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Dear ,

As daylight fades and the air turns crisp, nature invites us to slow down - to rest, reflect, and prepare for what’s next. Like the trees quietly forming their buds for spring, GEN Europe is also planting seeds for the seasons to come. This month, we gather at Sunny Hill, Slovenia, for the Staff and Council Meeting, the National Networks Meeting, and a Sociocracy Training.

Join us in this newsletter to explore the new growth already emerging across our network.

With love and in community,

Franziska and Lena
on behalf of the GEN Europe Team

🔍 Content table

1. News from GEN EU

• Reminder for the Gathering Logo Open Call
• Gathering Report 2025
• GreenComp Project Meeting in Vis
• Group Facilitation and Sociocracy Training

2. Project Updates

• New Project approved: CHOICE

3. News from around the network

• GEN Ukraine as Winner of the 2025 Hildur Jackson Award
• Findhorn Documentary
• From Ceasefire to Healing: A Light of Possibility and a Call for Liberation
• Fundraising for emerging Ecoproject Tortuga
• Ängsbacka wins Quality Label Organisation of the Year 2025

3. News from NextGEN Europe

• NextGEN Türkiye holds its first Founders’ Gathering

4. News from YTS

• Report from YTS PBA in Ireland

5.  Volunteer and Erasmus+ training opportunities

• 2-8 months ESC in Veles, Slovenia
• Teams ESC in Veles, Slovenia
• ESC Call Suderbyn

6. Trainings & Courses (non-funded)

• Building Community in Times of Global Crisis
• Water Cycle Revival Course

7. Invitations from our partners

• Free Ecoprise Course
• IN.PACT Project
• New Re-generation Project

8. Opportunities from beyond the network

• Funding Opportunity: Community-Led Mobility Pilots in Southeast Europe
• Degrowth Rural Futures
• Transition Launch Training
• Technology in Transition
• Ecovillage Tours Europe 2026 
• ICSA Conference 2026 in Lebensgarten Steyerberg

The European Ecovillage Gathering is getting a fresh new look – and GEN Europe is inviting you to co-create it! We’re launching an Open Call for the Visual Identity of our annual celebration of community and regeneration.

Are you a GEN Europe member with a creative vision and a love for connection? Whether seasoned or self-taught, we’d love to see your ideas.

Join the call until 6th of Nov! Full details here!

We're excited to share the 2025 Gathering Report where you can find highlights, numbers, stories, feedback, and learnings – a glimpse into the magic we created together in Manas Garden this summer and the seeds we planted for the future.

📖Dive into the full report here! 

The Sustain-Ability Project Team gathered in Vis, Croatia, from September 30th to October 4th 2025, for a four-day transnational meeting to reflect on a year of research achievements and begin developing the educational materials that will drive the project’s next phase.

📃Curious? Read the full report here!

Join this hands-on training in facilitation and sociocracy organised by GEN Europe - proven methods from ecovillages that work for any collaborative group. Learn to make decisions that are inclusive, transparent and efficient through practical tools like sociocratic circles, facilitation techniques and feedback loops.

Trainer: Steffen Emrich, certified Sociocratic Facilitator 

📅 December 2–4, 2025 (arrival Dec 1, departure Dec 5)
📍Sunny Hill, Gračišče, Slovenia

💰Training, accommodation and meals covered. Travel subsidies up to €150 available.

👉Find out more and apply by 15th November!

We are thrilled to announce the official approval of our new project focused on tackling Europe's housing crisis.

This initiative proposes Community-Led Housing models, such as cooperatives, ecovillages and community land trusts, as a democratic solution to housing affordability and social exclusion. Supported by the EU CERV Programme, we aim to empower citizens and bridge the gap between grassroots housing solutions and policy making. For two years starting from January 2026, we will work to co-create policy recommendations that prioritize affordability, inclusivity, and democratic participation in shaping Europe's housing sector.

Expect to see pan-European and national conferences, trainings, webinars and participatory campaigns. Stay tuned for more information!

We are so delighted to share that this year’s Hildur Jackson Award goes to GEN Ukraine! 🇺🇦

With this, GEN Ukraine is demonstrating how ecovillages can thrive even under the harshest conditions. Our heartfelt congratulations and deepest respect to the entire GEN Ukraine team!

👉Read the full announcement here!

FRANCE 24 launched a short documentary about Findhorn. 

▶️Watch the Documentary here!

📃Read A’ida Al-Shibli's and Uri Ayalon's words regarding the current situation in Palestine in the newest Tamera newsletter "From Ceasefire to Healing: A Light of Possibility and a Call for Liberation". 

The community initiative Proyecto Tortuga aims to revive an abandoned village in Asturias (Spain), turning it into a vibrant space of community, learning, and regeneration.

Now they have launched its crowdfunding campaign!

Supporters can contribute financially or offer materials, knowledge, or other forms of help & can receive plenty of goodies in return!

Help this dream come true - visit the campaign page. 🌱

Learn more and get involved at villanuevadefios@gmail.com

From 25-28 September 2025, NextGEN Türkiye hosted its first Founders’ Gathering at Arkhe Project in İzmir - a social sciences village nestled among olive trees. Supported by the UMI Youth Movements Fund, 17 young visionaries came together to nurture their connection with the Earth and co-create a hopeful future.

