The annual TRIYOU Forum, organized by the German-Polish Youth Office (GPYO) and Krzyzowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe, took place on March 11-14, 2024. The Forum was held in partnership with the Bredbeck educational institution and the NGO "Tolerance in You" and is part of the "LIKHTAR / Ліхтар" networking project.
Guests of honor at the Forum were the Consul General of Ukraine in Wroclaw Mr. Yurii Tokar and the Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Wroclaw Ms. Kerstin Nielsen, who welcomed participants and attendees from Ukraine, Germany and Poland.
The TRIYOU Forum is an annual event for those working with young people and organizing trilateral international youth meetings.
Over the course of four days, participants and attendees from the three countries were able to deepen their knowledge and exchange experiences in the field of youth work. The event aimed to discuss a number of important topics related to the current situation of young people living in Ukraine, Poland and Germany.
During the Forum, Anna Lenchovska (from Ukrainian partner organization TolerSpace) spoke and moderated a discussion on the state of Ukrainian youth in 2024. The topics discussed included war and education, insecurity, chronic stress and how to support young people.
The Forum's partners, Tatiana Kryukovska and Vladyslava Kovbas (NGO "Tolerance in You"), conducted a workshop on the methodology of working with the topic of Russia's war in Ukraine and communicating sensitively about it during international youth meetings with young people from Ukraine, which was important in view of the geopolitical situation.
During the workshop "Digital methods and tools during youth exchanges" led by event partner Oleksiy Slyusarenko (project "LIKHTAR/ Ліхтар", Bredbeck educational institution), participants and attendees explored the possibilities and directions of using digital tools and artificial intelligence in youth projects.
Special attention was paid to the Deep Democracy method, which was represented at the workshop by Malina Baranowska-Janusz (Deep Democracy and CoResolve trainer). The method provides an opportunity to take into account all points of view and resolve conflicts by wisely dividing power and listening to all participants and discussants.
In addition, everyone had the opportunity to relax and recharge their batteries with evening recovery sessions and well-being exercises. On the last day of the event, a fascinating session was held using the World Cafe method, during which participants discussed finding additional funds for projects, difficult moments in Polish-Ukrainian history, dealing with psychological crises of young people during international meetings (session led by a psychologist), considered the possibility of cooperation with the "LIKHTAR/ Ліхтар" project and the need to prepare young people for trilateral meetings.
The event was led and moderated by Adelaide Lebioda and Ioan Bengel, who work with youth at the IYMC Krzyzowa on a daily basis.
Equally important was the evening program, which delighted everyone with its diversity and energy. Participants had the opportunity to taste food from the cities from which they came, enjoy a wonderful brocade party and the rousing music of the Timingeriu Band, and simply feel the atmosphere of the night's conversations and emotions.
During the Forum, ways were found to develop partnerships on an equal basis between the three parties. It was a great opportunity to open new perspectives for cooperation and development of youth initiatives between Poland, Ukraine and Germany.
It should be noted the active participation and fruitful discussions of the participants that took place during the TRIYOU 2024 Forum, which shows the high level of interest of those present in the development of youth programs and projects. We hope that the TRIYOU 2024 Forum will spur further successful initiatives and cooperation between Ukraine, Poland and Germany in the future.
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