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Dear ,

The Summer Solstice is near—a time to honour the nourishing light of the Sun and the light within us.

As we celebrate this brightness for most of us here in Europe, I cannot help but name the darkness close by: the war in Ukraine continues, and Palestinians are starving under relentless bombing since March 2nd.

Let this be a reminder to not only walk our talk, but to do our very best—so that one day, all people may enjoy the sun and celebrate the Solstice in peace.

Read here Ai'da Shibli's (from Tamera) list of things you can do to have an impact on the situation in Gaza!
Find here our page to donate for GEN Ukraine (also updates coming soon)!

With hope & a bleeding heart,
Ziska

Membership Manager, GEN Europe 

🔍 Content table

1. News from GEN EU

• The GA Infopack is out – Don't hesitate to register!
• Gathering Children's & Teens Programme
• We welcome our new members!
  • PentrefEcoCymru and EcoVillage Network
  • ThinkCamp gem. eG
  • Catfarm Education
  • Earthbound Ecovillage

2. Project Updates 

•  The COM4LGD Website is Live!

3. News from around the network

• Mini EDE in Hungary
• Hildur Jackson Award 2025 – Applications Now Open!
• Project Noah – A New Ecovillage Project in the Hills of Italy
• Fundraising for Zhenya
• Support Pourges in a Tourism Competition
• Upcoming events at the Academy for Community Building in Schloss Glarisegg
• Silent Steps in the Valley of the Elves
• Open Doors in Arterra
• Walking to the RIVE Summer Gathering
• Lunasa Festival in Findhorn
• Ananda Festival of Bliss
• Work that Reconnects Workshop in Matriculture School 
• Italy Ecovillage Tour: A Regenerative Journey

4.  Erasmus+ opportunities

• “Youth IN Change: Yes, we (c)are” - Youth Exchange
• PBA in Ireland: Youth Work and Ecovillages for Peace

5. Opportunities from beyond the network

• 10 years Anniversary Celebration of the Work that Reconnects Network
• Invitation to online Permaculture & Localization Film Festival: June 7-29

Our Membership Manager, Franziska, has put together a beautiful and informative Infopack containing everything you need to know about the upcoming General Assembly.

You can find the Infopack here.

We also kindly remind you to register all your delegates (more information around the registration process here) and assign your voting delegates (the last only for full members).

If you have any question regarding that, please feel free to reach out to: membership@gen-europe.org.

We can't wait to see you there! :)

Each morning we will have adults present at the children’s space offering activities in movement/games, bushcraft, theatre, crafts and more. We allow space for emergence and the children present ultimately decide which activities they want to participate in that morning.

Check out the programme here!

👩‍👩‍👧‍👧 So bring your whole family to the Gathering! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

We’re excited to share that the Communities for Local Green Deal website and interactive documentary have just been launched! This powerful resource showcases inspiring community-led action from across Europe—where people are reimagining food systems, reclaiming democratic agency, advancing gender justice, and building resilience in the face of climate crisis.

Created through a collaboration between GEN Europe, ECOLISE, ICLEI Europe, ISCTE, ECON, and ELARD, the documentary offers a deeply human journey into the neighborhoods, forests, farms, and town halls where transformation is already happening. It’s a celebration of the essential role of local communities in shaping just and sustainable futures.

👉 Explore the documentary and website here!

GEN International, in collaboration with Gaia Trust, is accepting applications for the 2025 Hildur Jackson Award. This €3,000 annual prize honors projects worldwide that exemplify regenerative best practices across all dimensions of sustainability. The award celebrates initiatives that inspire broader audiences about ecovillage lifestyles.

Key Details:

• Application Deadline: 1 July 2025
• Winner Announcement: 7 October 2025 (Hildur Jackson’s birthday)
• Eligibility Criteria: Innovation, impact, longevity, broader appeal, alignment with GEN's mission, and a strong connection to the GEN network.

More info here!

A new ecovillage project is taking root in the scenic hills of Abruzzo, Italy! "Project Noah" is a budding initiative focused on sustainability and self-sufficiency, located on a beautiful 7.2-hectare farm with olive groves, a vineyard, and fertile land just 25 km from the sea and 30 km from the mountains.

This summer, the founder is inviting up to 6 collaborators to help shape the vision—through brainstorming, design, and planning for the future. Skills in architecture, regenerative agriculture, construction, cooking, and digital storytelling are especially welcome.

📅 Starting: Early July
📍 Location: Abruzzo, Italy
📩 Interested? Reach out to Anosheh Amery with a short message about yourself, your skills and your availability! 

Deep in the Ukrainian Polissia region, a remarkable ecoproject showcases true resilience and dedication to a self-sufficient, simple lifestyle. Zhenya, who is blind and raising five children, lives a fully low-tech life — hand-growing spelt, baking his own bread and planting over 2,000 trees each year on degraded land. To lighten his heavy manual workload, he is raising funds to purchase a horse. Those wishing to support Zhenya can send donations via PayPal at zalevskim@gmail.com, with all funds going directly to him. Watch his inspiring story here!

The Pourgues Ecovillage in France is taking part in the RESILIENT contest by Open Tourisme Lab — a competition highlighting innovative tourism projects that are more human, local, and vibrant.

Their entry showcases ecovillages as powerful alternatives to mainstream tourism, especially at a time when such communities in France face increasing pressure from regulations, misconceptions, and lack of recognition.

