Heverlee (Belgium), 16th December 2019: In the fight against climate change, Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw, the European network of Salesian youth organisations, has become a member of the Don Bosco Green Alliance, the worldwide collective of young people from the Don Bosco family of institutions, who contribute to global environmental action, thought and policy.

​The COP25 in Madrid is just over and many people are saying that “We've lost an important opportunity”. Just before the UN Climate Change Conference started, DBYN became a full member of the Don Bosco Green Alliance (DBGA). To become a member of the Don Bosco Green Alliance, you first need to be an organisation or institution in the Don Bosco world: we are. Secondly, you need at least three specific commitments towards protecting and bettering the environment. Here, we have asked you for ideas through a survey a few months ago and the three following commitments came out, which DBYN has approved for joining the DBGA:

1. Introduce more vegetarian, regional and seasonal food at DBYN activities. Set vegetarian as standard and meat as optional.
2. Introduce a session about sustainability at DBYN activities.
3. Resource Management:
   1. To reduce the carbon emissions for DBYN meetings and activities: either to do them online if possible or to promote alternative ways of transport than flying if travelling is needed.
   2. To use recycled and reusable materials at DBYN activities and in the office.

Thank you for your input on the commitments!

Q&A
Together with your suggestions, there were also some questions related to these commitments and our membership in the Don Bosco Green Alliance. Here are our answers (we have summarised some questions):

Will it be an extra cost for DBYN? Or an investment?
Let's be clear: to stop or limit climate change, we (human beings) have to pay and we have to make investments. Sometimes with money, but even more importantly, we have to change some of our habits and our “Western” way of living: this seems to be the tricky part. Why should I take the train when I can save 5 hours taking a flight? In order to do this, we have to invest time and maybe money, but booking in advance makes even a train ride cheaper than a flight. Some people might have the feeling that they are losing flexibility and we have to change our habits. But on the other hand, if we are not doing it, we will have to invest much more in a later time. That is the overall truth.
There is also the option to save money and resources: for example, if DBYN manages to organise online meetings (commitment 3a), our expenditures for travelling will get less. It is the same with commitment 3b: if we recycle and reuse material on our own, we can save money and resources and more vegetarian food also means lower costs for the meals (commitment 1). For the second commitment, we just have to use the knowledge and resources that we have in our network meaning that no further investment is needed on this level either.
The possibility also exists to allocate new funding possibilities for DBYN and its MOs if we get more engaged in the topic of sustainability.
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Is it possible to offer organisations customised information about this subject (sustainability, environmental protection, Laudato Si, etc.)?
Sure it is. As soon as we will have developed a session on the topic or developed/found good practice within our network, we will let you know. We also cooperate with other INYGOs on that topic on a European level.
But we also need your help. If you have a really good practice, example, success story, etc. let us know and we will share it online, but also during our activities.
To stop climate change, everybody has to do their part, but overall, we have to work together. The survey for the commitments and our membership in the DBGA are just the start, let us work together for the rest. 🌍
 
Further information
Don Bosco Youth-Net ivzw
Naamsesteenweg 37, B-3001 Heverlee • +32 (0)16 48 78 90
info@donboscoyouth.net
www.donboscoyouth.net

Don Bosco Green Alliance
+91 - 982 182 2057
alliance@donboscogreen.org
www.donboscogreen.org

“Youth Incubator” was a training course that took place in Bratislava (SK), coordinated by DBYN and hosted by DOMKA.
24 participants from 9 different countries (AT, BE, DE, ES, IT, MT, PL, SK, UA) worked together on social entrepreneurship, learning how to develop their own projects, budget and fund them through Erasmus +. The cooperative working space, active supervision of trainers and communication between each others, characterized the practical approach of the course; an exchange of cultures and youth projects, where the participants were pushed to find in autonomy new ideas and solutions, comparing their different point of views. Study visits at Ps Digital Company, Domka and  Savio organisations were organized to show how social entrepreneurs work in practice, in order to increase curiosity and awareness in young participants.
The entire training course was based on the Don Bosco’s style that permitted to combine work space and informal moments, in which young people could share their thoughts and feelings, discover their different backgrounds and make friendship. It was an unforgetable international experience!

My name is Sara. I’m an Italian law student at University of Sassari. I am an intern of DBYN during the summer 2018. After my first Erasmus+ student in Poland last year, my point of view changed and it became international. I started to think about a new international experience for my Erasmus+ Traineeship and, actually, it’s the DBYN that found me.
 
DBYN is giving me the opportunity to combine my main interests: law, education, youth issues. It is my first work experience and I am sure that it will help me a lot to grow up professionally. I have the opportunity to improve my communication and networking skills. At DBYN I’m going to work on human rights  and advocacy. I can give a legal contribution in the advocacy strategy of the NGO and I will do it safeguarding the sense of humanity.
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DBYN shows me how youth is important and we need to defend it. I am sure that after this international experience I will be a different and richer person!

