With the 2025 year coming to an end, it is time to reflect on some of the things we did over the past 12 months. One big part of our year was our “Embrace the Best in You!” activity cycle. Funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe and the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, this cycle encompassed 3 activities and produced our Toolkit for Argumentation Strategies as a result!

Pact for Impact I: Communication & Action

The first activity in this cycle, “Pact for Impact I: Communication & Action”, took place in Lathi, Finland, from the 10th to the 15th of February. A core goal of this activity was to understand volunteering on a deeper level and learn about the reasons and motivations for civil engagement amongst young people. Other aims were to develop effective communication skills, particularly pertaining to discrimination and prejudice, and to learn how to practice strategies for argumentation and action. We worked towards these goals through workshops while being surrounded by the beautiful snowy landscapes of Finland. We also saw an aurora borealis, went snow-shoeing, and had a nice time in general!

Pact for Impact II: Conflicts & Solutions

Our second activity, “Pact for Impact II: Conflicts & Solutions”, was carried out from the 5th to the 10th of May, in France, Petite-Rosselle. Here, we built on top of experiences and knowledge from the first activity. We learned more about conflict mediation, moderation and theory using both case studies and personal experience. This aimed at giving participants the right set of skills to resolve conflicts within their community or amongst their peers. With lush forest around us, we also ventured to a site historically used for coal mining. This was perhaps a little twist of fate considering the damage to nature that coal mining continues to cause…

Disinformation: The Soil for Extremism

Our last activity, “Disinformation: The Soil for Extremism”, also took place in a venue in the middle of a forest, but this time in Mihajlovo, North Macedonia. From the 5th until the 10th of October, we developed strategies to fight extremism and disinformation in online environments while gaining digital activism skills. We focused on understanding disinformation, extremism, and other threats. Furthermore, we got to know the basics of crisis communication and how to decode statements coming out of extremist communication. During this 3rd activity, we cooperated with FARN, a German organization that specializes in the prevention of extremism in environmental protection.
 

Toolkit for Argumentation Strategies

Throughout these activities, participants worked on our Toolkit for Argumentation Strategies. This set of cards offers reflection prompts, thought-provoking questions for discussion, methods for navigating difficult situations and theory which you can fall back on. We are happy to say that it is now freely available on our website here. If you want to learn more about what we did during the year, use nonformal educational practices in your own work or gain effective communication skills, these might just be perfect for you.

We want to extend our deep gratitude to our participants, partners and funders who made this year a memorable one.

See you next year, and Berg frei!