IYNF Mission

To describe our organisation, we use the language of chaordic design, defining following chaordic elements of IYNF. As such they are living together with our own clarity and agreement on what is IYNF and what for.

Core Purpose

The fundamental reason for IYNF's existence or what we jointly want to become...

an international network to connect and inspire Young Naturefriends for living values of respect, solidarity, equality, sustainability and love and care for nature.

Core Product

The main ways in which we manifest our Core Purpose

1. Programming

• IYNF international activities: exchanges, seminars and trainings
• content development of our working fields: outdoor, amateur art and environmental education
• development of the main method of our youth work and training: experiential and intercultural education

2 . Networking 

• connecting our members and their local groups by information channels
• facilitating our networking programmes - providing space for young naturefriends to meet and learn from each other

3. Support and enlargment

• helping our members to become active in international cooperation and youth work
• enlarging our network by new members and partners

4. Representation and promotion

• representing the movement towards our partners at the European level
• promotion of IYNF's values and principles

Core Principles

Ways of working we choose to take to deliver our Core Product

1. We love and care for nature by minimizing environmental impacts, maximising joy in nature, and diseminating the concept of sustainability.
2. Our work includes constant learning. We learn from our mistakes, trials and errors.
3. We are ready to give trust and built it through good cooperation.
4. We have realistic expectations of what we can reach with our current resources.
5. We primarily influence by initiatives and contribution, not rejection.
6. We discuss before we act in order to integrate our different perspectives.
7. We keep IYNF, its systems and our work principally simple.
8. Our work serves youth and is implemented mainly by and with youth.
9. We appreciate effort and good work.
10. We reach our results step by step.
11. We hold personal respect to each other and appreciate our diversity.
12. Joy, fun, playfulness and creativity are important elements of our working style.
13. We care for each other.
14. We are open to new things.

Fundamental Values

IYNF has divided its fundamental values into three, color groups.

The red colour stands for values of solidarity, justice, democracy, peace and internationalism. We might call it democratic socialism, however this very term continues to be discussed within the movement. The red colour is also a link back to the roots of the Naturefriends in the working class movement.

The green colour stands for values of love and care for nature, direct environmental experience, sustainability and environmental education.

Just as in the Naturefriends movement, these values have shaped IYNF's history ever since its foundation in 1975. At different times some values were voiced more openly than others. However, solidarity and environmentalism always formed the very basis of IYNF's actions.

Blue, the most recent of our colours, dates back to early seventies when youthwork happened to be an inherent part of the Naturefriends life. Blue stands for youth participation, personal development, non-formal and experiential education.

The glue that holds these different worlds together is fun and friendship.