On 26th April, in the premises of COMECE (Commission of Bishops’ Conferences in the EU) took place the first European gathering of International Catholic Youth Organisations, in which Don Bosco International, as a facilitator and coordinator of the meeting, and Don Bosco Youth-Net as one of the most active Catholic Youth Organisation were represented.

The meeting was opened by Fr. Olivier Poquillon op, secretary general of COMECE, very supportive of this process, as there is a clear need and will from the bishops’ representation in Brussels to have young people’s voices heard by the institutions. The content of the meeting was very diverse: the presence of some organisations in the European Youth Forum, the new policy updates at EU level (such as the new Erasmus+, European Youth Strategy or the difficulties with the current EU grants), the work done with migrants and refugees by the different youth organisations, and the follow up of the Synod on Youth, in order to find possible ways to establish social and political dialogue with different stakeholders at national and EU level.

​DBYN’s study session Advocates for Education took place from 8 April until 15 April 2018 in Budapest.
24 participants, 4 trainers and several experts from all over Europe came together to learn and teach about Human Rights based advocacy. The study session took place in the European Youth Centre of Budapest, which offered us both financial and content based support. Furthermore as the European Youth Centre stands for “Access to Rights” and “Youth Participation” their policy framework was an ideal basis for the learning programme.
 
To kick-off the week with a positive vibe, there was a teambuilding. When participating in a study session it’s essential to know the other participants and where they come from. After this the first session took place. It introduced Human Rights and advocacy but also politics & policies and values were included in this session. The trainers provided an efficient week programme which contained interactive sessions, introducing all aspects of the advocacy cycle.
It’s not evident to learn about such a broaden topic in one week. To help to understand it more, DBYN invited two experts to explain in what way they advocate. They gave examples of how you could use it in your own organisation. One of the experts was Anca Sandescu. She is a Human Rights trainer and she clarified why Human Rights are so important when advocating for something.
“I’m a true believer in the fact that we can build up a society in which we can respect everyone.”
The second expert was Angel Gudiña. As executive secretary of Don Bosco International,
he explained advocacy from a Salesian perspective and how he advocates towards European institutions and different policy networks.
 
At the end of the week there was the opportunity to start up an advocacy campaign. In this way the participants could turn their words into actions and show what advocacy means for them or for their organisations. The outcomes of this study session are a guidebook on youth advocacy, several local advocacy campaigns, and a working group on integrating the No Hate Speech Campaign in the participant’s local organisations.
 
Advocacy is a new strategic priority for DBYN. It’s part of our Master Plan 2018-2020 and we will continue working on this with our member organisations. 

From 8 March until 11 March 2018 the Strategic Network Meeting of DBYN took again place at the Salesianum in Munich. Member organisations from all over Europe came together to discuss the topics on the agenda and to get to know each other’s organisations better.
 
We kicked off the first day with a session where the representatives got the opportunity to talk about disadvantaged youth. It was important that they could decide what this meant for them and their organisation. It became an interesting brainstorm session where everyone could share their thoughts and ideas. Not only about disadvantaged youth but also about the target groups of every organisation. The representatives were divided in different groups who had the same target audience. The main idea of this exercise was that they could exchange information and learn from each other’s experiences.
 
The Master Plan 2018-2020 was one of the main topics of the General Executive Body on saturday. It’s defined for the next 3 years and the member organisations got the chance to give their input where necessary. The General Executive Body also voted that Mouvement Salésien des Jeunes France & Belgique-Sud is from now on part of Don Bosco Youth-Net. DBYN is now active in 16 European countries and counts 18 organisations.
 
‘10 March 2018 will stay in our minds and marks a very big step in the Salesian world for us,’ says Anne-Florence who represented France & Belgium-South in Munich.

​My name is Sien. I’m a Belgian student at University College PXL, Hasselt (BE) and I’m studying communication management. I’m graduating in June 2018.
I’m doing my internship at Don Bosco Youth-net from the beginning of March until the beginning of June.
In the beginning of this academic year I went on Erasmus to Lisbon. I’ve been there for three months and it was the most interesting experience I’ve ever accomplished.

Thanks to Erasmus, I figured out that I wanted to do an internship where I still have that international contact and where I can improve my communication skills, in Dutch but also in English.
Doing my internship at DBYN is definitely very challenging for me because it’s my first experience in a real working environment. Everything they do is in the context of young people and I strongly believe that they need our help as much as we need theirs. I’m sure that I will gain a lot of knowledge in terms of how to communicate in a good and effective way with people in Belgium but also in other countries around the world.
I’m convinced that this internship will help me grow in a professional way but also in a personal way.
​The organisation has a lot to offer, and so do I!