YoucoN in Naumburg (Saale) invited people from October 3rd to 6th, 2024 to discuss the topic “Living in community. “To deal with each other in solidarity.”
youcoN is a conference for everyone between the ages of 14 and 27. She has been visiting a different place in Germany every year since 2017. A common focus unites all conferences that have taken place so far: youcoN is about the future of all of us. In different formats, the participants are primarily concerned with the question: How do we shape the future so that all people – viewed globally – can live as well as possible? The question behind this is: What does education have to be like so that we can learn to shape our environment sustainably?
The conference points to different dimensions of sustainability: from its social aspects to the economic and the ecological. The aim is to consider these dimensions in harmony with one another and to discuss their interactions and possible conflicting goals.
Sustainable communication culture: How do we actually talk to each other?
This year in Naumburg in Saxony-Anhalt, the program focused primarily on education for sustainable development (ESD) topics that are currently of particular concern to young people: the increase in social injustice and discrimination as well as social polarization tendencies and the question of our society’s ability to engage in dialogue . All information about the event was available during the conference period via an app that also functioned as a networking hub for participants. More than 100 young people from 14 federal states took advantage of the opportunity to register for free.
In 15 different workshops, on 2 excursions and as participants in a live editorial session, the participants dealt with the conference topic in a variety of ways. In the spirit of ESD, action-oriented and interactive methods are primarily used at youcoN.
Education in the field and on the drum pad
YoucoN 2024 invited, among other things,
- to deal with alternative economic concepts in the field of solidarity agriculture,
- to playfully talk to others on the theater stage about ways to take responsibility for collective well-being and the 17 goals for sustainable development or
- to embark on a journey through the history of electronic club and music culture in order to then produce your own tracks.
In other offerings, participants practiced, for example, bringing calm to heated debates in order to show understanding for opposing positions. They learned about self-care as an essential part of community work and found out about the possibilities of inclusive project design.
At youcoN, young speakers present young topics
The members of the youth forum youpaN themselves make a significant contribution to the success of youcoN. They moderate the event, give their own workshop offerings and participate in the conception of the conference in advance.
The ➞ YoupaN office the ➞ Education Foundation supports the UNESCO program ➞ “Education for sustainable development: achieving the global sustainability goals (ESD 2030)” young people in their voluntary participation in the implementation of the ➞ National Action Plan ESD. youcoN is part of the youth participation project ➞ youpaNwhich is done with the resources of ➞ Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funded under funding number 01JO2201. More information about ESD holds this ➞ ESD portal ready.
