Oben am Mockenweiher 1
66117 Saarbrücken
Germany
- International/Cultural relations
- Youth and education
emPOWER Training e.V. is a group of young people who are passionate about social change. It aims to run high-quality non-formal education projects that promote critical political participation and active citizenship.
emPOWER so far implemented three major programmes: the UWC Short Course "Together for Development!" bringing together 51 students from 30 countries in Swaziland in December 2011, where they spent two weeks learning about core issues in international development, working hands-on in local projects and developing ideas for own initiatives. Then a YiA itinerant youth exchange in September 2012 entitled "(NOT) EUROPEAN?!" in which groups from 7 countries travelled from Berlin to Baku, via Istanbul and Bucharest, exploring limits to European collaboration and integration. Most recently, the UWC Short Course "Living together - Navigating common grounds" took place in Turkey in August 2013, exploring topics shaping the Europe-MENA relationship such as identity, conflict, and migration.
emPOWER can contribute a number of things to the ALF network of networks. First, we will join with our own network that is inherently international due to the nature of our activities, and that is also strongly developed in the Southern Mediterranean countries . This will expand the reach of the ALF and possibly increase its impact by making its resources more widely available. Second, we have a proven track record of successfully implemented projects and are willing and happy to share our “recipe” with other members if desired. Third, a number of our active members are based in Germany and could attend networking events and get involved in common actions to work with other members of the network and explore cooperation opportunities within the German network itself. Finally, we bring enthusiasm coupled with professionalism and a readiness to develop new projects in the Mediterranean region working towards the common objectives of emPOWER and the ALF.
emPOWER’s 2013 UWC short course took place in Istanbul, Turkey, and has placed the Mediterranean region prominently into our planning for the next years: we will be implementing another short course in Istanbul in August 2014 on migration and sustainable urban development, and possibly developing more long-term initiatives in the region in the future. Since this falls within the ALF priority field of action “youth and education” and also touches upon the fields of culture & arts, cities & migration, as well as peace & coexistence, we are excited to expand our network of partner institutions and also benefit from ALF’s longstanding experience in and support of the region. We feel that the time is particularly ripe to join the ALF national network because shockwaves from recent political, economic and societal developments are being felt on both shores of the Mediterranean region, sowing much uncertainty about the future. Bringing together young people from all its countries and fostering peer learning, personal cross-border friendships and networking around is thus the foundation for future peaceful coexistence and joint sustainable development. emPOWER has demonstrated a commitment to these aims already and is looking to increase its impact together with ALF national networks. In particular, we believe that the ALF’s unique structure of national networks and its focus on being a bridge between individuals and communities make it exceptionally fit to strengthen partnerships and also transmit this feedback of the people and civil society organisations (rather than public authorities alone) back to the political level, eventually shaping policy making in the region.