Ready or not, here come our 2019 Young Philanthropists program participants. The youngest is 10 and the oldest is 18, there are over 150 of them in all and they come from all over the Czech Republic.
The small village of Vrbice lies on the western periphery of the Central Bohemian region, which was predominantly populated by Germans in the past and where we can now find both the melancholic traces of a vanished world as well as attempts to forge new beginnings. One such new beginning is doing very well right in Vrbice.
Members of the local civic association Let’s Save Vrbice rented the deconsecrated Church of the Ascension of the Holy Cross and are gradually transforming it into a place to meet, sit together, share potluck meals and talk about what’s new. They are restoring the church very sensitively in the process.
A total of 18 people from seven non-profit organizations in Central and Eastern Europe came together in late September for a four-day inspirational meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. The meeting was part of our international program ViabilityNet 3.0 and gave the participants a chance to share experience from their community work in their respective countries.
At the core of the meeting was a multi-day workshop led by Aline Brachet, an expert practitioner in mediation and conflict sensitivity, an approach that analyzes conflict potential in projects. We looked at how this approach can be used in our program planning to reduce the potential for conflicts in the communities which we support.
Helen Lenda led a short interview with Aline Brachet.Read More
What glues people together in the capital of Slovakia? Who are the people with visions of creating spaces to improve the lives of Bratislava’s citizens? With the 14 participants of the ViabilityNet 3.0 program, we visited three amazing initiatives in the city.Read More
ViabilityNet 3.0 is a program that supports local community leaders in Central and Eastern Europe and their ideas. Participants take part in four meetings and four study visits over a one-year period. We also support participants with grants and mentors to make their community projects sustainable and successful going forward and we provide opportunities for inspiration and sharing with other participants.
Here are three participants’ stories: the first is about a land use plan in Košice, the second features a community foundation in Romania and the third focuses on integration of foreigners.Read More
ViabilityNet 3.0 is a program that supports local community leaders in Central and Eastern Europe and their ideas. Participants take part in four meetings and four study visits over a one-year period. We also support participants with grants and mentors to make their community projects sustainable and successful going forward and we provide opportunities for inspiration and sharing with other participants.
Here are three participants’ stories – co-working community centre in Ukraine, connecting engaged people in Bulgaria, community centre in Bratislava.Read More
Would you like to know whether you are permitted to operate a public workshop and tool lending library in the Czech Republic, or where you can find a food festival with traditional specialties for old and young, or what “šufánek” means? Then keep reading! The fall collection of 12 Living Communities projects highlights people who are engaging their neighbors in making their towns and villages better places to live. Read More
