Winter solstice greetings from GEN Europe

Dear friends,

We hope you find news in this letter that sparks your curiosity, that opens a new door, that surprises or moves you. We wish you the very best for the closing of the year, and we'll be back in January with some exciting news and updates... stay tuned!

In community, with warmth and all our gratitude,

Maja and the GEN Europe team

Looking ahead, in 2025 we will mark two significant anniversaries in sustainable living and education: The Global Ecovillage Network will reach its 30th year, while Gaia Education will achieve its 20th year of operation!

We will celebrate these important milestones at the European Ecovillage Gathering 2025, which will be held  August 12th - 17th at the charming Manas Garden  in Hungary, hosted by the lovely community of movemakers - Mindenegyüttmegy Association.

We'll come back to our roots in community and prepare the ground for a future life and new visions. Now we need to listen closely across wisdoms of all ages - the truths are in the stories we share and in the support we have for each other to be able to be strong and resilient when climates are unstable.

Stay tuned, because in January 2025 we are opening the Open Call for workshop holders - don't miss it!

Additionally, Arterra Bizimodu and Sunny Hill ecovillages both celebrated their 10-year anniversaries this year!

Big congratulations to all of them!

During our Staff and Council meeting in the Findhorn Ecovillage, we were delighted to witness many contributions offered by the community during the celebration of Findhorn’s 62nd birthday. We were particularly touched by a heartfelt sharing of Mary Inglis, a prolific writer who has been calling Findhorn her home for many decades now.

Mary was kind enough to share her insightful story in written form, so it may be shared far and wide, touching the hearts of many. Read it here!

Feeling called to embark on a learning journey towards regeneration? Join the Ecovillage Design Education at Schloss Glarisegg for a 5-week immersion into community design and inner transformation.

🗓️ Dates: 9th January - 15th February 2025
📍 Location: Schloss Glarisegg, Switzerland

More than just a course - this is a radical laboratory of personal and collective awakening.

What if you could design a future where humans and nature thrive together? That’s what permaculture is all about!

Join the Permaculture Design Certificate course and take part in the revolution for a regenerative future!

📍 Ecovillage Findhorn, Scotland
📅 July 28th to August 10th, 2025

Take advantage of the Early Bird discount and installment payment options for a limited time.

Learn the skills on how you can support and lead your community or organisation to innovatively achieve more sustainable projects and initiatives and contribute to reaching the Agenda 2030 and SDGs in your context and locality.

Type: Online
Start date: February 17th, 2025
Duration: 6 week course (30h)

Dragon dreaming, to empower youth workers embarking on the journey of building sustainable projects from the ground up!

📍 Where: Sunny Hill, Slovenia.

📅 Dates: 10th - 19th March 2025

🌍 Welcome youthworkers 18+ from: Bulgaria | France | Germany | Italy | Romania | Netherlands | Serbia | Slovenia | Spain

✨ Fees: ALL COSTS COVERED - including transport, food, accommodation, and trainers.

📆 Application Deadline: 10th January 2025

📩 Contact: projectsveles@gmail.com | Organizer: Zavod Veles | www.kmetija-veles.si | www.yestosustainability.org

New Year is a beautiful time to open a new page in life - to let go of what no longer serves us and embrace exciting new directions. At Avnø Oasis ecovillage,they’re offering a 15% discount on any Avnø course as a meaningful gift for yourself or your close ones!

• Become an ecovillage designer, skilled in all aspects of community living - choose Ecovillage Design Education (Community Education)
• Revitalize yourself and coach others to get there too - choose Holistic Health Education
• Deeply explore sustainability, permaculture, and regenerative lifestyles - choose Growing Green Skills
• Surprise yourself with how enjoyable healthy meals can be - choose Cooking for Health and Happiness
• Restart your life, resolve your challenges and find ways to be who you truly want to be - choose Reconnection Gives Direction 
• Take a triple action towards a happier life: health, food, meaning - choose Activate your Self-Healing Powers
• Learn to support others in their transformations - choose AIMA Coach Training

Check out all of their courses here.

The New Year offer is available until 1.1.2025. Promocode - NewMe2025. 

Help GEN International Map a Thriving Future!

With your help, GEN will be able to create an updated Ecovillage Map that:

-Connects you to ecovillages faster and more effectively.
-Offers easier to use and expanded search features
-Showcases improved ecovillage profiles

From November 1–7 2024, participants from multiple European countries gathered in the stunning ecovillage of Lakabe for a Partnership Building Activity (PBA) supported by the European Union and organized by Yes to Sustainability, a network of young people and youth workers committed to spreading ecovillage culture. The event provided a dynamic space for organizations, initiatives, and individuals to collaborate, share knowledge, and ignite new projects in sustainability, social inclusion, and community building.

Do you know valuable tools and methods that ecovillages use in their youth work and E+ projects? Would you like to share your knowledge and skills with lots of curious people? Then this opportunity is for you!

We welcome you to offer your workshop for the Ecovillage Youth Work Fair, that is going to happen online on March 5, 2025! The event is co-organized by Avnø Oasis ecovillage (Denmark), Yes to Sustainability, GEN Europe and the participants of the COCLEA: Collective Climate Leadership Erasmus+ project.

📍 Join us at Hof van Moeder Aarde, The Netherlands, and connect with stakeholders to tackle key themes:

- Housing & ruralization
- Youth engagement & land regeneration
- Biodiversity

🌿 What to expect:
- Nature connection & real-world study visits
- Interactive workshops & scenario planning
- A platform for community-led action!

💡 Calling: CLIs, NGOs, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from across Europe!

Are you working to build a just, inclusive, and sustainable future? Ecolise is launching theRegenerative Communities Fund (RCF) to empower community-led initiatives by offering seed funding and capacity-building support.

Who can apply?
📍 Experienced national networks and organisations from 10 European countries (Croatia, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain).
This first call will select five National Hubs (one from five of these ten countries) to lead local, community-driven initiatives that address climate change and ecological degradation at a national level.
🌱 Focus: Climate justice, youth, women, local communities, disabled people, and marginalised groups.

Key Dates:
📌 Applications open: 13 Jan 2025
📌Deadline to apply: 7 March 2025
📌 Projects begin: May/June 2025

Learn to create stunning videos with your phone!

 Join the CURIOSOIL Training and master the art of impactful storytelling with professional-looking interviews and videos, all using your cellphone!

Trainer: Ariane Bethusy-Huc (ESCI)
📋What you’ll gain:
- Videography techniques
- Interview preparation tips
- Tools to enhance your production

💡 Perfect for CURIOSOIL Communities of Practice who want to share stories that matter!

Thank you for reading the newsletter - we hope you enjoyed it! This, and so much of our work, is only made possible by the support of our members. To receive more exclusive updates and opportunities, as well as discounts on events and our Gathering, you can become a member - find out more here!