Inspired by Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects and drawing on CLIPS tools and GEN experiences, participants explored deep emotional journeys, shared learning and collective practices such as Sociocracy. With media support from Local Makers and the presence of Buğday Association’s Oya Ayman, the gathering wove strong links between local action and the wider regenerative movement in Türkiye.

NextGEN Türkiye continues to grow its roots. Follow their journey on Instagram: @yeninesilekoag 

From October 3rd to 11th, 24 youth workers and young changemakers gathered at Cloughjordan Ecovillage in Ireland under the topic “Peacework in Ecovillages and Youthwork.” Together, they explored how community living and youth engagement can foster cultures of peace and regeneration.
📃 Read the full report here.

The 16th edition of Green Skills in Suderbyn is now open for applications!

Two different volunteering opportunities:

• 🍎 "Earth Keepers":  permaculture & forest garden
• 🛠 "Roof Keepers":  infrastructure team -> improve current facilities and build new ones following natural building principles

🙌 Do you feel the pull? Read all about Suderbyn and the Green Skills program here!

APPLY HERE until the 28th of November 2024.

Couldn’t join Tamera’s 30th Anniversary Summer University? Access here online and find ten inspiring panels that feature global activists and visionaries exploring how communities can rise beyond collapse through love, courage and regeneration.

📍 Location: Ananda Kalyani, Covilhã
📅 Dates: 21–23 November

Come learn how to “think like water,” read the landscape, and design simple water-retention structures that restore life to the soil and resilience to your community. 

🌧️ Learn by doing.
🌱 Regenerate the land.
🤝 Be part of the change.

Learn more about this course here!

After months of collaborative design, the Ecoprise Consortium is thrilled to announce the launch of the Ecoprise Course – a comprehensive, free online training program for aspiring ecopreneurs!

As a proud partner, GEN Europe helped shape the program with insights from experienced ecovillagers, blending regenerative living with practical entrepreneurship. Built on decades of real-world experience, this course empowers the next generation of sustainable changemakers across Europe.

🧠Curious to learn more? Click here!

Within the Erasmus+ KA220-YOU program, the IN.PACT Project aims to foster youth participation by training facilitators and reducing the marginalization of at-risk young people. Led by Gaia Education in collaboration with partners from Spain, Italy and France, the project continues to grow its Community of Practice, meeting regularly to exchange insights and experiences.

IN.PACT is also mapping inspiring participatory youth initiatives across Europe. If you know of projects that creatively empower young people to engage in their communities or organizations, the team would love to hear from you!

📩To contribute or get involved, contact ivan.barnie@gaiaeducation.org.

The New Re-Generation Project is a three-year Erasmus+ initiative uniting 15 organisations from Europe and the MENA region - including Gaia Education. Its mission: to empower youth and mentors with regenerative thinking, social entrepreneurship, and community leadership skills.

The team is now creating two new learning programs: the Virtual Mentors Academy (launching in November) and the Virtual Youth Academy (early next year). Both build on the 4 Dimensions of Regeneration, enriched with modules on social innovation, systems thinking, regenerative technology, and transformative facilitation.

👉 Want to learn something? Click here!

An exciting funding call is open for community-led mobility projects in Southeast Europe! The initiative supports innovative, people-centered solutions for sustainable transport, from shared mobility to cycling infrastructure and beyond.

Members and partners in the region are warmly encouraged to explore this opportunity and submit proposals.

👉 Learn more &  apply here!

Get ready to join Deep Dive – Degrowth Rural Futures: “Reclaiming the agrarian in the socio-ecological struggle”, a focused online course led by Donatella Gasparro. Across five classes from the end of November until December you’ll explore how rural and agrarian lifeworlds can lead the way in shaping sustainable, just futures. Participants will engage in rich dialogue, drawing on rural geography, agroecology, eco-feminism and more.

🔗 Apply here

The introductory course by the Transition Network is now available for the first time ever as a self-directed online training!

Dive into valuable insights, tools, practices and resources and learn how to set up and grow a community-based changemaking initiative where you live.

👉Immerse yourself in the details here! 

From September through November 2025, the Transition Network is offering a free, interactive webinar series designed to deepen our collective understanding of how technology intersects with wellbeing, justice and connection.

Upcoming webinars:

• Choosing Ethical Technology (Nov 6) — with Esther Molina and Sam Rossiter

• Closing Panel: Tech, Spirit & Earth (Nov 12) — with Angel Matilla, Dennise ‘Kuku’ Dueñas and Wakanyi Hoffman  

This final session — with our very appreciated IT manager, Angel Matilla — invites exploration of how ancestral wisdom, earth-based practices and collective awareness can guide our evolving relationship with technology.

Don't miss the discussion on that topic that is more relevant than ever!

Curious to discover Europe's ecovillages in a guided tour? Ecovillage Tours will go to different European countries, such as Portugal, Spain, France, Greece and Italy!

👉Find the upcoming tours here!

Registrations for the next in-person international conference by the International Communal Studies Association (ICSA), themed "Intentional Community Resilience in an Age of Uncertainty" taking place in Lebensgarten Steyerberg, Germany in July 2026 are now open.

👉You can find all the details, including the registration, call for papers, accommodation and membership here! 

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