inspiration on how to deepen the emotional relationship of your participants with the natural and social surrounding? Doyou want to share your inspiring stories and hear good practices from like-minded colleagues and friends in the mountaineering field from different Naturefriends organisations? And next to this climb up somebeautiful mountains while practicing all you have learned?

Then feel very invited to participate at the upcoming international training course “The Way is the Goal”

International Young Naturefriends (IYNF) would like to engage in cooperation with other European youth NGOs, International Youth NGOs and National Youth Councils, to present open letters to European Youth Foundation, European Youth Centre Budapest, European Youth Centre Strasbourg and European Youth Forum in order to request the aforementioned institutions to involve more environmentally friendly, sustainable and respectful practices in the venues they are operating and during their activities.

Attachment: 

Open letter Sustainability YFJ EYF and EYCs.pdf

Example - Sustainability recommendations for EYCB.pdf

Write to adriana@iynf.org to place an order!

The deadline for applications has been extended until 17th of September

We would like to invite you to this year’s Planning Weekend of International Young Naturefriends (IYNF). It will be an event where representatives of member and partner organizations, IYNF volunteers and trainers meet to exchange ideas, network and brainstorm on the upcoming projects and future developments of the IYNF network.

Please note that the dates have been changed from the initially planned dates in Septemeber to Novemeber.

The year 2013 is announced as IYNF Year of Action for Change. That is why the Planning Weekend 2013 will focus on various actions that are aimed at bringing about positive change to the Naturefriend movement as well as to the world.

We are absolutely delighted to announce that “Green Toolbox” is now available online on IYNF website and can be requested in printed version from IYNF office.

Green Toolbox encourages and inspires various sector organizations to apply sustainable working practices in their daily work and within their project and office management. It responds to the questions ranging from how we can choose the most environmentally friendly merchandise and gadgets to most socially responsible banking for our organization; what office and project management practices can do most good and least harm for people, natural environment and animals.  

Sustainability is a combination and synergy of social justice, ecological health, and economic vitality. This publication responds to a growing interest in sustainable consumption, addresses urgent global matters, and conveys the necessity for action. It aims to provide NGOs with the tools, information, and inspiration needed to introduce a wide variety of sustainable practices.

Attachment: 

Green Toolbox