🎯 While the contest doesn’t offer big prizes, it’s a chance to give visibility to alternatives to lifeless mainstream tourism. And that matters!

📽 Watch the video and cast a vote with a Like!

❤️ 1 Like = 1 Vote (and maybe a happy villager dancing in the rain ☔️)

📢 Feel free to share it with friends, your grandma, or your sustainable tourism professor. The more, the merrier — and the more resilient tourism becomes. Let's make alternatives visible.

Thank you 🙏

[For German speakers only]

Do you have the deep desire to learn more about community building? Then, you are invited to check out the upcoming events of the Academy for Community Building in Schloss Glarisegg! 

• Community Building - Introduction Weekend: Find out more here.
• FORUM of the Human-Being: Find out more here. 

📅 June 19–25, 2025 | 🌿 Tuscany, Italy

Join a unique walking journey through the Valley of the Elves — a constellation of intentional communities nestled in the wild hills of the Tuscan Apennines. This week-long experience invites you into deep connection with nature, silence, and the living practices of community.

Walk through places like Gran Burrone, Piccolo Burrone, Pastoraio, Case Sarti, Aldaia, Cerchiaia, and Campoli — each a living expression of shared life and ecological simplicity, inhabited by people from across Italy and Europe. It's not just a hike: it's a path into a culture of presence, relationship, and regenerative living.

Led by Safir and Giovanni, and held in the spirit of the Economy of the Heart.

🎒 Learn more & register here. 

📆 June 29 – July 05 ☀️

Discover the heart of the Arterra community during the upcoming Open Doors! Join for an immersive 5 days experience where you can experiment, learn, and feel what it means to create and sustain an intentional community. You will learn more about sociocracy, economics and impact on the world, feedback, other related projects, and more.

Click here to find more information and register!

📅 July 19–23 & 27–30, 2025 | 🏞️ Damanhur & Valchiusella, Italy

What if arriving at a gathering was already part of the experience? For the second year, this walk offers a special way to reach the RIVE Summer Gathering — slowly, mindfully, in community.

Together, we'll become a nomadic community, exploring some of the gathering's key themes along the way. The journey winds through the vibrant Valchiusella valley, visiting 10 Damanhurian nuclei and 3 other intentional projects, each with its own vision and way of living. Expect a stunning biodiversity of landscapes, communities, and practices.

This year, the gathering will be hosted by Damanhur — the largest intentional community in Europe and one of the most international in Italy. 2025 marks its 50th anniversary: a powerful moment to gather and celebrate together. The RIVE Summer Gathering — organized by RIVE, the Italian Ecovillage Network — is one of the main gathering of community networks in Europe.

Held in the spirit of gift economy, with light backpacks and open hearts, led by Safir and Giovanni. This walk is a collaboration between RIVE and Consapevoli Assieme, with the support of Damanhur Federation.

🥾 More info & registration here.

🌍Do you care about our planet and want to make a positive contribution to healing our world?

🌱Join a 10 day journey, in the hillsides of Narni, to disintoxicate from our patriarchal biases through the Spiral and tools of The Work that Reconnects. Sharing knowledge, inspiration, meals, meditations, rituals and community living, we will prepare ourselves to listen to the wise guidance of Mother Nature.

Maximum number of participants: 30

Find out more about the event here.

Apply here. 

Application deadline: 15 July 2025

📅 Sept 30 - Oct 9, 2025

Have you ever dreamt of exploring ecovillages with dedicated & experienced tour guides — combining key insights into community life with the warmth of authentic connection?

This summer, join a small group of like-minded travelers on a 10-day immersive journey through some of Italy's most inspiring intentional communities, guided by facilitators deeply connected with each place and its people.

For more information & sign-up click here.

Special offer: Get $200 off by entering the code CONSAPDQ200 when registering!

Do you feel called to co-create a life-affirming culture rooted in trust, authenticity, and love?

In this Youth Exchange, you will:

• Dive into inner work and personal transformation
• Experience transformative group dynamics, supported by powerful facilitation tools
• Learn to express your feelings, needs, boundaries, and desires with clarity and care
• Live the ecovillage lifestyle and explore intentional community living
• Deepen awareness of social conditioning and collective trauma

👉Find the Infosheet here. 
👉Sign-up here. 

⏳Application deadline: 30th June 2025

📍Where: Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Ireland
🌍Who: Participants from Ireland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Sweden, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, Italy, France, Kosovo, Lithuania, Ukraine & Slovakia

Why Join?

• Explore how youth work & ecovillages contribute to peacebuilding
• Strengthen the Yes to Sustainability network & forge new partnerships
• Boost skills in sustainability-focused youth projects
• Empower newcomers through peer learning & hands-on activities

⏳ Deadline: 21st June
🔗 Apply here.
📧 Questions? Reach out: yestosustainability@gmail.com

Let’s build bridges for peace and sustainability together!

The Permaculture Education Institute is once again partnering with Local Futures to celebrate World Localization Day on June 21st — and the festivities will continue throughout the month of June!

Join for the free Localization Film Festival, featuring inspiring documentaries including The Economics of Happiness, Planet Local, and The Power of Local. Each screening will be followed by rich international discussions exploring the importance of local economies, community resilience, and regenerative solutions.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and celebrate the power of local!
👉 Join the festival here.

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