YOUNION

What is Younion?

Younion – that means creative international work in a historical place –WWII German POW camp Stalag VIII A. Every summer, young people from all over Europe come together in Görlitz-Zgorzelec to experience history, work together at an authentic historical site, and learn about the importance of democratic values to strengthen our European community in the future

Memory

During these two weeks the participants take part in the workshops which take place on the historical grounds of former POW camp Stalag VIII A. All workshops are united by the topic of Stalag VIII A, Second World War and National Socialism.

Education

The participants address National Socialism and sociopolitical topics such as democracy, moral courage, diversity, equal opportunities for participation. They learn to better understand European History, which is still valid today and affects us all more than ever.

Self-organization

One of the most important parts of Worcation is “self-organizing” which means the group has to cook, wash, clean and organize their evenings amongst themselves. Every observation and reflection, success and failure is discussed during a plenary session, which takes place every evening.

YOUNION (former WORCATION) is an international youth exchange for young people from Europe where they live and work together for two weeks. The group takes part in different workshops during the day. The workshops revolve around the Second World War and around prisoners of war imprisoned in Stalag VIII A – a prisoner of war camp (1939-1945). Today Stalag VIII A is a place of memory and education for people from around the world. It is located in the European Twincity Görlitz-Zgorzelec (located at the German-Polish border).

Participants:

Young adults aged 16-26 from Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Italy.

Language:

Participants should be able to speak and understand English on a communicative level. The main language in the exchange is English.

Group life, free time, accommodation and food:

The group will be accommodated in a house (Jugendherberge Peregrinus) in the old town. There will be time to learn languages, get to know each other and have fun. Together the group will have to organize itself and cook, shop and clean and define the evening-programme for themselves.

Get an impression of Worcation, so you know what to expect from YOUNION: